Women's Track & Field | 4/19/2023 11:02:00 AM

This weekend, April 21st-22nd, the Utah Tech women's track and field team will head back up north for the BYU Robison Invitational. BYU has hosted the meet each season (excluding 2020 due to COVID-19) since before the turn of the century. It is consistently one of the biggest collegiate meets in Utah year after year. The Trailblazers have participated in the meet for the past two seasons. 

The meet features large fields in several events with teams from Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and a strong contingent of unattached athletes. The Trailblazers have athletes entered into 12 different events. The Blazers will take a squad of 25 athletes and have a total of 43 individual and four relay entries. Much like the Trailblazers last meet in Salt Lake, this meet sits at 4'500 feet of altitude providing fast conditions for sprint events and a good challenge for the distance runners as they tune up for the conference meet that is now less than a month away.

IN COMPETITION: Starting with the action off the track the Blazers enter the familiar group of three athletes into the high jump. Sophomore Kylie Bishop, senior Morgan Callens, and freshman Lainee Leavitt all equaled or set outdoor season bests two weeks ago at Utah clearing 1.50m (4' 11") and will look to improve upon those heights Friday afternoon.

Friday's competition will also feature four track events including two flat sprints and two with hurdles. The first will be the 100-meter trials with five Trailblazers looking to grab a spot in the finals that will take place as part of Saturday's program. Coming in with the best mark is sophomore Rashawnna Gibson who ran a 12.16 into a headwind at the Blazers last meet. The second trial event will be the women's 100-meter hurdles where another five Utah Tech athletes will race to make the finals. The Tech freshman Ashlyn Parish will attempt to improve on her season-leading time of 14.43 run at the season-opening Utah Tech Invitational leading the event group. 

The Friday portion of the meet will conclude with two full-lap finals, the 400-meter and 400-meter hurdles. The 400 flat comes first for six Trailblazer athletes. Looking to break the team record in her third consecutive attempt this season will be sophomore Addi Wyatt who ran a team all-time leading mark of 57.01 at the University of Utah two weeks ago. Over barriers, Megan Jenkins is slated to run again after taking a meet off of hurdles. She leads the Utah Tech group of four hurdlers with a career-best 1:02.75 mark run a few weeks ago at the Vine O'Boyle Classic in Irvine California.

The first event Saturday is one of the most unique in track and field, the 3000-meter steeplechase. Sophomore Kinley Spaulding will be the first Trailblazer to take on the barriers and water jump this season. While she hasn't run it this year Spaulding comes in with a lifetime best of 13:15.66. Saturday will continue with the 4x100 relay where the team of freshman Alaynah Reed, sophomore Ashlynn Gilhula, freshman Mary Fallon, and sophomore Rashawnna Gibson will look to bounce back after hand-off issues at the team's last meet.

The Robison Classic is one of only a few collegiate meets that host the outdoor mile, a distance that is traditionally only contested indoors, and it will be the next event on the track. Looking back to the indoor season sophomore Lexi Larsen ran the team's quickest mile in 5:12.73 and leads the group of three Utah Tech runners in the race. The event is generally easier to achieve fast times outdoors, but being an event that requires some aerobic strength will be affected by the altitude. The mile will be followed by the finals of the 100 meter and 100 hurdle finals where any athletes that advance from Friday's trials will race.

Following those finals the 800-meter will be run. Team record holder and sophomore Addi Wyatt will look to improve on her 2:13.29 mark leading the Blazers six athletes in the run. The 200 group also has six entries including sophomore Rashawnna Gibson looking to take advantage of the altitude to improve upon her team season-leading 25.51.

The final two events will be the longest individual run and longest relays of the day. Utah Tech has its smallest 5000-meter entry list of the year at just three. But the event still has a strong leader with the team's second-leading 5000 runner junior Shakayla Morgan, she has run a season-best 18:16.76. And the final event, of course, will be the 4x400 meter relay with the "A" group of sophomores Sadie Edwards and Addi Wyatt joined by freshman Megan Jenkins, and Alaynah Reed to close the meet.

NEXT UP: This meet will be followed by the Blazers final regular season meet of the year next weekend at UC Irvine. The Steve Scott Invitational will take place Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th.