SALT LAKE CITY – When Josefine Eriksen was moving away from Texas-Rio Grande Valley after the 2021 outdoor track and field season, she saw something special at the University of Utah.
But it wasn’t a campus visit or phone conversations with any coaches.
“I stalked them on Instagram,” said Eriksen, who will graduate this summer with a bachelor’s degree in family, community and human development. “But they seemed like a really fun group. It wasn’t always just about running on the track, it was about being a good group. I realized they could have fun — they had personality.”
Four years later, Eriksen has made something special out of his time with the Utes.
The senior from Stavern, Norway, will lead Utah to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, this weekend, first in the 800 meters and then as the anchor leg of the US 4×400-meter relay team. Utes.
Eriksen holds the school record in both events: 2 minutes, 2.49 seconds in the outdoor 800 meters and a spectacular time of 3:35.00 in the 4×400 meter relay, a record that has been reset three times. this year.
Those are two of seven school records for Eriksen, who will also compete at the European Championships for his home country June 7-12 in Rome, Italy, and as a member of the Norwegian 4×400-meter relay at the Summer Olympics in Paris. . It is the country’s first Olympic relay team since 1920.
Utah sophomore Erin Vringer will make her NCAA championships debut after holding the second all-time mark in the 1,500 meters, a mark of 4:13.17 set at the Pac-12 championships. Utah senior Harley Daniel will also compete in the 400-meter hurdles in addition to her spot on the relay team.
Utah’s Erin Vringer after qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the NCAA West Prelims in Fayetteville, Arkansas (Photo: Wesley Hitt for Utah Athletics)
The four qualifying events are the most in program history, and the three individual qualifiers tie the 2023 outdoor season for the most in Utah athletics history.
Eriksen hopes to become an NCAA multi-sport qualifier, including leading Utah’s first 4×400-meter relay team to the outdoor championships with teammates Ally Gomm, Bailey Kealamakia and Daniel, with alternates Emily Martin and Chloe Shewell.
That group has played a key role in Utah’s season, not only sending athletes to the NCAA championships for the 15th time in head coach Kyle Kepler’s 19 seasons at the helm, but also “increasing the energy” of a event to another.
“Before we even start running, I feel like we get each other excited,” said Gomm, a senior from Provo. “A lot of teams are incredibly focused before a race, but in the tent we are very animated and we encourage each other.”
That combination of energy and athleticism made Eriksen’s transfer to Utah a perfect fit, as well as his fit within a team that blends Utah natives with regional standouts and international athletes.
Track and field is one of the most global sports, and Kepler has had at least one international athlete on each of his teams during a 25-year career that began at his alma mater, Northern Iowa.
But Eriksen was special, added Kepler, who recruited the 800-meter runner from the transfer portal even as he simultaneously hired a new sprint and relay coach, Rebecca Rhodes.
“She came to campus and immediately clicked with the team and our team with her,” Kepler said of Eriksen. “You have to lean into the change and do the best you can with it. We come to the portal, we recruit internationally, locally and regionally; it’s just about finding kids that fit our program, not just athletically but as humans with kids that “They want to be part of something more than themselves.”
It was easy for Eriksen to join a group. He immediately reset the school record in the 400 meters with a time of 54.01 in his first indoor season with the Utes in 2021-22 before adding school records in the 200 meters, 600 meters (indoor), 4×100 meter relay, 4×800 meters . relay squads and distance medley relays, in addition to their core 800 and 4×400 relay events.
“This group was very easy to reach. Everyone was very open,” he said. “I’d never been part of an all-women’s team before; I was a little nervous, would there be drama? But it was a big family. We spent a lot of time off the court. We’re not just teammates, but we’re friends.”
NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships; Eugene, Oregon
University of Utah
- Erin Vringer, So., 1500M
- Josefine Eriksen, Sr., 800M/4x400M relay
- Harley Daniel, So., 400M hurdles
- Ally Gomm, Sr., 4x400M relay
- Bailey Kealamakia, Sr., 4x400M relay
- Emily Martin, So., 4x400M relay (alternate)
- Chloe Shewell, Jr., 4x400M relay (alternate)
[fifu]
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