Now, fully stocked with 18 scholarships, Utah cross country has regained national prominence under head coach Kyle Kepler. The Utes have qualified for the NCAA championships in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021, finishing as high as 16th in 2019. Utah also finished second at the 2021 Pac-12 Conference Championships.
“It’s a program that’s been up and it’s been down. We’re back again and I think that’s like a lot of collegiate programs,” said Kepler. “I think every program goes through that at some point. We’re just happy to be where we are and thankful that (the 1981 team) was able to set it in motion.”
Kepler noted that the program was really, really good at that point.
“To have that kind of success early on, I think, says a lot about the direction that the program had.” Kepler said.
Jones was one of the first people to call Kepler when he was hired nearly two decades ago. He offered his support to help get the program performing at a higher level once again.
The national championship, Kepler acknowledged, was so long ago that sometimes we all forget. Therefore, this story has all the makings of a forgotten championship, of sorts. That, however, hasn’t diminished its significance.
“I was always proud of how well the team did,” Woodworth said. “I felt so blessed to be part of that team.”
Woodworth, who is being inducted into the Utah Athletics Hall of Fame this year, shared that it was a huge part of her life.
“We just did what we had to do to improve and run as well as we could,” she said. “Everything just came together. It was pretty amazing.”
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