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Josefin Berg had a podium finish at the MWC Championships where she was an all-MWC performer after placing third with a hammer throw of 182-3. She qualified for the NCAA West Regional Championships and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Track and Field Championships, where she placed 22nd overall with a throw of 185-10 feet. The Utes finished sixth in the outdoor MWC Championships and seventh at the indoor MWC Championships.
all-conference accolades, upping his career total of allconference athletes to 80. In addition to the all-conference honors, Kepler mentored another 19 conference champions. In his first season, Kepler saw three athletes and his 4x100 relay team all set new school marks. Among the top performances in school history were Feigt’s 3,880-point performance in the pentathlon, Mortensen’s 205-foot throw in the hammer and Roby’s 47-3.5 effort in the shot put.
2006-07 During the 2006 cross country season, Kepler guided freshman Abbott to a top-25 finish at the MWC Championships (23rd) and a top-50 finish at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships (46th). After only a year under Kepler’s coaching, the Utes improved to sixth place in the team standings. During the track season, Kepler saw seven all-MWC performers between the indoor and outdoor seasons, and coached two MWC outdoor champions: Shapard and Amanda Feigt. Both qualified for regionals along with Abbott, Mandie Rowell and Susan Atwater. Shapard and Feigt were also NCAA qualifiers during the 2007 outdoor season. Feigt was a USA Track and Field national qualifier in the 400 hurdles where she was a semi-finalist. Abbott was junior national qualifier in the 800.
Personal Prior to coming to Utah, Kepler served as Northern Iowa’s head men’s and women’s cross country coach and assistant track and field coach for two seasons. He was on staff at UNI for a total of seven years, serving as an assistant cross country coach for five years prior to being named head coach in 2003. Kepler was named the Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2003 after leading the Panthers to a MVC title. The Panthers won 12 MVC titles among cross country and indoor and outdoor track during his tenure with the Panthers. At UNI, he served as the meet manager for the 2003 NCAA Cross Country Championships and Pre-Nationals meet. Kepler was also named the meet director of the annual A. D. Dickinson Relays, one of the largest high school indoor meets in the nation. Kepler competed at Northern Iowa, taking part in both cross country and track and field for the Panthers and serving as a team captain during the 1997-98 school year. As an athlete, Kepler was a member of five MVC championship teams. He earned all-conference honors nine times during his collegiate career, was a two-time allregion cross country selection and a six-time Academic AllMVC honoree. Kepler holds both master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Northern Iowa. He earned his master’s degree in physical education in 2004 and graduated with a bachelor’s in secondary education (geography) in 1998.
2005-06 The 2005 cross country runners also thrived under Kepler’s direction. While the Utes finished seventh at the MWC championships, he saw three personal-best performances from his team at the 6-km conference championship meet. Kepler also guided two athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2006. Vanessa Mortensen qualified in the hammer throw and just missed All-America accolades with a 10th-place finish (190-7 feet), while Feigt was a first-time qualifier in the 400m hurdles (1:00.7). In addition to the four new school marks in 2006, Kepler, a Webster City, Iowa native, also helped his athletes set 144 new personal bests. When 2006 was all said and done, he saw four of his athletes (Feigt twice, AJ Roby and Mortensen) garner
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