Utah Utes track: Hurdler has high hops, hopes

For someone who hated the sport of track when she first started, Utah hurdler Chelsea Shapard has certainly come a long way.

Earlier this month, the 22-year-old from Park City won the Mountain West Conference 400-meter hurdles race for the third time in three tries. This weekend, she will compete in the NCAA West Regionals at Eugene, Ore.

"To win an event three years in a row is very special," said Utah track coach Kyle Kepler.

"It was really neat to win three years in a row," added Shapard.

Especially after a competitor from TCU, whom Shapard had edged out the two previous years, said on a track preview show on The mtn. network that Shapard wouldn't be a factor this year.

"I watched it on the show and that definitely motivated me a lot," Shapard said.

As it turned out, the hurdler from TCU didn't even qualify for the finals, and Shapard breezed to a two-second win with a best-ever time of 57.88.

Last year, Shapard finished 15th in the NCAA finals and would love to improve on that finish and make the finals (top eight) and earn All-American honors. This weekend, she needs to either finish in the top three in Oregon or in the top 28 in the nation to move on to the finals at Fayetteville, Ark., June 10-13.

Shapard has been a ski racer most of her life and loved to play soccer, but she only took up track because her high school coach asked her to come out for the team.

"I hated it in high school," she said. "I didn't see the point of running in circles."

She did well enough to earn a college scholarship to Weber State, but decided to transfer after her freshman year to Utah, where her career has taken off.

"After coming to the U. with great coaches and having a team that was so close, it made me grow an immense respect for the sport," she said. "Now I've actually grown to like it, which my high school coaches constantly make fun of me for."

Kepler became the Utah coach three years ago and was happy when Shapard joined the Utes' team.

"She came and fit right in and has been a team leader from Day 1," he said. "She's an extremely competitive kid. That comes from her days on the Park City ski team. Track was the furthest thing from her mind. She was a skier, soccer player and track was something she did because her high school track coach asked her to do it."

Shapard credits assistant coach Burke Bockman, a former hurdler, with her improvement at the U.