Arizona football walked into Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City coming off a bye week after a 31-7 loss against Kansas State. The team was looking for a return to glory against some consider the Big 12’s best team: the University of Utah. The Wildcats completed the impossible and secured a 23-10 victory with impressive performances on both sides. Arizona Triathlon also had a successful outing at the Battle in the Fort Triathlon, in which Junior Kelly Wetteland secured her second podium finish of the season.
Team: Football
The Wildcats faced the Big 12’s highest-ranked team, the No. 10 Utah Utes. What was a worrying game entering for Arizona turned around and Arizona became the team we saw go 10-3 and beat Oklahoma in the Valero Alamo Bowl. This game saw Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita finally falling back into his peak performance and Arizona’s defense not just stepping up but showing out.
Arizona’s defense shook off the rust and played at their best with standout performances coming from Tacario Davis, Genesis Smith and Gunner Maldonado. Davis was responsible for five pass deflections, some in crucial moments when Utah was near the endzone. Smith was the start of the party for the Wildcats, intercepting an Isaac Wilson pass in the Utes’ second drive of the second half. The final nail in the coffin was Maldonado’s interception with just over two minutes left in the game. This allowed the Wildcats to get into victory formation and ride away with the victory.
Fifita also stepped up and showed his talent and leadership on the field, exemplified by the Wildcats’ game-winning drive near the start of the fourth quarter. Fifita completed a 41-yard pass to Devin Hyatt while facing a massive amount of pressure from the Utah defensive line, then made a connection to Keyan Burnett for another big throw of 35 yards for the touchdown. Fifita showed poise and strength evading a strong pass rush and excelling under pressure.
Player: Kelly Wetteland
Junior Kelly Wetteland showed out at the Battle in the Fort in Fort Worth, Texas. She was critical in the Wildcats’ first-overall finish at the race. This was the program’s first overall finish in their short two-year history.
In the first event of the year on Aug. 31 at the Southern Hills Triathlon in Hot Springs, S.D., Wetteland captured first place for the Wildcats. She followed this win by earning first once again at the Red-Blue Intrasquad Triathlon. This was the Wildcats’ second Battle in the Fort and they all showed immense growth, especially Wetteland. Last year, Arizona finished fifth overall with 128 points and Wetteland finished with a 1:12:33 and placed 24th. This year, the Wildcats came in full force, finishing first overall with 272 points. This was highlighted by Wetteland’s stellar performance, in which she posted a time nearly 10 minutes faster than her previous year’s performance at 1:02:58 and finished second overall. The team as a whole performed exceptionally, with a total of five Wildcats in the top 10.
Wetteland has yet to compete in a meet this year in which she hasn’t appeared on the podium; surely something she would like to keep going, ahead of the NCAA West National Qualifier in Springfield, Mo. on Oct. 12.
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