Colorado State University Athletics
Cross Country Preview ? Wyoming Invitational
9/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Season Kicks Off Friday: The 2003 Colorado State cross country teams will be in action for the first time on Friday at the Wyoming Invitational. The race gets underway at 5:00 p.m. at the Jacoby Golf Course. Last season, both the men?s and women?s teams were victorious with the men tallying 18 points and the women totaling 19.
Picked Second: The Colorado State men?s and women?s cross country teams were picked to finish second in the Mountain West Conference Championship on November 1 in San Diego. BYU was chosen by the league?s coaches to win both titles.
Season Preview: The men?s cross country team at Colorado State is aiming for a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship, while the women?s team is training hard to return to the national championship after sending only All-American Katie Yemm last year. Yemm will once again lead the women?s team and is surrounded by a strong group, including senior Jennifer Kintzley, who was named to the Mountain West All-Conference team a year ago and junior Colleen Blair, who two seasons ago was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year. The men will be led by seniors Bill Michel and Austin Vigil who were both all-conference performers in 2002. Josh Glaab, the 2002 Mountain West Freshman of the Year, looks to continue his strong campaign in his sophomore season and Mike Nicks -- the school record holder in the steeplechase -- is starting his third season with the squad.
National Rankings: The men?s cross country team is ranked fourth in the Mountain Region, according to the United States Cross Country Coaches Association, while the women are ranked 26th in the nation, according to FinishLynx -- which produces the weekly poll.
Head Coach Del Hessel: Hessel ranks as one of the most successful distance and cross country coaches in the nation. He is the only coach to have coached at three different Division I schools and lead each into the national rankings and the NCAA Championships. Colorado State has finished as high as eighth in the men?s championship and the women had their highest finish ever when they placed 12th in 1997. In 2000, Hessel was named both the men?s and the women?s Mountain West Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year for his teams? accomplishments. On the track, Hessel has produced numerous All-Americans in distance events. Bryan Berryhill was the first Ram to win two national championships when he won the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championship and the 1500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in 2000. At one point in his career, Hessel coached four runners under 13:50 in the 5,000 meters. Under Hessel?s guidance, Billy Mangan won the Penn Relays at 13:44, Mike Klass won All-American honors after finishing the 5,000 in 13:41.6, Dave Murphy won the 10,000 meters at the Tom Black Invitational in 28:14 and Ibrahim Kivina was the national runner-up at the NCAA Championship in the 10,000 meter with a finishing time of 28:04.Hessel has toured with several international teams while serving as event chair for USA Olympic Development for the 800 and 1,500 meters. He has served on the World Cup staff in Spain, served as head coach for the Olympic Sports Festival and travelled to Europe for the past 10 years with some of the nation?s best middle distance runners including, Olympians Brian Woodward, Steve Holman and Rick Kenah. Hessel has also written three books and given lectures throughout the country. He is a member of the Colorado State Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a nationally ranked 800 meter runner. In 1963, he set a Colorado State record for the indoor 800 meters with his time of 1:50.50. That mark stood for 35 years until it was finally broken by Berryhill in 1998.
