Colorado State University Athletics
Both Track Teams Finish Second
2/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Outdoor Track & Field
The Colorado State men?s and women?s indoor track and field teams both finished second at the Mountain West Conference Championship today at Air Force. Seniors Loree Smith and Adam Trainor were both awarded as Outstanding Performers of the Meet and head coach Del Hessel was named co-coach of the year on the women?s side.
The men finished just 3.5 points behind BYU, scoring 203.5, while Air Force finished third, Wyoming was fourth and New Mexico and Utah rounded out the team scoring. On the women?s side, the Rams scored 172 to trail BYU with 188.5 points. Wyoming was third, Utah finished fourth, while San Diego State, UNLV, New Mexico and Air Force rounded out the scoring.
?This was the best performance I?ve ever seen by the entire team at Colorado State,? said head coach Del Hessel. ?Everyone worked extremely hard and it came down to the wire -- which is how a championship should be.?
Smith won the shot put today with a Mountain West Championship, Mountain West All-Time, Colorado State record and NCAA automatic qualifying throw of 56-3. Smith shares the Outstanding Performer Award with Shayla Baletine from San Diego State. Junior Amanda Huddleston also broke the school record in the triple jump after placing second with an NCAA provisional qualifying leap of 41-6.5. The third school record to fall on the day was the women?s 4x400 relay team, which won the event with a time of 3:49.54. The quartet consisted of senior Katrice Thomas, junior Becky Hammitt, freshman Emily Pearson and sophomore Megan Fox.
Senior sprinter John Woods won the 60 meter dash with a time of 6.79, but scratched out of the 200 finals after battling an achilles heel injury. Freshman Drew Morano finished fourth, while sophomore Rodnee Pope was fifth in the 60 meters and then Pope finished second and Morano was third in the 200 meters. Morano also ran the 400 meters for the Rams, finishing sixth, while teammates Brandon Kent and Justin Hazzard were second and fifth, respectively. In the 800 meters, Paul Michel placed fifth, while senior Mike Nicks was second in the mile and fifth in the 3000 meters. Hazzard also finished second in the 60 meter hurdles, while junior Mike Horton was right behind him in third. In the final event of the day, the men?s 4x400 relay team finished second behind the Cougars.
In the men?s field events, senior Jacob Benson finished third after straining a groin muscle yesterday in the long jump competition. Freshman Jarelle Johnson and sophomore Kevin Johnson also finished fifth and seventh, respectively in the triple jump. Sophomore Magnus Lohse led the Rams by winning the shot put with a throw of 63-0.25, while Nate Heyrman was third, Trey Eder was seventh and Jace Rivera placed eighth.
Sophomore Janay DeLoach finished second in the women?s 60 meters with a personal best time if 7.47, while Thomas was third in both the 200 and 400 meters. Hammitt won the 800 meters with a season best time of 2:14.19 and Danielle Korb had an NCAA provisional qualifying time finishing second in the mile with a time of 4:56.92. Nicole Feest was second in the 3000 meters, while Korb doubled up in races and finished third and Michelle Carman was sixth for the Rams.
In the women?s high jump, freshman Anne McLaughlin cleared a personal best 5-8 to finish third, while sophomore Katie Lloyd and junior Jenny Higgason tied for fourth after clearing 5-6. Smith won the shot put, with junior Jill McCormick finishing fifth and Jaimee Troth placing sixth.
Those student-athletes who are close to qualifying for the NCAA Championship or are looking to improve their provisional marks will head to a last chance meet at Iowa State next weekend. The rest of the team will begin practice for the outdoor season which begins March 26 with the Rob Upton Invitational at Jack Christiansen Field on the campus of Colorado State.
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