Colorado State University Athletics
Four Rams Head To NCAA Championship
3/7/2005 12:00:00 AM | Indoor Track & Field
NCAA Preview: The indoor season will conclude this weekend with the NCAA Championship, hosted by the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville on Fri.-Sat. Senior John Woods will compete in the 60 meters, while senior Loree Smith will throw both the shot put and weight throw. Senior Adam Trainor will compete in the weight throw and sophomore Magnus Lohse will put the shot.
Hits Keep On Coming: Two school records fell at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame, bringing the total for the season to 11. John Woods broke his own record in the 60 meters, clocking a 6.63 to tie the Mountain West Conference all-time record. Senior Mike Nicks ran a 7:59.34 to break the school record of 8:01.14 held by Bryan Berryhill from 2001. The other records broken this year are the women?s 400 meters by senior Katrice Thomas, the women?s triple jump by junior Amanda Huddleston, the women?s shot put and weight throw, both by Loree Smith, the women?s mile relay by Thomas, junior Becky Hammitt, freshman Emily Pearson and sophomore Megan Fox. Men?s records that have fallen are the 60 and 200 meters, both by John Woods, 3000 meters by Nicks, 5000 meters by senior Josh Glaab, the shot put by Magnus Lohse and the heptathlon by sophomore Kevin Johnson. This is the most school records broken in one year since the Rams joined the Mountain West. In 2004 and 2002 the Rams broke five records, while in 2003 and 2001 four records were broken and two were broken during the 2000 season.
A Look Back: At the 2004 NCAA Championship, John Woods was named an All-American after placing sixth in the 60 meters with a time of 6.71. The men?s distance medley relay team consisting of Paul Michel, Brandon Kent, Brian Kelly and Mike Nicks finished 11th and Magnus Lohse fouled on all three of his attempts in the shot put. In 2003, Loree Smith was honored as an All-American in both the shot put and weight throw after finishing eighth in the weight and ninth in the shot put.
Outstanding Performers: Both Loree Smith and Adam Trainor were named the Outstanding Performers of the Meet at the Mountain West Conference Championship. Smith won the shot put and weight throw with Mountain West Conference records, and her shot put of 56-3 was also the all-time record, Colorado State record and an NCAA automatic qualifying mark. Her weight throw from earlier this season is the all-time league record and Smith shared the Outstanding Performer with Shayla Balentine from San Diego State. Trainor earned the award after winning the weight throw with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark and personal best throw of 69-5.25 to win the event by over four feet. The Rams have won at least one of the indoor outstanding performer awards each of the four years.
Nationally Ranked: Both the men?s and women?s teams are ranked 17th in this week?s trackwire top 25. The women are tied with UCLA with 12 points, while the men have 15 points. The polls are based on the national individual rankings and the projected finish at the NCAA Championship.
Coach of the Year: Head Coach Del Hessel was named Co-Women?s Coach of the Year for the indoor season after leading the Rams to a second place finish at the conference championship, sharing the title with R. Craig Poole of BYU. Hessel has been named the men?s indoor coach of the year in 2002 and 2003 and shared the award with Ralph Lindeman of Air Force in 2004 and this is the first time he has been honored with the women?s indoor award in the Mountain West.
A Clean Sweep: During all six weeks of the regular season, the Rams had at least one student-athlete named the Mountain West Athlete of the Week. Loree Smith (2/8) shot put, weight throw, (2/1) shot put, weight throw; (1/25) shot put, weight throw; Magnus Lohse (2/1) shot put; (1/18) shot put; John Woods (2/8) 60 meters, 200 meters; Josh Glaab (2/15) 5000 meters; Adam Trainor (2/22) weight throw.
All-Conference: A total of 26 student-athletes were named to the Mountain West All-Conference team over the weekend. The list follows, along with the events they earned honors in. Champions are also marked with an *.
senior Jacob Benson, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump freshman Ciarre Campbell, Long Jump sophomore Janay DeLoach, 60 Meters, Long Jump junior Nicole Feest, 3000 Meters freshman Collin Ferguson, High Jump *Megan Fox, 4x400 Relay Josh Glaab, 5000 Meters **Becky Hammitt, 800 Meters, 4x400 Relay junior Justin Hazzard, 60 Hurdles junior Nate Heyrman, Shot Put, Weight Throw junior Mike Horton, 60 Hurdles Amanda Huddleston, Triple Jump Kevin Johnson, Heptathlon Brandon Kent, 400 Meters junior Danielle Korb, Mile, 3000 Meters *Magnus Lohse, Shot Put junior Jill McCormick, Weight Throw freshman Anne McLaughlin, High Jump sophomore Drew Morano, 200 Meters Mike Nicks, Mile *Emily Pearson, 4x400 Relay sophomore Rodnee Pope, 200 Meters **Loree Smith, Shot Put, Weight Throw *Katrice Thomas, 200 Meters, 400 Meters, 4x400 Relay *Adam Trainor, Weight Throw *John Woods, 60 Meters
A Lot of Wins: Loree Smith has won, excluding the NCAA Championships in 2003, 11 of the last 12 competitions in the weight throw and including all meets, has never finished lower than eighth in her 24 career meets (13 weight throw titles, one second place finish, two thirds). In the shot put, excluding the NCAA Championships, Smith has won 10 of the last 12 meets and throughout her career, has had only one finish lower than ninth (11 shot put titles, one second place finish, seven thirds). In the 55/60 meters, Woods has won his last five events, and has only one finish lower than third in 23 career races -- and that was in 2002 (13 55/60 titles, two second place finishes, four thirds). Several other Rams have multiple titles to their careers. Magnus Lohse has won his last five competitions in the shot put. Here is a chart of top three finishes on the Rams? team (over five top three finishes):
Name 1st 2nd 3rd Top 3 Total Loree Smith 24 2 9 35 John Woods 20 5 5 30 Jacob Benson 9 8 9 26 Amanda Huddleston 5 8 3 16 Janay DeLoach 8 5 2 15 Katrice Thomas 3 7 5 15 Danielle Korb 2 7 5 14 Mike Nicks 5 4 4 13 Nate Heyrman 0 4 8 12 Adam Trainor 5 3 4 12 Magnus Lohse 8 2 1 11 Becky Hammitt 7 2 1 10 Brandon Kent 6 3 1 10 Jill McCormick 1 6 3 10 Mike Horton 2 4 3 9 Crystal Clark 4 1 2 7 Nicole Feest 0 4 3 7 Megan Fox 3 1 3 7 Josh Glaab 1 3 3 7 Cristina Gourdin 1 5 1 7 Jenny Higgason 3 1 3 7 Justin Hazzard 1 2 3 6
