Track Preview: Drake and Modrall Sperling

Splitting Again: Most of the Colorado State track & field team will be in Albuquerque for the Modrall Sperling Lobo Open, while 10 will head to Des Moines, Iowa for the Drake Relays (senior Jacob Benson, senior Colleen Blair, sophomore Matt Cianciulli, sophomore Janay DeLoach, sophomore Megan Fox, junior Becky Hammitt, junior Mike Horton, junior Amanda Huddleston, freshman Anne McLaughlin and senior Katrice Thomas). Also, senior Loree Smith will head east for the Penn Relays.

Joining The Ranks: Several Rams either improved their regional qualifying mark this weekend, or qualified for the first time. Sophomore Trey Eder improved his regional mark in both the shot put and hammer, while junior Katie Hansen improved her discus throw and sophomore Katie Lloyd improved her provisional qualifying total in the heptathlon. Freshman Jason Schutz qualified for the first time in the discus, as did junior Jill McCormick and senior Cristina Gourdin qualified in the heptathlon after breaking numerous records.

Two Records Fall: The women?s heptathlon and 4x100 meter records fell this weekend. Cristina Gourdin recorded a two-day total of 5,251, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Championship to break the invitational, track and Colorado State records. The Glenn Morris Multi record and Colorado State record were both 5,160 points, held by current assistant coach Lindsey Malmgren from her senior season in 2001. Also, the women?s 4x100 relay team consisting of Megan Fox, Katrice Thomas, freshman Emily Pearson and Janay DeLoach broke the record with a winning time of 46.15. They break the old record of 46.31 held by Candace Lelo, DeLoach, KThomas and Fox from last season. That brings the season total to five broken school records, as senior Mike Nicks broke the steeplechase record, running an 8:42.98, DeLoach has broken the long jump record with a leap of 20-8 and Amanda Huddleston owns the triple jump record at 41-6.

Nationally Dominant: There are 65 Division I schools that have at least one student-athlete ranked in the discus (men or women) and hammer (men or women) in the NCAA regional qualifiers list. However, there are only three schools that have 10 or more qualifying marks in the four events. UCLA leads the way with 13 -- with nine coming in the discus -- and Colorado State ranks second with 11 ranked, six in the discus and five in the hammer. The third team is Kansas State with 10 ranked and seven of those are in the hammer.

Best In The Mountain West: Colorado State boasts the Mountain West Conference leader in six events -- senior Adam Trainor in the hammer throw, senior Michelle Carman in the 5000 meters, Janay DeLoach in the long jump, Amanda Huddleston in the triple jump and Loree Smith in the discus and hammer throw. The Rams also have the most ranked in the top 10 in six events -- the men?s 100 meters, men?s hammer, women?s high jump, women?s long jump, women?s triple jump and women?s hammer and are tied for the most ranked in the men?s 200, men?s shot put, men?s discus, women?s 200, women?s 5000 and women?s discus.

Dandy Dozen: Trackwire.com posts a weekly ranking of the top 12 athletes in each event in track & field. The factors used to build the D12 include quantitative values that measure performances in past major competitions (such as conference championships, national championships and Olympic competition), durability and freedom from injuries, demonstrated ability to compete well in multiple rounds of competition, ability in other events, head-to-head competition with other top athletes, and personal or seasonal bests. Loree Smith ranks fourth in the hammer, while sophomore Magnus Lohse ranks fourth in the shot put, Adam Trainor ranks sixth in the hammer and Mike Nicks ranks 10th in the steeplechase.

Cracking The Top 10: Several athletes moved into the top-10 all-time at Colorado State in their respective events over the weekend. Becky Hammitt posted the 10th best 400 meters time in school history at 56.04, while freshman Ashleigh Morton cleared 11-5.75 in the pole vault to rank fourth and Jill McCormick moved into eighth in the discus with her throw of 161-9. Cristina Gourdin broke the school record in the heptathlon, Katie Lloyd now ranks third and Emily Pearson is tied for fifth on the multis list. Trey Eder ranks eighth in the shot put at 56-6.75 and now 10th in the hammer at 188-1.

Personal Bests: Over the weekend, several Rams posted career-best times or marks. Women: Freshman Kirsten Anthony, 800 meters; Cristina Gourdin, 100 hurdles, 400 hurdles, 800 meters, shot put, javelin and heptathlon; Becky Hammitt, 400 meters; sophomore Stacy Hancock, long jump, triple jump; freshman Amanda Johnson, 100 hurdles; Katie Lloyd, high jump, heptathlon; Jill McCormick, discus; junior Jill McKenzie, triple jump; Ashleigh Morton, 800 meters, pole vault, shot put and heptathlon; Emily Pearson, 400 hurdles, long jump and heptathlon and freshman Melissa Thomas, 800 meters.
Men: Matt Cianciulli, 1500 meters; Trey Eder, shot put, hammer; freshman Jarelle Johnson, 100 meters; freshman Kyle Keeler, 400 hurdles; junior Brett Melin, 400 meters; sophomore Nelson Palacios, 400 meters; Jason Schutz, discus, hammer and sophomore Joe Trainor, hammer.

Weekend Recap: Glenn Morris: Crissy Gourdin broke the Colorado State, Jack Christiansen Track and Glenn Morris Multi Meet records with her two-day total of 5,251 points in the heptathlon. She won the event by 100 points over teammate Katie Lloyd, who posted an NCAA Provisional qualifying and personal best mark of 5,151 points. Emily Pearson placed third with a personal best total of 4,772 points. Ashleigh Morton rounded out the top four sweep for the Rams with a career best total of 4,424 points.
Jack Christiansen: At the seventh annual Jack Christiansen Invitational, Colorado State?s women?s team won the meet with 237 points, while the men?s team finished second with 167 points behind Air Force?s 185. Jacob Benson won both the long jump and high jump, leaping 23-11.5 in the long jump and clearing 6-6.75 in the high jump. Freshman Collin Ferguson was right behind him, placing second in the high jump at 6-4.75. Matt Cianciulli won the 1500 meters on the men?s side with a personal best time of 3:55.31 and the men?s 4x100 team was victorious with a time of 41.42. Jason Schutz was the top collegian in the discus, finishing behind former Colorado State All-Americans Casey Malone and Brian Trainor. Schutz threw a personal best 168-3 and qualified for the NCAA Regionals. Adam Trainor placed second in the hammer throw with a toss of 210-11 and junior Jace Rivera was third with a throw of 189-1. Mike Horton was the top collegian and finished third overall in the 110 meter hurdles, clocking in at 14.87. Senior Brandon Kent was second in the 400 meters with a season-best time of 48.19 and junior Paul Michel was third overall and the second collegian in the 800 meters with a season-best time of 1:51.81. Trey Eder was second in the shot put with a personal best and NCAA Regional qualifying throw of 56-6.75 and freshman Clayton Eilert jumped 44-8.75 to finish second in the triple jump.
On the women?s side, freshman Rachelle Mims won the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.38, while fellow freshman Linnea Pudwill was victorious in the 5000 meters with a time of 18:10.35. The women?s 4x100 meter relay team also placed first, clocking in at 46.15. Katie Hansen and Jill McCormick took the top two spots in the discus, with Hansen winning with a throw of 166-9 while McCormick was second with a personal best throw of 161-9. Loree Smith won the hammer throw with a toss of 213-10, while Jaimee Troth was third overall and the second collegian with her throw of 167-98. Janay DeLoach won the long jump with her leap of 20-7 and was second in the 100 meters with a time of 11.95 and Amanda Huddleston won her fourth triple jump competition in five weeks with a leap of 40-11. Katie Lloyd finished second in the long jump with a jump of 18-10. The Rams swept the top four spots in the high jump, with Cristina Gourdin winning after clearing 5-7. Anne McLaughlin was second, also at 5-7, while Jenny Higgason was third and Rheannon Backes was fourth. Ashleigh Morton cleared a personal best 11-5.75 to win the pole vault in a jump off.

Playing Hosts: Colorado State will host the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 11-14. The Rams have not hosted a conference championship since 1999 when they hosted the WAC. All eight Mountain West women?s teams and all six men?s teams will be in Fort Collins competing for the title.

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