Colorado State University Athletics
23 Head To NCAA Regionals
5/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Indoor Track & Field
Regionally Bound: There will be 23 student-athletes competing at the NCAA Regionals (see chart at right), which will be held at John Jacobs Field in Norman, Oklahoma, with the University of Oklahoma serving as the host of the Midwest Regional. The top five finishers from each event will automatically qualify for the NCAA Championship June 8-11 in Sacramento. The NCAA Committee will then fill events via the descending order list until a maximum of 544 men?s and women?s athletes are entered. Senior Mike Nicks (steeplechase), senior Adam Trainor (hammer), senior Michelle Carman (5000 meters) and senior Loree Smith (hammer) all rank among the top five in the region in their respective events.
Bull In A China Shop: Loree Smith competed in three events at the Mountain West Championship and shattered three records like they were china. On Friday, Smith broke the NCAA, American Collegiate, Colorado State, Mountain West Championship and Mountain West All-Time record in the hammer with her throw of 229-9 on her fifth throw. She breaks the NCAA record of 229-1 held by Candice Scott of Florida from 2004. The American Collegiate, Colorado State and Mountain West All-Time records were hers at 220-8 from earlier this season and the Mountain West Championship record was 204-10 by Robin Lyons of Wyoming in 2000. Smith then broke the Mountain West Championship record of 177-1, surpassing the former record of 174-4 held by Liz Toman of CSU from 2001. On Saturday, in her first shot put competition in over a year, Smith threw 54-9.5 to break the Colorado State, Mountain West Championship and Mountain West All-Time records. All three records were held by Toman at 52-1.25 from 2001. Smith earned both the Outstanding Performance of the Meet Award and the High Point Award after scoring 30 points for the Rams.
Relay Record Falls... Again: For the second time this season and the third time in the last two years, the women?s 4x100 meter relay record was broken. At the Mountain West Conference Championship, the quartet of sophomore Megan Fox, senior Katrice Thomas, freshman Emily Pearson and sophomore Janay DeLoach ran a 45.81 to break the record of 46.15 they set earlier this season.
Lucky Number Nine: The Rams have managed to establish nine new school records this season, one on the men?s side and eight women?s records. * Mike Nicks reset his own school record in the steeplechase after running an 8:42.98. * The quartet of Janay DeLoach, Katrice Thomas, senior Becky Hammitt and Megan Fox broke the school records in both the 800 meter relay and sprint medley relay with times of 1:38.91 and 3:57.99, respectively. * Fox, Thomas, Emily Pearson and DeLoach just broke the 4x100 relay record at 45.81. * Loree Smith broke the school and NCAA record in the hammer with her throw of 229-9 and broke the school record in the shot put with her MWC title winning heave of 54-9.5. * Junior Amanda Huddleston broke her own record in the triple jump and now holds the school record at 41-6. * DeLoach has also broken her own record twice in the long jump this season and holds the record at 20-8. * Junior Cristina Gourdin broke assistant coach Lindsey Malmgren?s heptathlon record with her performance of 5,251 points.
All-Conference: A total of 19 student-athletes earned 29 all-conference certificates at the Mountain West Conference Championship by finishing in the top three in their respective events. Both Janay DeLoach and Loree Smith were three-time all-conference honorees, while six others earned two awards each. Smith was also named the High Point Award and Most Outstanding Performer Award winner.
* senior Jacob Benson, High Jump, Long Jump
* Michelle Carman, 5000 Meters
* sophomore Matt Cianciulli, 10,000 Meters
* Janay DeLoach, 100 Meters, 4x100 Meter Relay, Long Jump
* sophomore Trey Eder, Shot Put
* Megan Fox, 4x100 Meter Relay
* junior Chris Grapsas, 4x100 Meter Relay
* junior Katie Hansen, Discus
* senior Mike Horton, 110 Meter Hurdles, 4x100 Meter Relay
* Amanda Huddleston, Triple Jump
* freshman Jarelle Johnson, Long Jump, Triple Jump
* sophomore Katie Lloyd, Heptathlon, High Jump
* sophomore Denny Majerus, 200 Meters, 4x100 Meter Relay
* Mike Nicks, Steeplechase
* Emily Pearson, 4x100 Meter Relay
* sophomore Rodnee Pope, 4x100 Meter Relay
* Loree Smith, Shot Put, Discus, Hammer
* Katrice Thomas, 200 Meters, 4x100 Meter Relay
* Adam Trainor, Hammer
Nationally Dominant: In the NCAA descending order list of regional qualifiers, Colorado State has 16 student-athletes ranked in the men?s and women?s shot put, discus and hammer events. That ranks second in the country behind the 19 ranked by UCLA. In just the discus and hammer throws, both UCLA and Colorado State are tied for the most athletes ranked with 13 each.
Cracking The Top 10: At the Mountain West Conference Championship, several student-athletes moved into the top 10 in the Colorado State all-time rankings. For the women, Katie Lloyd posted the sixth best time in the 100 meter hurdles and now ranks 10th in the high jump, while Cristina Gourdin is 10th in the javelin and freshman Ashleigh Morton is 10th in the heptathlon. Janay DeLoach posted the fourth fastest 100 meter time in school history and in her first collegiate 200 meter race, posted the 10th fastest time. Freshman Linnea Pudwill, competing in her first-ever steeplechase, qualified for the NCAA Regionals and posted the third best time in school history. Loree Smith now ranks first in both the shot put and hammer, while junior Jaimee Troth is ninth in the shot put, Katie Hansen is fifth in the discus and Emily Pearson is fourth in the javelin. Also, junior Jill McKenzie posted the ninth best triple jump at CSU. On the men?s side, Jacob Benson posted the sixth best long jump, while Jarelle Johnson is now second on the triple jump list and fellow freshman Jason Smith is 10th and Trey Eder moved into 10th on the hammer charts.
USA Championship Bound: Loree Smith, Adam Trainor and Mike Nicks have all surpassed the automatic qualifying standard for the USA National Championships. Smith has the ?A? standard in both the shot put and hammer, while Trainor has the ?A? standard in the hammer and Nicks has the ?A? standard in the steeplechase. Janay DeLoach has met the ?B? standard, which is a provisional qualifying standard in the long jump. The 2005 USA Track & Field Championships will be held June 23-26 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
Its So Hard To Say Good-bye: There are 17 student-athletes who are finishing their eligibility in track and field this season or graduating before completing eligibility. Those 16 will be sorely missed by Colorado State. *Jacob Benson, who will compete at the regionals, leaves as the school record holder in the indoor triple jump. *Colleen Blair is a two-time Mountain West Conference selection, as well as a 2003 NCAA Mountain Cross Country All-Region pick. *Michelle Carman transferred in from Boise State, but ranks among the regional leaders in the 5000 meters and will compete this weekend. *Crystal Clark battled injuries throughout her career, but was a 2003 Mountain West All-Conference pick in cross country. *Kristina Glawe transferred from Adams State and ranks among the top 15 in school history in the hammer throw. *Becky Hammitt has two Mountain West indoor 800 meter titles to her name and is a member of the school?s record relay teams in the sprint medley and 800 meter relay. *Mike Horton recently earned two all-conference awards in the 4x100 meter relay and 110 meter hurdles and ranks fourth on the school?s top 20 list in the 110 hurdles. *Brandon Kent ranks among the top 15 in the 400 meters and is a four-time Mountain West All-Conference selection. *Ryan Lowen battled injuries throughout his career and did not finish the 2005 season. *Brett Melin started as a triple jumper at Colorado State and ended his career by finishing among the top eight in the conference in the 800 meters during both the indoor and outdoor championships. *Mike Nicks has established himself as one of the top steeplechase competitors in the nation and will vie for the title this weekend at the NCAA Regionals. *Loree Smith is nationally known as one of the top throwers in the United States and is the favorite for the NCAA hammer title. *Sara Taylor also struggled with injuries to her back during her career, but ranks among the top 20 in school history in the shot put, discus and hammer. *Katrice Thomas holds the school record in the 400 meters in both indoor and outdoor and is looking to break that record once again at the NCAA Regionals this weekend. *Adam Trainor is the top ranked hammer thrower in the region entering competition this weekend and could challenge for the NCAA title in three weeks and has been named all-conference seven times. *Tom Waido has the third best 400 meter hurdle time and the fifth best 110 meter hurdle time in school history and leaves the Rams as a two-time all-conference selection. *Also ending his career after the indoor season was phenom John Woods, who leaves Colorado State with three school records and three All-American certificates, as well as nine Mountain West Conference titles.