Colorado State University Athletics
Track & Field Preview: Jack Christiansen
4/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Outdoor Track & Field
April 18, 2006
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Home Sweet Home: Colorado State will host the 10th annual Jack Christiansen Invitational on Saturday. Events are scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. with the men's hammer, while events on the track get underway at 11:30 with the women's steeplechase. Air Force, Colorado, Northern Colorado and Wyoming are the Division I teams scheduled to attend, while Adams State, Colorado School of Mines, Metro State, Regis and UCCS will be representing Division II.
Another One Bites The Dust: Junior Katie Lloyd broke the second school record of the year (junior Magnus Lohse, shot put) with her 5,266 points in the heptathlon at the Mt. SAC Relays over the weekend. Lloyd breaks the old record of 5,251 held by senior Cristina Gourdin from last season. Lloyd's total is an NCAA provisional qualifier, as is her 19-8 in the long jump from Thursday. Her long jump and high jump (5-8.5) are both the third best jumps in school history and her high jump misses the regional qualifying standard by one centimeter.
Shining Stars: Colorado State now has 18 student-athletes qualified in 22 events for the NCAA Midwest Regional in Austin. Katie Lloyd qualified for the first time in both the long jump and heptathlon (not contested at regionals), while junior Trey Eder hit the qualifying standard in the shot put. Senior Matt McKinney improved his throws in both the shot put and discus, while junior Nate Heyrman improved his mark in the shot put and sophomore Jason Schutz bettered his mark in the discus. Seniors Katie Hansen and Jill McCormick also posted career best marks in the discus on Friday evening.
The Long Shot: Colorado State has three men who have thrown the shot put 58-10 or farther in competition this season. All three, Magnus Lohse (6th, 62-11.25), Matt McKinney (27th, 58-10.75) and Nate Heyrman (28th, 58-10) rank among the top 28 in the country and the Rams are the only team in the nation to have three ranked among the top 28. The Rams also have two (Jason Schutz and McKinney) ranked among the top 21 in the discus.
The High Life: Colorado State has the top three high jumpers in the Mountain West Conference women's rankings. Junior Rae Backes has cleared 5-8.75 for the best mark in the league, while Katie Lloyd is right behind her at 5-8.5 and sophomore Anne McLaughlin is at 5-7. The only conference champion for the Rams in the outdoor high jump is Liz Toman from 2000, while Backes won the first indoor title for CSU back in February.
The Thrower's Dozen: In the first month of competition, the Rams have 13 qualifying marks in the shot put, discus and hammer for both men and women. It is the second-highest total in NCAA Division I, trailing only the 15 marks posted by the University of Missouri. The men have four qualifiers in the shot put and two in the discus and hammer, while the women have three qualifiers in the hammer and two in the discus.
1. Missouri 15
2. COLORADO STATE 13
3. North Carolina 11
4. Akron 10
Memphis 10
Minnesota 10
UCLA 10
Mile Record Falls: Not competed at Colorado State since 1977, junior Danielle Korb broke the school record in the mile this weekend with her time of 4:52.02 at the Sun Angel Classic. She breaks the previous record of 4:54.8 from 1971. Freshmen Kristen Hemphill and Heather Loseke also posted the third and fifth fastest mile times in outdoor history, respectively.
Program Announces New Coaches: With Head Coach Del Hessel announcing his retirement, Colorado State University has named assistant coach Brian Bedard as the new head coach for 2006-07. Another addition to the staff for next season will be 10-time All-American Bryan Berryhill -- who will coach the cross country teams and the distance runners during the track seasons. Bedard has been an assistant coach at CSU for 17 years, while Berryhill has been a volunteer assistant the last two.
Leading The Way: In the Mountain West Conference rankings, the Rams have the best mark in seven events. Junior Justin Hazzard has the best time in the league in the 110 hurdles and junior Danielle Korb leads in the 1500 meters. Magnus Lohse has the best shot put this season, while Nate Heyrman leads the way in the hammer and junior Kevin Johnson leads in the decathlon. Rae Backes has the best high jump this season and Katie Hansen is ranked first in the discus.
Cracking The Top 10: In competition over the weekend, 13 student-athletes posted 17 marks placing them in the top 10 performers in school history in their respective events. Danielle Korb, Kristen Hemphill and Heather Loseke posted the first, third and fifth fastest times in the mile, becoming the first Rams since 1977 to compete in the event during the outdoor season. Hemphill also posted the third fastest steeplechase time at CSU with her 11:04.53. Katie Lloyd broke the school record in the heptathlon and posted the third best high jump and long jump at CSU en route to her seven-event record. Katie Hansen now ranks fourth in the discus and Jill McCormick is seventh after the pair of seniors posted career-best marks and sophomore Emily Pearson is fourth and sophomore Tonya Cure is seventh in the heptathlon after they both recorded career bests. For the men, Paul Michel now ranks seventh in the 800 meters after running a 1:50.48, while Matt McKinney and Nate Heyrman rank second and third, respectively behind Magnus Lohse in the shot put and Jason Schutz and McKinney are sixth and seventh, respectively in the discus. Kevin Johnson now ranks fifth in school history in the decathlon.
Getting It Done: A total of 13 student-athletes recorded personal bests over the weekend. Women: Tonya Cure, shot put, javelin, heptathlon; Katie Hansen, discus; Kristen Hemphill, steeplechase; Katie Lloyd, high jump, long jump, heptathlon; Jill McCormick, discus; sophomore Ashleigh Morton, 100 hurdles, shot put; Emily Pearson, heptathlon. Men: Nate Heyrman, shot put; Kevin Johnson, 110 hurdles, 1500 meters, long jump, pole vault, shot put, decathlon; junior Ryan Kirkpatrick, 5000 meters; Matt McKinney, shot put; Paul Michel, 800 meters; Jason Schutz, discus.
Made To Be Broken: Magnus Lohse, in his first competition in a year, broke his own school record in the shot put, throwing 62-11.25 to win the Rob Upton shot put by over eight feet. Lohse breaks his record of 61-2.75 from the 2004 NCAA Championship.