Colorado State University Athletics
Track & Field Preview: Air Force Twilight
5/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Outdoor Track & Field
May 2, 2006
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Light Week: Colorado State will send only a partial squad to the Air Force Twilight Meet on Friday evening. Most of the Rams will take the week off from competition in preparation for the Mountain West Conference Championships May 10-13 in Provo.
Shuttle Hurdle Record: At the prestigious Drake Relays, the quartet of senior Mike Horton, freshman Rashaun Greer, junior Kevin Johnson and junior Justin Hazzard broke the school record in the 4x110 meter shuttle hurdle relay. The Rams ran a 57.88, breaking the old record of 57.99 by Horton, Tom Waido, Hazzard and Brian Williams from April 26, 2003.
Top Three: At the Don Kirby Invitational on Saturday, Colorado State brought home 11 titles and had 35 top three finishes. Both junior Drew Morano and Nate Heyrman each won two titles, with Morano winning the 100 and 200 meters and Heyrman winning the shot put and hammer throw. Other titleists were junior Danielle Korb in the 800 meters, freshman Steven Swartz in the 800 meters, freshman Kristen Hemphill in the steeplechase, junior Haley Hunt in the hammer, sophomore Jason Schutz in the discus, junior Rae Backes in the high jump and Katie Hansen in the discus.
Dandy Dozen: According to trackwire.com, both juniors Magnus Lohse and Rob Watson are listed among the top 12 athletes in the nation in their respective events. The Dandy Dozen is a power ranking of the top 12 athletes and relay squads in each NCAA event. Lohse ranks sixth this week in the shot put, while Watson is 12th in the steeplechase.
Austin Bound: Over the weekend, the Rams saw senior Jason Fearheiley qualify for the NCAA regionals in the discus, while both Haley Hunt and Nate Heyrman improved upon their marks in the hammer. The Rams now have 19 athletes qualified in 27 events for the NCAA Regionals on May 26-27 in Austin, Texas.
Contender: Rae Backes won her third title of the season on Saturday after clearing 5-8.75 to win the Don Kirby Invitational. Backes has finished in the top three in every meet this season and has hit the NCAA Regional mark of 5-8.75 on three occasions. During the indoor season, Backes became the first Ram to ever win an indoor high jump conference title.
Hunt For A Hammer Title: Junior Haley Hunt won the hammer throw with a toss of 187-3 at the Don Kirby. Hunt has now surpassed the NCAA Regional qualifying standard of 177-8 in her last nine meets, dating back to the 2004 Mountain West Championship (she redshirted the 2005 season) and she has had 10 meets in her career over 180 feet. Nate Heyrman also won the hammer with a season-best throw of 191-9. Heyrman has finished among the top three in all six meets this season and has had 10 straight meets and 11 in his career with a throw of 180-0 feet or better, including three over 190-0 feet.
Three For Three: Freshman Kristen Hemphill has run in three steeplechase competitions this season and has won all three. She has a season-best time of 11:04.53 from the Mesa Classic which ranks third in school history and her altitude adjusted time of 10:53.69 from this weekend is just off the NCAA Regional qualifying time of 10:50.25.
Making A Name: Junior Katie Lloyd is one of the best athletes to ever compete for the Green and Gold. She holds the school record in the heptathlon with 5,266 points and also ranks in the top 10 in school history in the high jump (3rd, 5-8.75), long jump (3rd, 19-8), 100 meter hurdles (6th, 14.10) and javelin (7th, 133-4). The only other athlete in school history to rank in the top 10 in five different events is Elizabeth Toman (1998-2001), who ranks in the high jump, shot put, discus, javelin and heptathlon. Grettel Miller (1997-98) and Wendy Koenig-Knudson (1973-76) both rank in four events.
Two Dozen: Colorado State has 24 student-athletes ranked among the top 10 in the men's and women's shot put, discus and hammer events in the Mountain West rankings. The men's team has four ranked in the shot put, six in the discus and five in the hammer while the women have two in the shot put, three in the discus and four in the hammer. The next highest total in the Mountain West is Air Force with nine in the top 10 in the six events.
The High Life: Colorado State has the top four high jumpers in the Mountain West women's rankings. Rae Backes and Katie Lloyd have both cleared 5-8.75 for the best mark, while sophomores Anne McLaughlin and Tonya Cure have cleared 5-7. The only conference champion for the Rams in the outdoor high jump is Liz Toman from 2000.
Well-Rounded: Of the 19 individual events contested during the year, the Rams have at least one regional qualifier, male or female, in 14 events, with only the 100, 5000 and 10,000 meters, pole vault and javelin not having a CSU athlete qualified.
Leading The Way: In the Mountain West Conference rankings, the Rams have the best mark in six events. Justin Hazzard has the best time in the league in the 110 hurdles and senior Paul Michel lead the 1500 meters. Magnus Lohse has the best shot put this season, while Nate Heyrman leads the way in the hammer. Rae Backes and Katie Lloyd are tied for the best high jump this season and Katie Hansen is ranked first in the discus.
Honored: Katie Hansen, senior Matt McKinney and Magnus Lohse have all been named Mountain West athlete of the week this season.
Cracking The Top 10: In competition over the weekend, four student-athletes posted eight marks placing them in the top 10 performers in school history in their respective events. Freshmen Ashlee Velez and Erin Weber rank sixth and seventh, respectively in the steeplechase. Paul Michel now ranks fourth in the 1500 meters and freshman Jason Smith is now 10th in the triple jump.
Getting It Done: A total of 16 student-athletes recorded personal bests over the weekend.
Women: Danielle Korb, 800; freshman Heather Loseke, 800; junior Mindy Parsons, hammer; sophomore Emily Pearson, 200; freshman Danielle Rawlings, 5000; Ashlee Velez, steeplechase; Erin Weber, steeplechase.
Men: freshman Ryan Billups, long jump; junior Bryan Dillon, 800; sophomore Collin Ferguson, 100; Rashaun Greer, 110 hurdles; Paul Michel, 1500; Jason Schutz, hammer; sophomore Jason Smith, triple jump; freshman Andres Urbina, steeplechase; freshman Jeff Wahl, 1500.