Colorado State University Athletics
Track & Field Heads To Air Force Invitational
1/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Indoor Track & Field
Jan. 30, 2007
Air Force Invitational Notes
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Together As One: For the first time this calendar year, the entire track & field team will compete at just one meet. The Rams will head to Air Force for the two-day Air Force Invitational on Friday and Saturday, competing against Division I squads from Air Force, Colorado, Fresno State, Furman, Long Beach State, Northern Colorado, Utah State, Wichita State and Wyoming.
History Of Success: Both the men's and women's teams have been victorious at the Air Force Invitational the past three seasons and eight of the last nine years. Last year, the Ram men won with 193 points, while the women won with 202 points.
Double Awards: Both seniors Katie Lloyd and Kevin Johnson were named the Mountain West Athletes of the Week for their record-breaking performances in the pentathlon and heptathlon, respectively. Colorado State has now won four of the six awards this season and at least one in all three weeks. Senior Janay DeLoach was named the women's athlete of the week after breaking the school record in the long jump, while Drew Morano was the male athlete of the week after provisionally qualifying in the 400 meters.
Record & Title: Katie Lloyd won the Roger Cox Heptathlon en route to a new Colorado State record an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Lloyd tallied 3,929 points, breaking her previous school record of 3,898 from last season's MWC Championship. Lloyd ran a personal best 8.73 in the 60 meter hurdles, then cleared 5-4.5 in the high jump, threw a personal best 39-7.75 in the shot put, had a long jump of 19-2.75 and ran a personal best 2:28.94 in the 800. Her time of 8.73 in the hurdles also ranks as the fourth fastest in school history.
Falling By The Wayside: Kevin Johnson also broke his own school record, finishing fourth in the heptathlon with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 5,330 points. Johnson ran an 8.13 in the 60 meter hurdles, the fifth fastest time in Colorado State history. Then in the pole vault, Johnson cleared a personal best 14-9. In the 1000 meters, he finished in 3:00.53. The first day, he ran a personal best time of 7.10 in the 60 meters, then finished third in the long jump with a leap of 22-11.25, threw 38-6 in the shot put and rounded out the day by clearing 6-2.75 in the high jump.
Throwing His Weight Around: Senior Trey Eder became the third Ram of the week to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Championship, winning the weight throw at the Don Barrett Open with an NCAA provisional mark of 64-7.75. Eder's throw ranks first in the Mountain West this season and 18th in the NCAA. Eder's career best throw of 65-2.25 from last year ranks fifth all-time at Colorado State and he also ranks 11th on the school's indoor shot put rankings.
Jumping For Joy: Several Rams posted big marks in the jumps over the weekend. Junior Jason Smith, also a member of the Rams' football team, won the triple jump with a personal best leap of 48-10.25, which ranks fifth in school history. Freshman Tanesha Johnson finished second in the triple jump with a leap of 39-0.5, the third best-ever at CSU, while sophomore Emily Patton posted the 14th best mark at 36-0 to finish fifth. In the men's long jump, sophomore Ciarre Campbell, competing in a meet for the first time since 2005, was victorious with his leap of 23-9 -- the best mark in the Mountain West Conference this season.
Adding To Her List: Senior Nicole Feest won the 3000 at the adidas Classic and posted the fifth best time in school history, adding her name to the annals again, as she already holds the school record in the 5000 meters. Feest is the defending Mountain West Conference champion in both events, earning High Point Award honors in 2006.
Freshman Impact: With 38 freshman on this season's indoor roster, the Colorado State coaches knew this would be a season of growth for the Rams. They could not have expected the immediate impact so many of the freshmen are making three weeks into the season.
• Tanesha Johnson already ranks third in school history in the triple jump and seventh in the 60 meters.
• Chardae Hancock ranks 15th on the 60 hurdles charts.
• Beth Dunfield ranks 15th in the 5000 meters.
• Jennifer Ugochukwu ranks 11th in the shot put.
• Jennifer Mack ranks 13th in the weight throw.
• Sulaiman Sayyid ranks 13th in the 60 meters.
• Rob Marin is currently 12th in the 60 meter hurdles, while Tim Sterrenberg is 13th.
We Are The Champions: Champions at the Air Force Open for the Rams were senior Megan Fox in both the 200 and 400, running season bests with a 25.24 and 57.08, respectively. Juniors Jeff Wahl and Alison Taylor were both victorious in the mile and freshman Beth Dunfield and junior Danielle Rawlings swept the top two spots in the women's 3000. Ciarre Campbell won the long jump at 23-9 and Jason Smith leaped 48-10.25 to win the triple jump.Jennifer Ugochukwu and senior Haley Hunt swept the top two spots in the shot put, while Trey Eder won the men's weight throw. Janay DeLoach also won the long jump at the adidas Classic. Nicole Feest and junior April Thomas swept the top two spots women's 3000, while senior Rob Watson and sophomore Jeremy Freed took the top two spots in the men's 3K.
Keeps On Trucking: Sophomore Scott Sanders was a double champion at the Conference Challenge Meet, winning the 800 meters and mile. One week later, Sanders finished second in the mile at the adidas Classic, running a personal best 4:05.84, which ranks sixth on the Colorado State performance charts. His time is the fastest since 2004 when Mike Nicks clocked in at 4:04.69.
Tops In The Nation: Janay DeLoach currently ranks first in NCAA Division I in the long jump. She automatically qualified for the NCAA Championship, winning the Wyoming Open with her record leap of 21-0.75, breaking the school record for the third time in her career. It is also the third best leap in Mountain West Conference history. For her efforts at the Wyoming Open, she was named the Mountain West Athlete of the Week.
In Defense: The women's team looks to defend its 2006 Mountain West Conference title in 2007. The Rams won the crown in exciting fashion, winning the first heat of the 4x400 relay to defeat perennial champions BYU, 156.5-155.5. The women return 18 off that championship roster, including Mountain West Conference High Point Award Winner Nicole Feest, who won both the 3000 and 5000 meters a year ago and Janay DeLoach, who finished 14th in the 60 meters at the NCAA Championship.
Roster Breakdown: Fifteen states and four countries are represented on the 2007 Rams' rosters. Besides the United States, the Rams have student-athletes from Canada (Ontario), Australia and Sweden. The majority of the rosters (74) are home-grown, hailing from the state of Colorado, while there are four each from California and Oregon, three from Arizona and New Mexico, two each from Kansas, South Dakota and Texas and one from Illinois, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio and Utah.
Personal Bests: Several Rams posted a personal best mark in an event over the weekend. That list follows with the event the mark was made.
Women: Kirsten Anthony (mile); Teresa Bell (800 meters); Jessica Bruha (60 meters); Kate Colvin (pole vault); Beth Dunfield (3000 meters); Kendall Evans (200 meters); Nicole Feest (3000 meters); Chardae Hancock (60 meters, 60 hurdles); Jennifer Johnson (200 meters, 400 meters); Tanesha Johnson (200 meters, triple jump); Liz Kramer (800 meters); Kristen Kugler (60 hurdles, 200 meters); Katie Lloyd (60 hurdles, 800 meters, shot put, pentathlon); Heather Loseke (mile); Jennifer Mack (shot put, weight throw); Emily Patton (triple jump); Emily Pearson (long jump, shot put, pentathlon); Leslie Peterson (200 meters, 400 meters); Niomi Ridge (60 hurdles); Sonni Russell (60 hurdles, 200 meters, high jump); Ali Taylor (mile); April Thomas (3000 meters); Jennifer Ugochukwu (shot put, weight throw).
Men: Doug Dieker (60 hurdles, high jump); Bryan Dillon (800 meters); Grant Duin (mile); Jeremy Freed (3000 meters); Ryan Friese (200 meters, 400 meters); Alex Godell (shot put); Rashaun Greer (60 hurdles); Kevin Johnson (60 meters, 60 hurdles, pole vault, heptathlon); Zach Jordan (200 meters); Kyle Keeler (800 meters); Derek Mansur (high jump, shot put); Rob Marin (400 meters); Scott Sanders (mile); Sulaiman Sayyid (60 meters, 200 meters); Jason Schutz (shot put); Jason Smith (triple jump); Tim Sterrenberg (400 meters); Kip Taylor (mile); Cole Tucker (200 meters; 400 meters); Andres Urbina (3000 meters).