Colorado State University Athletics
Track & Field Uses Light Week To Prepare
2/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Indoor Track & Field
Feb. 14, 2007
Robert Shine Preview Final Tune-up:
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More From Morano: Junior Drew Morano came as close as possible to the school record in the 400 meters at the Husky Classic, winning the meet with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 46.96. The school record is 46.95 held by Deontrey Taylor from 1998. Morano's time is also the second fastest in Mountain West Conference history and ranks 16th in Division I this season. He becomes the first student-athlete this season to be named the Mountain West Conference Athlete of the Week twice, as he also earned the honor the week of Jan. 23.
Fancy Feest: Senior Nicole Feest provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship in the 5000 meters, finishing fifth among collegians and seventh overall with her time of 16:27.74, narrowly missing her school record time of 16:26.16 from last season at the same meet. She also ranks fifth in school history in the 3000 meters after winning the adidas Classic earlier this year. Feest is the defending Mountain West Conference champion in both events, earning High Point Award honors in 2006.
In The Spotlight: Former Colorado State coach and current associate athletic director Doug Max has been selected to be an analyst for the Mountain West Championship preview, which will air on Feb. 16 at 8:30 p.m. on the mtn., a network dedicated exclusively to programming about the Mountain West Conference. The preview will also air on Feb. 17 and Feb. 19 at 9:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., respectively.
A Handle On The Situation: With just one week left before the conference championship, Colorado State finds itself in a similar situation to past seasons, with a group of throwers at the top of the charts in the men's weight throw. The Rams have four men's weight throw titles in the last five seasons (2002-Drew Loftin; 2003-Loftin; 2005-Adam Trainor; 2006-Nate Heyrman) and senior Trey Eder tops the Mountain West performance list this year with an NCAA provisional throw of 64-7.75. Junior Jason Schutz also ranks third on the list, while sophomore Alex Godell is listed fourth. Last year, the Rams became the first team to sweep the top five spots in any one event, doing so in the weight throw and three of those five are listed above.
He's Ba-ack: Junior Magnus Lohse competed at the Husky Classic, throwing 56-10 in the shot put, marking the first meet for the Swede since 2005 during indoor competition. His put ranks him second thus far in the Mountain West Conference.
Helping Hands: Several members of the Colorado State football team are contributing to the indoor track & field season. Sophomore Rashaun Greer (wide receiver) ranks fourth in the Mountain West Conference in the 60 meter hurdles, while junior Jason Smith (kicker) ranks third in the triple jump and sophomore Ciarre Campbell (defensive back) ranks second in the long jump. Also competing for the Rams is senior Chase Weber (wide receiver), who posted the 18th fastest 60 meter time in school history. Redshirting the indoor season is volleyball player Katelin Batten, who throws the shot put.
And The Award Goes To: Colorado State has earned five athlete of the week awards this season (of 10). Drew Morano is the only athlete to be named athlete of the week twice this season, while seniors Janay DeLoach, Kevin Johnson and Katie Lloyd have each been honored once. Wyoming student-athletes have been named three times, while TCU student-athletes have won two awards.
Titleists: At the Husky Classic, Drew Morano was victorious in the 400 meters, clocking a 46.96 for the Rams only title in Seattle. At the CSM Open, redshirt freshman Jessica Bruha was the top collegian in the 200 meters (second overall), junior Danielle Rawlings won the 3000 meters, senior Rae Backes and freshman Sonni Russell shared the high jump title and senior Haley Hunt won the weight throw for the women. The men's champions were freshman Cole Tucker in the 400, junior Steve Swartz in the mile, freshman Sulaiman Sayyid posted the best collegiate time in the 200 meters (third overall), freshman Kevin Wills in the high jump and senior Denny Majerus, freshman Tyson Williams and Alex Godell were all second overall and the top collegians in the long jump, shot put and weight throw, respectively.
Freshman Phenoms: Colorado State has eight true freshmen who rank in the top eight in the Mountain West Conference in their respective events. Sulaiman Sayyid ranks fourth in the 60 meters, while Robert Marin ranks eighth in the 60 meter hurdles. Kevin Wills and Derek Mansur rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in the high jump, while Doug Dieker is fourth in the heptathlon. For the women, Tanesha Johnson is fifth in the triple jump, Jennifer Ugochukwu is second in the shot put and Kristen Kugler and Sonni Russell rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in the pentathlon.
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 at CSU.
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.
Etching Their Name: The top 10 lists at Colorado State are riddled with this performances from this season.
• Tanesha Johnson ranks sixth in the 60 meters at 7.69.
• Katie Lloyd ranks fourth in the 60 meter hurdles at 8.73.
• Junior Emily Pearson now ranks sixth in the 60 meter hurdles, while junior Niomi Ridge is ninth, at 8.90 and 8.98, respectively.
• Sophomore Kirsten Anthony and junior Heather Loseke rank seventh and eighth, respectively in the mile at 4:53.04 and 4:53.47.
• Nicole Feest and junior April Thomas rank fifth and sixth, respectively in the 3000 meters at 9:43.09 and 9:45.46, while Thomas now ranks third in the 5000 meters at 16:44.11.
• Emily Pearson ranks ninth in the high jump at 5-6.
• Janay DeLoach and Katie Lloyd hold the top two spots in the long jump at 21-0.75 and 19-11, respectively.
• Tanesha Johnson ranks third in the triple jump at 39-0.5
• Sophomore Kate Colvin ranks seventh in the pole vault, clearing 11-5.75.
• Jennifer Ugochukwu ranks sixth in the shot put at 47-9.25.
• Katie Lloyd and Emily Pearson rank first and fourth in the pentathlon at 3929 and 3690, respectively.
• Kevin Johnson and Rashaun Greer ranks fifth and sixth in the 60 meter hurdles, while Robert Marin is 10th, with times of 8.13, 8.19 and 8.29, respectively.
• Drew Morano ranks fourth in the 200 meters and second in the 400 meters at 21.40 and 46.96.
• Sophomore Scott Sanders ranks sixth in the mile at 4:05.84 and seventh in the 800 meters at 1:52.39.
• Sophomore Jeremy Freed ranks 10th in the mile at 4:12.41.
• Senior Rob Watson and Jeremy Freed now rank eighth and ninth in the 5000 meters with times of 14:44.54 and 14:50.87, respectively.
• Jason Smith is fifth in the triple jump at 48-10.25.
• Kevin Johnson and Doug Dieker are first and second in the heptathlon at 5,330 and 4,713, respectively.
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.
Dandy Dozen: According to the Dandy Dozen, the top 12 athletes in each event released by trackwire.com, Katie Lloyd is the ninth best pentathlete in the nation.
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); Jessica Bruha (60 meters); freshman Kendall Evans (60 meters, 200 meters); freshman Gwen Golaszewski (3000 meters); freshman Chardae Hancock (60 hurdles); Tanesha Johnson (200 meters); junior Liz Kramer (800 meters); Kristen Kugler (800 meters); freshman Sarah Manuel (60 meters); freshman Emily Patton (triple jump); Danielle Rawlings (3000 meters); April Thomas (5000 meters).
Men: Sophomore Adam Estes (800 meters); Jeremy Freed (5000 meters); Derek Mansur (shot put); junior Brandon Mora (60 meters); Drew Morano (400 meters); Jason Schutz (weight throw); Rob Watson (5000 meters); Kevin Wills (high jump).