Colorado State University Athletics
Rams look to continue success at Air Force Invitational
2/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Indoor Track & Field
Feb. 12, 2009
By Matt Pucak
Athletic Media Relations
Fort Collins, Colo.-- Travelling to Colorado Springs for its second of three meets at the Air Force Academy, the Colorado State indoor track team will face a field full of regional rivals, including Air Force, Colorado and Wyoming, at the 18th annual Air Force Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
The Rams have had a great deal of success in the past at the Invitational, as the women have won the past five tournaments (and 10 of the last 11) while the men own eight championships, and they are looking to build on that past success this year.
“We are looking to carry on the winning tradition at this tournament,” said Head Coach Brian Bedard. “We are looking for good results all across the board.”
In addition to the Rams’ typical Front Range rivals, they will also be joined by Northern Colorado, Utah State, Colorado School of Mines, CSU-Pueblo and Colorado-Colorado Springs.
“Every team has certain areas that are strengths and others that are weaknesses,” Bedard said. “This is a good team-scoring event for us. It is a situation where we are ramping up for the conference meet and our athletes are peaking. It will be a chance to look at how good we are, or aren’t.”
Bedard said that the Rams’ weakness this season is a limited amount of sprinters, a situation that the team addressed with the recruiting class signed last week. The Rams’ strengths this season have been in their middle-distance and distance runners, as well as the throwing events.
Last weekend CSU had plenty of great performances at the Husker Invitational, highlighted by Wil Buchanan’s win in the 800-meter run and Michelle Dettmann’s victory in the 3,000-meter run. Senior throwers Alex Godell and Missy Faubus also both had success against a strong field, each finishing fourth.
The Rams participated in the Air Force Open earlier this season and will head back to the Academy again in two weeks for the Mountain West Conference meet. Bedard said that this familiarity with the facilities will be helpful for the less-experienced competitors on his squad when the conference championships roll around.
“It doesn’t hurt to be comfortable,” said Bedard. “Air Force has a great facility, and our older kids have been there so many times it won’t matter, but for the younger athletes it is a bigger issue and it will be nice to have competed a few times.”
Bedard said that some extra motivation for the athletes this weekend was the crystal falcon trophy that the Air Force gives to individual winners, and he is looking for his entire team to step up its efforts this weekend.
“Obviously we need the upperclassmen to lead by example, to compete with passion and show that work ethic in practice,” said Bedard. “At the same time, we have some of the freshmen who are not competing like freshmen anymore. They are competing without fear and actually competing with confidence.”
The Rams had plenty of success the last time they visited Air Force, winning six individual events with the men’s team winning each of its duals, defeating four of the opponents it will go against this weekend.