Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Jack Christiansen Invite
Rams track and field captures Jack Christiansen titles
4/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Outdoor Track & Field
April 25, 2009
Complete Results in PDF Format 
By John Manuszak
Athletic Media Relations
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - On an unseasonably cold spring day at the Jack Christiansen Track, the Colorado State track and field teams came away with victories in both the men's and women's competitions at the annual Jack Christiansen Invite.
"The weather has been frustrating this season, but our athletes fought through it today and they performed well," said Head Coach Brian Bedard. "We set some personal bests today and had some new [regional] qualifiers so I was proud of the team."
The Rams' men scored a total of 121 points, while the women tallied 132.5 points for the victory. In capturing the team titles, the Rams posted 11 first-place finishes while having two new athletes post regional-qualifying marks/times.
The Rams posting new regional-qualifying marks were Doug Dieker, who posted a personal-best of 16 feet, 6.75 inches in the pole vault. It tied for the third-highest vault in CSU school history. Tyson Williams also regionally qualified in the shot put, with a throw of 57-3, good enough for a first-place finish in the event.
"Pole vault is one of the toughest events to do in the cold but Doug didn't let it bother him," said Bedard. "It was also good for us to have Tyson hit the mark because it just shows him what he is capable of."
Senior Tanesha Johnson took home a pair of wins in the 100-meter dash (12.01 seconds) and the triple-jump (39-6.50) while her sister Serena Johnson was part of a dominant Rams performance in the women's hammer throw. Meagan Berg (183-04) and Leah Elmshauser (180-10) both hit regional-qualifying marks to take home first and second place, respectively, while Serena Johnson finished third (175-10) and Jennifer Ugochukwu tallied a fourth-place finish at 163-01.
Other event winners for the Rams included Marissa Saunders (women's 1500-meter run; 4:49.63), Sonni Russell (high jump; 5-5), Nigel Joseph (men's 110 hurdles; 14.75), Ugochukwu (shot put; 43-2.50), Lauren Kleppin (18:31.05) and Kip Taylor (5,000-meter run; 15:32.12).
Four-year football starter Jeff Horinek continued his surprising track and field season with a third-place finish in the shot put (53-9) while also finishing as the top collegiate finisher (fourth place overall) in the discus with a throw of 162-00.
The Rams also had several athletes competing at the Oregon Relays, taking place at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. CSU added a pair of new regional-qualifying marks in the men's steeplechase as freshman Spenser Lynass (second place; 9:04.94) and sophomore Jake Keyser (third place; 9:06.85) finished second and third, respectively, in the event.
Colorado State's Nicole Peters posted a regional-qualifying time in the women's 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:44.04, while Wil Buchanan (1:50.96) and Ryan Friese (1:51.31) also hit regional marks with first- and second-place finishes, respectively, in the 800-meter run.
Action in Oregon will continue on Saturday afternoon and evening and full results will be available at www.CSURams.com when they become available.
