Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Air Force Collegiate Open
Track & field recap: Colorado State takes Air Force Collegiate Open by storm
1/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
By Nate Lake
Athletics Communications
Meet Results
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Nearly a month without competition proved no stumbling block for the Colorado State track & field team as they returned to action Friday at the Air Force Academy. Traveling to Colorado Springs for the Air Force Collegiate Open, the Rams were anything but sluggish as they stormed their way to high finishes across the board.
"Coming off the break, most of the athletes maintained pretty good fitness," said Colorado State head coach Brian Bedard. "There were a lot of PRs today. I thought the Rams competed well across the board."
The women's sprint squad performed almost flawlessly throughout the day to lead the way for the Rams. Leah Fair, a sophomore transfer athlete, sprinted to victory in the 200-meter dash and added a third place finish in the 60-meter dash, showing the ability to compete well as she adjusts to a new school and conference. Fair clocked in with a personal record time of 24.39 seconds in the 200-meter dash while posting another personal record of 7.68 in the 60-meter dash.
The women's sprinters swept the 60-meter dash, as freshman Lettia Wilson blazed to a first place finish with her time of 7.59. Sophomore Lorenda Holston posted a time of 7.64 to take second while Fair placed third. In another impressive sprinting display, sophomore Abby Simpson paced the field in the 400-meter dash with her time of 57.73. Mariah Witt placed fourth in the event by posting a time of 58.60. Kendall Horan made the top 10 with a time of 1:00.96.
Troy Johnson finished the men's 200-meter dash in the sixth spot, posting a time of 22.18. Teammate Evan Taylor followed close behind with a time of 22.21 for eighth. Freshman Zane Vanderberg placed third in the men's 400-meter dash, showing true potential amidst a field of nearly 30 athletes. Vanderberg clocked in at 50.10. Taylor was the Rams' top finisher in the 60-meter dash, finishing a fraction of a second behind New Mexico's Allan Hamilton with a time of 6.90 and taking third place. Marcus Harris took seventh, finishing with a time of 6.97.
In the men's 60-meter hurdles, Josh Cogdill was the top collegiate finisher with his time of 8.27. He finished second overall, while former Ram Trevor Brown placed first. Freshman Tevin Mayfield took fifth with a time of 8.37, while senior Justin Green took eighth with a time of 8.41. On the women's side, sophomore Gabby Pajak placed fourth with a time of 9.01.
The men's jumpers had a great day as well, powered by freshman Hunter Price's amazing performance in the long jump. Price crushed a personal record by jumping 23 feet, 3.25 inches. He was the top collegiate competitor and finished second overall. Senior Trey Richardson finished sixth, jumping 20-10. Collin Scheer placed second in the men's high jump, leaping 6-8.75, while Nick Meihaus and Hunter Price finished back-to-back in fourth and fifth places, each jumping 6-6.75.
Meihaus also posted a personal record in the pole vault, producing a mark of 16-0.75 that earned seventh place. Justin Green placed fifth, clearing 16-6.75 to tie a personal best. Scheer also placed third in the men's triple jump, leaping 46-3.25, while Richardson finished right behind him with a mark of 46-1.25. Freshman Nick Kravec took sixth with a jump of 44-7.5.
Jazmyn Webster was the only athlete to clear 5-8.75 in the women's high jump, thus winning the event by almost two inches. Jessica Green tied for third, jumping 5-7, while Isobel Brown finished fifth with her 5-7 jump. Monica Franco and freshman Lindsey Kroboth finished back-to-back in sixth and seventh, each jumping 5-5.
Senior Cheyenne Hall showed continued consistency with her third-place finish in the women's triple jump. Hall jumped 38-9.5, while Isobel Brown placed sixth with a jump of 37-0.5. Webster took seventh, jumping 36-4.
It was business as usual for the CSU throwers, who continued their dominance Friday with multiple victories. Monet Jackson won the women's weight throw by tossing 61-6.25, while Kiah Hicks followed in second with a mark of 60-6.5. Freshman Aimee Larrabee showed her ability to compete with her talented teammates as well as top performers from Air Force and Colorado, posting a fourth-place mark of 52-11.5.
In the men's weight throw, Jake Schneeberger tossed a personal best 64-9.75 to earn second place. JT Van Veen posted a mark of 53-7 for sixth, while Alex Blaho took seventh with a throw of 50-7.5. Jake Newell placed eighth, throwing 49-8.25.
Aaliyah Pete continued her thorough dominance of the women's shot put, earning her second shot put victory of the year with a throw of 48-10. She won the event by well over a foot. Kiah Hicks placed fourth, throwing 45-1, while Monet Jackson took eighth and Aimee Larrabee placed ninth.
In the men's shot put, Daniel Weirich had a breakout performance with his personal record of 54-9.25, finishing fourth to lead the Rams. JT Van Veen followed with a toss of 54-4, while Jake Schneeberger finished sixth with a throw of 52-8.25.
Colorado State fielded the top two teams in the women's mile relay, with the first team taking the top spot at 4:01.37 while the second team followed right behind with a time of 4:10.83. CSU's two men's mile relay teams took third and fourth, respectively, with times of 3:29.10 and 3:33.48.
"We had some highlights in all event areas," said Bedard. "Our staff kept the throttle down and had them lifting and training hard this week. The throwers lifted hard yesterday. The jumps lifted pretty hard this week. Everyone had sore and tired legs. We made the decision as a staff to train right through it. I thought the kids responded really well. It's a good start."
The Rams next compete at the CU Potts Invitational, which will take place in Boulder, Colo. on Jan. 16-17. After the trip to Boulder, it's back to Colorado Springs for the Air Force Invitational and Combined Events Meet from Jan. 22-24.
