Rams resume 2017-18 indoor season at Potts Invitational this weekend

Potts Invitational
Friday, Jan. 12 and Saturday, Jan. 13
CU Indoor Practice Facility/Balch Fieldhouse | Boulder, Colo.
Hosted by Colorado
Coverage: Meet Information and Schedule | Live Results

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – After just over a month away competition, the Colorado State track & field team resumes its indoor season this weekend at the Potts Invitational in Boulder, Colo.

The Potts Invitational is slated to be held on Friday and Saturday from the CU Indoor Practice Facility in Boulder, Colo., with the exception of the weight throw, which is held in Balch Fieldhouse. The meet is slated to begin with various field events at 3 p.m. MT on Friday, and will continue on Saturday beginning with the shot put at 10 a.m. MT. A full recap and results will be posted to CSURams.com as soon as each are available.

"My hope is to build off of what we did in December," Colorado State head coach Brian Bedard said. "It's essentially a starting point for us to see where we're at as we get back again. We have so many young athletes, especially on the women's side. We have quite a bit of talent there, but we want to see how they compete and how they handle pressure and competition. We'll really find out in a hurry who did their work over break and who followed their workouts, because the timing system doesn't lie and the tape measure doesn't lie. I think for the most part we like where our team is at from a training standpoint."

Notably, this will mark the first action this indoor season for the Rams' distance team, which has been in the process of transitioning from the cross country season. Those athletes most recently competed in November at the 2017 NCAA Cross Country Championships, where the CSU men took home a ninth-place finish. That marked the best finish for that program since 1978.

"Those guys are just excited to get started," Bedard said. "They've had a fairly long training block where they haven't competed since cross country and I think that they're ready to get started. It just feels like our team is whole when we have all the groups there competing, instead of that first meet in December when we had a partial team down there and it just doesn't feel like we're complete. It's going to be great to have our middle distance and distance crews with us."

Colorado State enters this indoor season ranked at No. 6 on the men's side, marking the highest indoor or outdoor ranking for the Rams in program history. The Rams look to build upon Mountain West championships on each of the women's and men's sides and the men's team's highest-ever national finish (No. 12). CSU returns four indoor All-Americans from that season, including indoor national champion Mostafa Hassan (shot put).

"(The No. 6 ranking) is a compliment to what we did last year, and the fact that we're getting some respect this year is always good," Bedard said. "We knew we had a good core group of folks coming back and some good young athletes that we think can contribute this year, so we had high expectations to begin with."

Additional returners for Colorado State include three athletes that won individual indoor Mountain West titles last season as well as eight that earned 2017 indoor All-Mountain West honors. Among those honorees were Hassan, who was named Mountain West Men's Student-Athlete of the Year for the indoor season. Bedard, who enters his 12th season as head coach in 2017-18, was named Mountain West Men's Indoor Coach of the Year last season.

Last Time Out: At CSM Mines Alumni Classic & Multi, Air Force Holiday Open
- Colorado State track & field boasted a collection of top performances in the combined events, sprints, hurdles, jumps and throws after its opening weekend at the CSU Alumni Classic & Multi and the Air Force Holiday Open.
- See below for the athletes that received accolades or entered the record books with their performances in those two meets.
Nick Kravec
– Heptathlon – 5,507 points (fifth in CSU history, MW Men's Field Athlete of the Week)
Jalen Hunter
– 60-Meter Hurdles – 8.08 (MW Men's Track Athlete of the Week)
Destinee Rocker
– 60-Meter Hurdles – 8.44 (third in CSU history)
Marybeth Sant
– 60 Meters – 7.48 (fifth in CSU history)
Jessica Ozoude
– 60 Meters – 7.48 (fifth in CSU history)
Aliya Simpson
- Pole Vault – 12-5.5/3.80m (fifth in CSU history)
Talia Marquez
– Pentathlon – 3,608 points (10th in CSU history)
- Long Jump – 18-9.75/5.73m (11th in CSU history)
Gabby Smith
– Pentathlon – 3,571 points (12th in CSU history)
Tarynn Sieg
– Shot Put – 47-4.25/14.43m (12th in CSU history)
Alex Blaho
– Shot Put – 59-1.25/18.01m (15th in CSU history)
Amelia Harvey
- 60-Meter Hurdles – 8.95 (19th in CSU history)

Rams Start Indoor Season with Program-Best No. 6 Ranking
- The Colorado State men's track & field team enters the 2017-18 indoor season with its highest ranking in program history, as the Rams were tabbed No. 6 in the nation in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Track & Field National Team Rankings on Wednesday, Jan. 10.
- Colorado State's preseason No. 6 ranking is its highest in either indoor or outdoor track & field. Each of those previous highs were set last year, as the Rams rose to No. 8 during the 2016-17 indoor season and as high as No. 11 during the 2017 outdoor season.
- The USTFCCCA uses a computer ranking system that is designed to project how teams will finish at the NCAA Championships. That system assigns points totals to individual student-athletes based upon how that athlete's marks and times stack up this season as well as how they rank based upon historical data. Those points totals for those individual student-athletes are then tallied to reach the respective team's points total for that week's rankings. For preseason rankings, current season bests as well as previous career bests are considered.

Nick Kravec, Jalen Hunter Sweep Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week
- Colorado State seniors Nick Kravec and Jalen Hunter each earned their first career weekly indoor honor from the Mountain West on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017, as the duo swept Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week honors.
- With those honors, Colorado State athletes have now been honored by the Mountain West after opening weekend in three consecutive indoor seasons. It is also the second straight season that a heptathlete has been honored (Hunter Price on Dec. 13, 2016).
- Kravec topped the heptathlon field at the Mines Alumni Classic & Multi, racking up 5,507 points (5,548 when converted for track size) to win by over 100 points. The Fort Collins, Colo., native's score was a personal best, and ranks fifth in program history and well as third in the nation at that point.
- Hunter opened his indoor season with a time of 8.08 (8.12 when adjusted for altitude) in the 60-meter hurdles at the Air Force Holiday Open, a time that has been topped by only nine other athletes in program history. The senior from Denton, Texas ranked 17th in the nation at that point in the 60-meter hurdles.

World-Class Athletes Highlight Rams' Returners
- Among Colorado State's returners for this upcoming season are three athletes that ranked among the best in the world last indoor season. Each of the throws, combined events and distance events are covered as Mostafa Hassan, Hunter Price and Cole Rockhold finished the most recent indoor season ranked with the best of the best.
- See below for details on where each finished in the world rankings for the 2016-17 indoor season. The IAAF ranks the top performances in the world, whether by an amateur or professional. Each list varies in length based upon predetermined cut times/marks and a target desired number of qualifying athletes for an event.

Colorado State Returning Athletes on 2016-17 IAAF Senior Indoor Lists (in order of world ranking)
Mostafa Hassan - Shot Put - 69-10.75 (21.30m) - No. 4 (No. 1 Egypt)
Hunter Price - Heptathlon - 5,996 points - No. 9 (No. 2 USA)
Cole Rockhold - 3,000 meters - 7:59.89 - No. 99 (No. 32 USA)

Rams Return Four Indoor All-Americans
- The Colorado State men's track & field team finished the 2016-17 indoor season at No. 12 in the nation, marking the program's highest all-time NCAA finish. From that team, Colorado State returns four of five All-America performers, with Jerrell Mock being the only exception. Mock has exhausted his indoor eligibility, but will compete for the Rams this outdoor season.
- Each of Mostafa Hassan, Hunter Price and Cole Rockhold earned First-Team All-America honors with their performances in their respective events, while Grant Fischer was a Second-Team All-American. Among those was Hassan's first-place finish in the shot put, marking Colorado State's first national championship in any sport since 2005 (track & field hammer thrower Loree Smith).
- See below for how each returning athlete performed at the 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Colorado State Returning Athletes at 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships
Mostafa Hassan – Shot Put – 69-9.5 (21.17m) – First Place (First-Team All-America)
Hunter Price – Heptathlon – 5,996 – Fourth Place (First-Team All-America)
Cole Rockhold – 3,000 Meters – 7:59.89 - Sixth Place (First-Team All-America)
Grant Fischer – 5,000 Meters – 13:55.37 – Ninth Place (Second-Team All-America)

Eight All-Conference Performers Return for Reigning Mountain West Champions
- Among the accomplishments of the 2016-17 indoor season for Colorado State were team conference titles on each of the women's and men's sides. That marked the Rams' first ever sweep of the women's and men's titles at the Mountain West Indoor Championships, the women's second consecutive team title and the men's first since 2002.
- The Rams return eight indoor All-Mountain West performers from those teams, including individual conference champions Mostafa Hassan (shot put), Hunter Price (high jump) and Cole Rockhold (3,000 meters). Grant Fischer earned indoor All-Mountain West honors in each of the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters.
- See below for a full listing of 2017 indoor All-Mountain West performers that return for the Rams this season.

Colorado State Returning Athletes with 2017 Indoor All-Mountain West Honors
Grant Fischer – 3,000 Meters, 5,000 Meters
Autumn Gardner – High Jump
Mostafa Hassan – Shot Put (individual champion/MW Men's Student-Athlete of the Year)
Nick Kravec – Heptathlon
Macy Kreutz – 4x400-Meter Relay
Hunter Price – High Jump (individual champion)
Cole Rockhold – 3,000 Meters (individual champion), Distance Medley Relay
Ronald Sayles – Distance Medley Relay

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