Chaston Siblings Make a Splash in Steeple Debut

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – For the Chaston siblings, the circumstances were completely understandable.

For Eric Hamer, it was just a downright oddity. But there they were, the trio of Colorado State track and field performers each experiencing a first at the Jack Christiansen Invitational on Saturday. What they did share was success in their inaugural endeavors in the early portion of the meet.

The brother and sister combination – a year apart in age – attacked the 3,000-meter steeplechase for the very first time, neither one of them really knowing what to expect in the race. Or from it, save for one certainty they both shared and found to be true.

"It was hard," Emily said. "Very, very hard."

By the end, they also shared something else in common: They loved it.

Winning has a way of altering one's opinion of certain competitions, and both of them found their way into the school's top-20 performers in the race.

The race is long enough as it is, then throw in five obstacles along the way, all of them hurdles with one holding a 12-foot water finish upon landing. For the women, the hurdles stand 30 inches tall, the men 36 inches. For experienced distance runners, the length of the race was not the issue. Running on a track is common, but having to clear something along the way was not.

"I had no idea what it was going to be like. I didn't know the pain, I didn't know how cold it was going to be," Thomas said. "I had nothing. There were very little nerves today actually. I didn't know what to expect at all. I'm usually quite nervous before races, especially newer ones and especially in cross country. I'm pretty comfortable on the track in general, and I knew it was going to be a little slower, so I was excited for that. I had no idea what the hurdles were going to feel like."

They both ran early in the morning, before the temperatures in Northern Colorado had even considered creeping toward 50 degrees and the layer of clouds had no intention of allowing the sun to peak through. So it was a bit chilly, and a bit of rain the evening before had given the water hazard a certain extra chill.

Thomas didn't notice. His sister definitely did.

"The water was very cold. It was a big shock at first," she said. "It kind of made me gasp a little bit, and it's a little cold out here today, too, so my body went a little numb and my hands were really cold, but it wasn't that bad. You focus on it a lot at first, but then you're in the race."

The truth is, there is a bit of pedigree in the race running through their bloodlines, as their father, Justin, is a three-time Olympian in the event, running for Great Britain starting with the 1996 Atlanta Games. But in no way did that put any pressure on either of them, they said. Justin, standing outside the fence, just cheered.

Emily said that's what he always does. It's what he's always done. He supported everything they did, and even loved going to her volleyball games when she did that in her younger years. He never suggested the race to them at any point – that was all on distance coach Art Siemers – and he's never inserted himself into the equation.
Not unless they ask. Being smart kids, they did go to him any shred of advice he could offer. His main theme to them both was relax and attack the first time.

"He's never really run one at altitude, so he didn't know what that was going to feel like," Thomas said. "He said it was going to hurt regardless, but he said just go do it, you just have to get it done. The first one's always the worst."

Maybe, but it was also great. Emily clocked in a time of 10:46.52, putting her ninth all-time on the school list. Thomas' leading time was 9:07.35, putting him 14^th on the Rams' list. It also gives him an NCAA Regional qualifying mark for now.

While they carried no expectations, Siemers certainly did, and they exceeded his outlook.

"I expected some big things, and they're going to do it again next week at sea level in California, and I think they're going to run really fast," he said. "Honestly, they did what I thought they could do. They both ran a little bit faster than the paces we set, so I think they were just so excited to get out there and race the steeple. Their futures bode really well. To debut as fast as they did at altitude is phenomenal. It's pretty impressive when you do that at altitude.

"The beauty is they get to go race again next week, and usually the second time it goes even smoother, at sea level it's a little easier to accelerate into the barriers, then you get a week off and start to taper for conference and then go for it."

Afterward, both were already looking forward to the next steeplechase. Mostly because now that they've done it, the unknown is no longer there. This week in practice, they'll smooth out what they felt were their rough spots. Next week, they'll know what's coming and how to handle it, and without any first-time trepidation, they expect to run faster.

What Thomas said he learned most – "The last lap hurts. Those barriers get a little taller at the end" – did nothing to scare him off. Not when you're running away from the field the first time out.

No, the next race can't come soon enough. Or the ones afterward.

"One hundred percent. I think I can go pretty far in it," Thomas said. "I think it got me a regional mark for the first round of the NCAAs, so I think that's a good enough reason. I always want to do as much as I can for CSU at conference and try to win the Mountain West title, and that's going to add points, so that's another reason, winning it for the team."

And to do it together for the first time was pretty cool, too. Thomas was trying to focus on his race, which immediately followed Emily's, but he would steal a peek here and there. Seeing her out in front gave him a little more juice.

As she caught her breath, she took great pride in watching her brother do the same. No sibling rivalry on this day, just shared pride in each other.

"I was so excited for him because he raced really smart," Emily said. "He let those Wyoming guys take it out, and that was so exciting to watch, just letting him be comfortable at the beginning and put the hurt on them at the end.
"It was super exciting. It was exciting hearing Chaston two races in a row. I was like, yeah, that's awesome."

For as accomplished as Hamer is in his career, there was one item he still needed to check off his list – run a competitive race at his home track.

Seriously. While he's all over the school record board and was recently the national runner-up in the race during the indoor season, the 5,000 he ran ono Saturday was the first race against foes from other teams in his career.

"In another world, it was always just going to California. I don't know the answer," Hamer said. "The track was torn up, and between redshirts and injury, a 10K at altitude isn't always the best thing. And when I ran in Colorado, I always went to Mines, and we almost went to Mines last week.

"This was my first time at my home track, and it's just a fun environment. I feels like a real competitive practice, and you have to remind yourself to compete really hard. It's a unique time, and May and June are going to be crazy. It's racing a 15K of work every other weekend. Why not do, quote-unquote, the professional thing and just get the job done."

Which he did. Paced by teammate Dawson LaRance to start, he blew away the field and ran by himself for most of the race, posting a 14:10.67, just .45 off the track record, set 10 years prior when it held the Mountain West Championships.

Siemers had talked to him prior to the race about the possibility of the record, but it was of no concern for Hamer. And while LaRance set the tone, it wasn't long before Hamer decided to stretch out his legs.

"Dawson did very much his job 2K, and I was expecting to stay with him a little longer, then there was a moment where (Assistant coach) Andrew Epperson said get in front of him on the back stretch. That's how it's going a lot of races this season, is just push it on my own. He was a great help getting out of the gate."

The Rams did that a lot on the day, as the race prior teammate Lily Tomasula-Martin won the 5,000 in 16:57.32, also falling just a bit shy of the track record. As a team, the Rams would win 11 races in the lanes, adding eight victories in the field events.

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