The Emotions of the Day Got Them Through

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They ran for Colton Kaase.

And as Kaase, a hurdler at Colorado State who passed unexpectedly last summer, had done for his entire tenure as a Ram, gave a little back.

Right before the men's 400 meter hurdles — Kaase's main event — numerous Rams from a number of CSU sports attended to pack the track in his honor. On the finish line at Jack Christiansen Memorial Track, they surrounded Kaase's family while his story was announced over the PA.

Head coach and throws coach Brian Bedard didn't know Kaase up close since the two's specialties were different. But Bedard will never forget the kind of man Kaase showed himself to be whenever the two would see each other, however limited the interactions actually were.

"Every time I did see him, he would ask me how I'm doing," Bedard said, taking a moment to compose himself. "Some people just say it in passing just as an exchange, but he really meant it. He was checking in with me to see how I was doing and always greeted me with a big smile.

"He was very intentional with his connection with people. That's what I'll always remember."

As tribute, lane one was left vacant for him during the 400 meter hurdles. Carsen Bruns, one of Kaase's closest teammates, ran in lane four and finished third on the day.

A couple hours earlier, though, was when Kaase's impact and presence was felt the most. In the 110 meter hurdles, five Rams ran in the first of two heats. All five, Bruns included, tied or set personal bests in the event.

"I know he was running with us. Absolutely," Bruns said after the 400 meter hurdles. "Especially with lane one open. … I put it all out there for him today. Seeing everyone here to show up for him was awesome because people really loved him when he was alive."

After that race, every runner from CSU opted not to fall to the ground in exhaustion, but rather to embrace each other and remember why they were running.

Hugs were a consistent theme of the day, especially before the Doug Max Invitational started. The last outdoor home meet of the season meant a number of seniors were honored.

One of them was Gabi Morris, who is competing in her last outdoor season. And in her last home meet, the accomplished thrower set a personal best in the shot put with a 57 foot, 8 inch throw, beating her previous best by an inch.

The mark meant more than just numbers for Morris, who has had to deal with a herniated disc in her back for much of the season and is now returning to form.

"It means a lot. I've taken a lot of throws here," Morris said, looking out at the field where she's spent seemingly a lifetime throwing heavy objects long distances. "I mean, I've met my husband here, I've worked with coach (Bedard) a really long time.

"To be able to be here with Colton's celebration and with our Wyoming teammate, Nate, as well. A lot of emotions today."

For most of the team, performance took a back seat to the feelings of grief, joy and remembrance. But in many ways, the two were very connected.

In total, the Rams won 19 of 36 events, including sweeping the top three spots in men's triple jump, women's shot put, men's and women's discus, men's and women's high jump, women's 400 meter dash, men's 100 meter dash and the men's 200 meter dash.

For Bedard, plenty of the results were a reflection of the goal, which was to get as many individuals on the path to the conference meet as possible.

Part of achieving it was changing the day of the meet from Saturday to Sunday, which took a lot of cooperation and manpower to get done. But everything worth having is worth the wait.

"It looks like the right decision and luckily we had a lot of help from the athletic department, volunteers, the CSU community and ROTC," Bedard said. "It was a real team effort trying to get everything together, a lot of moving parts."

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Carsen Bruns

Colton Kaase