Winning with Emphasis
Distance crew takes more-is-better approach in title push
Mike Brohard
Don’t just finish. Add emphasis.
When Mya Lesnar won the hammer throw and the shot put, she applied exclamation points. Her final throws didn’t matter as she had already sown up titles. Still, she went out and put more distance between her and the runner-up in each event on her final attempt.
Same with Michaela Hawkins in the discus. A title already won, one more throw, let it soar.
Overkill, so to speak.
When Quinn McConnell won the 800 meters, 22 of the 23 runners posted their best split in the first 400. The outcast was McConnell, who broke past the field during the final lap. In longer races, the majority of the field saves the best for last. It happened in the 3,000 steeplechase, where the Rams’ Yasmin Austridge not only posted the best 400 split in the race, but her final lap outclassed the field by 6.54 seconds, carrying her to a title by less than 4 seconds.
“They know how to compete,” CSU coach Brian Bedard said. “We’ve got some very competitive women on the team who know how to finish well. I think you need that on your championship team. At least athletes who exemplify that and show the way for the rest of the team.”
As a head coach, Bedard wanted to make sure his women in the 5,000 knew the situation, so he sent a message to assistant Kelly Hart to reiterate what was at stake. A chance to win a second consecutive Mountain West Outdoor Championship was all in their hands.
Both coaches were late to the party.
A two-point lead with two events remaining. Every woman from Colorado State’s 5,000-meter clan knew the final race – a relay – was likely going to be won by San Diego State, the challenger.
The math was easy.
“In all the events leading up to the 5K, we were frantically checking the points because we wanted to play it to where the 4x400, if Fresno State or San Diego State won and we didn’t score, we’d still win,” Sarah Carter said. “The only way to ensure that was to get a certain amount of points in the 5K, and it switched from Fresno to San Diego State.
“We needed nine points, and there were a couple of girls from San Diego State in the 5K. We had to score at least nine and not have the San Diego State women score.”
Which led to another conversation. Beat the Aztecs. Not just one or two of the Rams, but all of them beating each of the Aztecs.
Which would make the math easier.
“If you have teams going in and we say we can’t let San Diego or Fresno beat us, we try our best not to let them beat us,” Kensey May said. “We’ll try our best to not let them beat us and keep an eye on their back.”
The Rams had done plenty of work heading into the final individual event to sit in the lead. The throwers performed as expected, the position group which generated the most points (65) to the final tally of 165. It wasn’t just Lesnar’s performance which earned her Field Athlete of the Meet honors, it was also Hawkins placing in the shot, Klaire Kovatch scoring in three throws and Gabi Morris a pair.
Prior to the 5,000, the distance crew had done its part beyond the titles, with Emily Chaston (steeplechase) and Anna Petr (1,500) aiding the cause, as well.
But San Diego State had literally sprinted into contention on the final day, piling up points and race victories throughout the schedule. While Fresno State had been the main threat the first two days, down the stretch, it was the Aztecs who had the favored foursome for the final event, the 4x400 relay.
But the 5,000 came first, and while the Rams had a plan, Hart had a wave of déjà vu washing over her.
It helped comfort her, even knowing McConnell and Petr were spent entering the race, that Kensey May had sold out the day before in a 30-second personal record in the steeplechase and with Carter winning the longest race of the meet two days prior, there was a bit of unknown. Carter didn’t need to do the double the year prior when Colorado State’s women claimed the crown, but they could sure use her in the moment.
What Hart witnessed pre-race took her back to cross country season.
Her team would gather in a field and do stride outs. Then they’d huddle up, do a chant and sprint to the start line. They were also a group which was at its best when the finish drew near, passing people and teams down the stretch.
“Part of it was nerve-wracking, but I felt pretty confident in them,” Hart said. “Right after the gun went off, J.J. (Riese, assistant coach for sprints) came over to me and said, ‘I feel really good about the group we’ve got, and they’ll come through.’ I felt the exact same way.
“It was nerve-wracking because it had to go happen and you never know, but I’ve seen them come up clutch so many times before in track and in cross country at conference meets, I didn’t know where the nine points was going to come from, but I know between them they’re going to get it done.”
What I think is really awesome about this team is nobody is really complacent.Sarah Carter
About five or six laps in, she could pinpoint it exactly.
Carter.
It took that long because of the 10K win. If she saw Carter struggle early, it would be a hard race for her. If she didn’t, the title belonged to the graduate student if she wanted to lay claim.
She did.
“I think we knew it would be a tighter team race. Coach Hart texted me four days before we left to be prepared to race both,” Carter said. “I kinda knew the whole time I was going to be running both.
“I knew it wasn’t all on my shoulders. We had a strong group of girls in that race who were capable of scoring nine points without me. I was in to try to alleviate a sense of doubt. The goal was to win, but the conference is strong and there were several fresh girls in the race. I attacked it with the same strategy in the 10K, let some of the other folks do the work, keep an eye on them, don’t let a gap develop and then kick them down.”
A strong plan, executed to perfection.
At one point, New Mexico’s Nicola Jansen tried to create space, but Carter didn’t let the tact last long. Approaching the final lap, Carter blew past everyone and ran away to win by nearly 10 seconds. Her final 400 split was 8 seconds faster than any other 400 split in the race, the closest bringing a smile to the face of Carter, the Track Athlete of the Meet.
It belonged to teammate Lauren Neugeboren, who placed fourth. Right behind her was May, who blew past a New Mexico runner at the end to place fifth – shaving 28 seconds to reset her personal mark. And Claire Hengesbaugh placed eighth.
That trio provided the nine points the Rams needed, Carter’s win just gave them a ton of cushion. The Rams scored 20 points in the race – not an Aztec in sight – all because they didn’t want to leave anything to chance.
“I could have easily been Sarah will win this; Sarah is Sarah. Anything can happen in a race,” May said. “You have to be prepared for whatever can happen. You don’t know what’s going on ahead and behind you, so all you can do is control what you can do. I felt I had to go out there. I hadn’t run great all season. It was good to be able to go out and feel good, and I figured if I feel good, I’m going to go for it because it’s all for me and all for the team.”
Carter stopped just past the finish, turned around and was thrilled with what she witnessed. She knew Neugeboren was close because she could hear Hart cheering for her. She was thrilled to see May and Hengesbaugh close so well, and all the while, the rest of the team had also done and math and was yelling at the group from the stands they had just clinched the title.
With room to spare, which is the culture of the program. May, new to it all, finds it refreshing. Hart, who has been part of the development, remains amazed.
“It's really special. Colorado State is way different than other schools I’ve been at in terms of how close all the groups are. It’s impressive. I don’t think you get that unless you’re a team that is fighting for titles. You go to the conference meet, and everybody is paying attention because they want to win so badly.
“They’re following the high jump and after races they go up and talk to each other. I noticed after indoor, especially, our group was spending more time talking with people in the other groups. The throwers do an amazing job. They’re so loud and they scream for every event. I feel they are the core who is bringing the whole team together. It’s special to see them care so much about each other.”
Bedard sees it this way: When the individuals care more about the whole than personal results, great things happen. Trophy cases fill up, with the Rams capturing the title in three of the past five seasons, the other two runner-up finishes.
When the pressure reaches an apex at the end of a competition, the Rams find a way to rise above.
“I think it’s that we know when to bring the heat. We’re all a very team-motivated group, even in the different event groups,” Carter said. “We know we have to put our best foot forward all the time, and you never know what can happen. Other people can throw it out of the park or have a strong kick. What I think is really awesome about this team is nobody is really complacent.”
It’s an attitude which turns a two-point lead into a 23-point cushion, enough to start the celebration early.