The Results Are No Laughing Matter
Austridge’s personality helped form championship seasons for the CSU women
Mike Brohard
The mere mention of her name ignites something in people.
The first reaction is generally a smile, maybe accompanied by a giggle. People tend to look away, off in the distance, searching for a specific memory. Yasmin Austridge’s time at Colorado State will be here-and-gone – just a one-year transfer – but her impact has been deep.
“I said this at our senior banquet, I don’t think there’s been a practice Yasmin’s been at that we haven’t laughed,” cross country and distance coach Kelly Hart said. “It’s something she said, or her accent. She just brings a humor. She always finds a way to make working hard fun. Just because you care a lot about something and take it seriously, doesn’t mean everything has to be serious. She’s totally taught our team that.”
She helped set a mood which has been beneficial to every group Hart leads. Three team championships speak volumes. So do two individual championships and a relay crown Austridge contributed to the cause. Her season, and that of five other teammates will close at the NCAA Championships, which begin Wednesday in Eugene, Ore.
Austridge and Sarah Carter are the two runners for the Rams, both competing in distance events. The other four are throwers – Michaela Hawkins, Mya Lesnar and Gabi Morris on the women’s side; Mariano Kis for the men. Combined, they will cover seven events as Morris had qualified in two throws.
All the hardware is more than what Austridge expected entering the transfer portal, more than she could dream. Her arrival came with a short nightmare, too.
She’d competed the three prior years at Lamar, winning a 1,500-meter WAC Championship, but was looking for something more. Part of it was a cross country experience. The Rams traveled more, giving the England native a chance to see a bit more of the country. The bond with her teammates was incredible.
Leaving Lamar, she knew she had a year of eligibility remaining, a season across the board, from cross country through outdoor. However, that’s not what her transcripts from Lamar told Colorado State’s compliance team.
“It was pretty scary. It’s obviously the worst-nightmare scenario,” Hart said of the situation. “I had confidence we’d figure it out, probably just some miscommunication. (Senior Associate AD for Compliance/SWA) Shalini (Shanker) did her homework to clear things up, but it was scary. It was at least a week where we thought she had nothing. Then we found out she at least had outdoor, then Shalini worked through the process of the waivers, and right before the start of cross country she got approved.
“I couldn’t imagine having to make that phone call to tell her bad news.”
Actually, she could. During that time, whenever Hart called up Austridge, it felt like some bad news was attached. She still wasn’t cleared, or partially cleared. It became a thing with them, to the point Austridge would see her coach’s name on her phone screen and not want to answer.
So much so – after it had all been cleared up and a cross country championship and trip the NCAA’s was in the rear view mirror – Hart pranked Austridge.
“Anytime I would ring her, I’d say don’t panic, it’s fine,” Austridge said. “In the middle of the indoor season, she rang me and said I didn’t have eligibility for indoor and outdoor – as a joke. She was laughing, but I thought she was crying, and I was like,’ no,’ and she said she’s joking.
“I thought I had (eligibility), so I was like, no it’s fine. I think Kelly was pretty panicked. When I came, I thought I had indoor and outdoor confirmed. Then cross, I had to get my coach from home to tell Shalini about the situation so she could check it though. I was pretty stressed when Kelly told me I might not have anything.”
She’s bubbly, bright and enthusiastic, and I kinda feel like this is what the team needed, and we didn’t even know we needed it.Sarah Carter
Without her, the Rams would have been a bit more stressed this season. Her performances became crucial for each and every squad, but more importantly, they needed the character Austridge was, the vibe she brought to workouts and competition.
The Rams had a solid team coming back for all three seasons, but to Carter, the newcomer’s arrival filled a blind spot.
“Yasmin’s been the most amazing addition to the team. She brings so much energy, and I really feel she brings us all together,” Carter said. “She’s always taking the initiative and suggesting we spend time together, do events together. She’s bubbly, bright and enthusiastic, and I kinda feel like this is what the team needed, and we didn’t even know we needed it.”
What she infused was a joy, through humor, some of which none of them understood. To be fair, Austridge isn’t sure what she says makes sense half of the time, and combine it with her British accent, which is beloved by teammates, the language barrier is very real at times.
Even the other way. She firmly believes Americans say the words “oregano” and “aluminum” completely wrong.
Hart can’t put a label on Austridge’s style of humor. It’s a different approach every day. Some of it is unintentional, other times it’s just dry. Either way, it works. Austridge found a home in Fort Collins because she said the team is so easy to get along with and likes to laugh. She’ll tell you she’s just joining in on the fun, but Hart and her team claim Austridge is the one who instigates the laughter daily.
“Yeah, that’s probably true. I feel like I start them off,” Austridge said. “Sometimes it’s awkward things with the British humor. I’ll say something sarcastic, and people think I’m being serious, and I have to tell them I’m joking. Or I’ll say something really deadpan, and they look at me like, what? It probably is me that starts it, but everybody feeds off of it.
“Sometimes I say something, and I don’t mean for it to be funny, but because of my accent they find it funny. Or a weird word they haven’t heard before and we use it in England. Then I have to say, ‘are you taking the mick out of me,’ meaning, are you making fun of me? It probably doesn’t even make sense to them. Sometimes I say a word and they say it doesn’t make sense, and I say it does. Then I think about it, and I think, yeah, maybe you're right. Most of the time I think we’re right in England and the Americans are wrong.”
There was an acclimation period for the runner and her coach which had nothing to do with personality. Austridge had never trained in altitude before, and for a person who says she’s never trained well, it didn’t help. As her teammates were blowing by her in workouts, she wondered if they questioned Hart’s ability to judge talent.
Her results noted that wasn’t true. Not only did she have a WAC title to her credit, she had also dropped a 9:52.12 in the 3,000 steeplechase back in 2023, qualifying for NCAA preliminaries the two seasons prior.
“I feel like I’m just starting to figure her out. She’s such a unique athlete,” Hart said. “Her being at altitude for the first time has been an adventure. Everybody adjusts to altitude differently and how fast they do or don’t recover, and the mentality within races. What I learned about Yasmin this season was pressure really helps her.
“As a coach, you want to take pressure off your athletes and help them relax a little. She and I learned her best races came when the team needed her, and it was very clear what she had to do. In cross, her best races were at the end of the season at conference and regionals. In track, conference and regionals. I’ve learned she’s super competitive and needs a big moment.”
As the Rams were winning their first Mountain West title in cross country for the since 2007, Austridge was eating up competitors down the stretch to place seventh overall, earning all-conference honors. Two weeks later, chasing an at-large berth for the NCAA meet, she spent the last 1,000 of the race tracking down foes.
In the indoor season, she was part of the conference championship distance medley relay squad. As the team was battling to repeat in the outdoor, it was her win in the steeplechase which put the team back in front for good.
“The whole time Kelly was worried about me this season because my workouts were really bad. Through the years, I’ve never been really good at workouts, but I always perform on the day of the race,” Austridge said. “As my new coach, she wasn’t real confident in that; she was really panicked. I don’t put too much pressure on the training, but when it comes to the race, more when it’s a big moment for the team – like this year, being on this team trying to win conference champs was pretty cool – then I’m like I need to pull it together and do it. I’ll still try to be chilled out, then when it’s a big moment, when I know I need to do it, I know I can pull it out of the bag.”
Hart said she’s learned that to be true. Austridge isn’t so sure about her teammates.
Sometimes I say a word and they say it doesn’t make sense, and I say it does. Then I think about it, and I think, yeah, maybe you're right. Most of the time I think we’re right in England and the Americans are wrong.Yasmin Austridge
While they were watching Carter win the 5,000 and 10,000 at conference pulling away, Austridge said they all just knew she was going to win. As for her steeplechase title, well, let’s just say the rest of the Rams don’t view her in a classic way.
“I feel people with me, after my race, they say, ‘you looked awful,’” she said. “I run a bit different, and people do impressions of me. They say I look tired, and the sprinters come out and make fun of me. Emily Chaston does a really good impression. It’s a bit offensive, really. She just runs really excentric. I’m like, ‘I don’t look at that.’”
Even Hart makes fun of her running style, but she can’t argue with the results. At the conference meet, Austridge broke the school record in the steeplechase, becoming the first female to dip below the 10:00 mark with her 9:58.75.
While her form may encourage impressions, her ability to clear the barriers in the race should be mimicked.
“Her hurdling technique is extremely elite. She’s really efficient,” Hart said. “She doesn’t expend a lot of energy or time going over the barriers. She trained as a sprint hurdlers growing up, so she has a good hurdle background. You watch her go over the hurdle, and you see people she’s running with, she generally comes out and has a step on them because she’s spent less time and energy.”
Austridge takes the compliment and credits her family tree. Her grandfather was a hurdler, so was her dad and currently her sister. Her mother was an endurance runner, giving Austridge the proper mix for the race. The key, she said, is to come off the barrier hard. Usually, it’s only one of her heels which gets a bit wet, while most go with a two-foot landing technique. It is impossible not to lose momentum in the process, so her goal is to minimize it as much as possible.
It is a race she’s had a mixed bag of emotions with through the years. She qualified for NCAA prelims twice before, each time entering with hopes of making the big event. The first time, by her own admission, she had no reason to realistically believe it was possible. She went after it anyway and faded down the stretch. Last year, she hit a rough point in the race and saw her chances slipping away again.
As a Ram, she nailed the race by finishing fifth, giving her additional confidence heading to TrackTown USA. It is the longest race in the meet which has to be run twice. Seeded with the 16th best time in the country, Austridge feels she has to go after it in the semifinals as only the top 12 advance to the finals – the top five in each semifinal, then two the two remaining fastest times -- held the final day. She wholeheartedly believes she has a personal-best in her reserves.
Just the way the team sees her addition bringing out the best in all of them. It’s not lost on Hart her two qualifiers could not approach training any more different. There is the ultra-serious Carter, who spent her summer running inclines totaling 16,000 feet in Europe. She shows up to practice dead set on the work ahead.
Austridge, not so much, but they are both grateful for the other. She said she’s always loved running, but she never had a purpose to her training until she came to the States. Carter is all about the process and brings Austridge back into focus when the time comes. And Carter has learned reeling in the tension can open her up to a good day instead of a dreadful one.
As both head to Eugene, they like the fact they have something yet to prove.
“Yaz has the most magnetic energy. I can be having a low day, feeling negative, getting down on myself and having a bad attitude,” Carter said. “I’ll go to practice and Yaz is telling jokes or a story and my mood immediately goes up. She’s so easy and so much fun to be around.
“We were talking about that during warmup on Tuesday. Both of us have had some major letdowns over the years. Last year, her regional wasn’t what it was supposed to be. For her to have that redemption moment was great. Last year I made it to Austin, but it wasn’t my best race. I think we’re both feeling really fortunate to have this last chance, to go to Eugene and get that full NCAA experience we’ve both dreamed of for a long time.”
The duo will see their collegiate careers come to an end on the biggest stage and at the most iconic track facility in the country. For Austridge, making the moment more meaningful is the fact her family will be there, to see her race for the first time in America.
The reality of it all, she said, has yet to sink in fully. She figures it will when she gets there, sees all the top runners in the field and the joy she’ll find in the moment will serve her well. A big race, the biggest stage, just the type of atmosphere she’s excelled in this season.
Down the road, she’ll have her country’s Olympic Trials to look forward to, but this meet represents her final race as a Ram. What she taught the team will carry forward and has altered the way Hart will recruit in the future.
“Two of our sophomore girls told me, ‘Coach, you need to find some more funny people for next year because Yasmin has brought so much humor to the team and it’s healthy and it makes us all better,” Hart said. “You know, a sense of humor has absolutely moved up on the list of credentials. People want to come to Colorado State. Recruits spend time with Yasmin, and they see the way our team dynamic is. It’s made our team better.”
From podiums to practice, she gave the Rams plenty of reasons to smile.