Borrman, Multis Provide Day One Spark

Calendar

Show:/

No Upcoming Events

CLOVIS, Calif. – In the weeks building up to the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the message from the Colorado State coaching staff has been consistent: Compete with joy. That's exactly what the Rams did throughout the opening day as they collected a pair of medals in addition to several inspiring performances on Thursday.

"I thoroughly enjoy competition and coaching, and we want our athletes to compete with some freedom and have joy in what they're doing, support their teammates and have fun," said head coach Brian Bedard. "You can still be aggressive and passionate about this thing, and very competitive, and have fun doing it. And that's the way you should do it in my opinion."

At the conclusion of day one, both CSU squads sit in third place in the team standings. The men's side tallied 22 points on the day – only nine behind the leader Air Force - , while the women collected 18.

The Breakdown
Kajsa Borrman took the first medal of the championships as she struck gold in the women's hammer throw. With her back against the wall after fouling her first two attempts, Borrman came through with a score on her third throw to advance into the finals and earn three more tries.

"I'm not a very nervous competitor, but I was kind of feeling a little bit of pressure," Borrman said. "But I just thought I was going to compete with some joy, go down swinging if I had to go out. I just didn't really change anything and I was gonna full send it, and if it worked it worked, and if it didn't then it didn't. But thank goodness it worked."

Trailing Fresno State's Cierra Jackson – who set the tone with a 65.50 meter/214-feet-10 earlier on – Borrman stepped up on her fifth attempt and delivered a 66.27m/217-5 bomb which proved to be worthy of the top spot on the podium.

25TFMWChampsBorrman1

More points came through from the event as Makayla Long (56.55/185-6.0) finished in fourth and Klaire Kovatch (55.75/182-11) in sixth, good for a total of 18.

Thursday also marked the beginning of the multi events. Elijah Scott racked up 3,886 points through the first five events of the decathlon, putting himself in second place entering Friday.

After missing his target mark in the opening 100 dash, Scott came alive in the long jump with a PR of 7.21m/23-8 and followed that up by matching his PR in the shot put (14.61/47-11.25) to surge into the lead.

"After the 100 I didn't quite get the mark I wanted to, and you know, given this is the last season and the last chance this could be my last day, there's just nothing left to lose so why not go for it?" Scott said. "It was a wonderful start and I definitely needed that confidence, for sure"

That confidence carried over into the high jump as he cleared the competition by over four inches. The senior's entrance height of 1.92/6-4.75 was the same as the final mark of the second-best competitor in the field, and he went on to set an outdoor PR of 2.04/6-8.25. In the following 400 event, however, Boise State's Landon Helms battled back to reclaim the overall lead. With all to compete for tomorrow, Scott and teammates Zach Sell (Fifth; 3,683) and Cameron Collins (Seventh; 3,356) will empty the tanks in search of glory.

"Tomorrow is going to be a fight," he said. "We knew it was going to be a dog fight coming in. I mean it's just about how close can you push to the red line? How close can we actually get to reach that potential and, you know, tap into some unseen ability."

25TFMWChampsScott

In the women's pentathlon, Tereza Babicka showcased her talents with a trio of personal bests across the first four events.

"So I started with the PR in hurdles, and then hit another in the 200 and I think the shot as well," Babicka said. "That was really good. I struggle in the high jump and I'm upset that I didn't go higher than I did, but that's the multi. Some events just don't go well. I'm glad I was able to come back and be strong in the shot."

Babicka currently sits in fourth with a score of 3,062, but she believes her strengths will come into play in tomorrow's pentathlon finale.

"My better day is tomorrow," the junior said. "I'm definitely excited to get more points. I'm excited for the three events coming up."

25TFMWChampsBabicka

Cameron Kalaf produced the second medal of the day in the men's javelin as he secured a bronze medal thanks to a personal best. Kalaf launched a 63.95/209-9 missile on his first throw of the final, which remains the No. 8 mark in CSU history.

Other notable results on the day included the men's hammer throw as a quartet of Rams combined to collect 13 points. Freshman Adam Hellbom led the way with a mark of 65.69-215-6, improving upon his career best which remains at No. 5 in the CSU record book. His fourth-place finished was followed by Kalaf (fifth), Leonardo Ramos (sixth) and Kyle Bigley (eighth).

Six Rams advanced to the finals after showing out in the preliminary round of track events. Both the men's and women's 400 hurdle squads will be moving on as Dominic Gallelli, Carsen Bruns and Jack Wetterling advanced on the men's side while Neya Jamison and Grace Lanfear qualified for the women. The other qualifier was Jack Cauble who notched a place in the final of the men's 200.

Looking Ahead
Day two of the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships begins tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. MT. The competition is free to watch on Mountain West Network.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tereza Babicka

Kyle Bigley

Kajsa Borrman

Carsen Bruns

Jack Cauble

Cameron Collins

Dominic Gallelli

Adam Hellbom

Neya Jamison

Cameron Kalaf

Klaire Kovatch

Grace Lanfear

Makayla Long

Elijah Scott

Zach Sell

Jack Wetterling