Friday, October 27
Springfield, OR
12:00 PM
University of Colorado
vs
Pac-12 Cross Country Championships
Photo by: Gary Breedlove
It’s A Colorado Three-Peat!!!
October 27, 2017 | Cross Country
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — For the third straight year, the Colorado women's cross country team reigned supreme as the Pac-12 Conference Cross Country Champions, taking home the title at the Springfield Golf Club on Friday afternoon.
In addition to the team win, CU's Dani Jones, a junior, took home the individual championship, becoming the first Buff since Jenny (Barringer) Simpson (2009) to win a conference title.
The men's team ended up with a second-place finish, finishing behind Stanford by just six points (41-47), which was the identical score that CU recorded in 2016 when it defeated the Cardinal to win its sixth straight Pac-12 title.
THE WOMEN'S RACE: The third-ranked Colorado women won their fourth Pac-12 team title since joining the league in 2011. The Buffs did so in exciting fashion, defeating the host and top-rated Oregon Ducks, 53-71.
The Buffs trailed the Ducks through the first two splits, but moved up to first after the third split. The Buffs held a slight lead heading into the last split and was able to increase the lead to 18 points through the final kilometer. CU had all five scorers finish in the top 20, while UO's top five all finished in the top 30.
Like she has done all season, Jones led the Buffs. She improved from a third-place finish in last year's meet, to a first-place finish. She turned things up a notch heading into the homestretch, holding off the course record holder, Oregon's Katie Rainsberger, by just over a second. Jones clocked in at 18:57.3, while Rainsberger finished in 18:58.5. Jones also out-kicked the 2016 Pac-12 Champion, Washington's Amy-Eloise Neale, who crossed the finish in 18:58.7.
Colorado placed another pair in the top-10. Senior Kaitlyn Benner recorded an eighth-place finish in 19:09.5, while sophomore Sage Hurta was ninth, clocking in at 19:12.2. The ninth-place finish for Hurta is her highest at the meet as she was 15th in 2016.
Junior Makena Morley also had a nice race, finishing 15th overall in 19:25.3. CU's final scorer was sophomore Tabor Scholl, who finished 20th overall in 19:29.1.
The Buffs had five other racers toe the line at the meet and all three did quite well. Freshman Madie Boreman was 28th (19:39.5) and senior Melanie Nun was 31st (19:48.3). Sophomore Brianna Schwartz was just behind Nun at 32nd (19:52.4). Junior Tayler Tuttle was 46th overall (20:12.4) and junior Val Constien was 64th (20:40.3).
THE MEN'S RACE: Colorado, which was ranked fifth, saw its Pac-12 Championship win-streak haulted at six with sixth-ranked Stanford topping the Buffs 41-47. The Buffs were fourth around the midway point of the 8k race, and took over the top spot with about one kilometer left, but were not able to hang on and lost by a narrow six-point margin.
Junior Joe Klecker led Colorado with a second-place finish. He was right with Stanford's Grant Fisher before Fisher took off with about 200-meters to go. Fisher finished in 23:44.9 and Klecker hung on for second in 23:48.0. This was a 17-place improvement for Klecker as last season he was 19th at the meet. It is also the best finish for a Buff since 2007 when Brent Vaughn won the Big 12 title.
Another Buff who improved from 2016 was junior Ryan Forsyth. Forsyth was ninth last year and turned in a seventh-place finish in 23:58.5. Not too far back from him was freshman Eduardo Herrera, who placed 10th in his Pac-12 debut (24:02.7).
Senior Adam Peterman, who has only raced once at the Pac-12 Championship, recorded a 12th place finish (24:07.0), besting his 28th place finish from 2014.
CU's fifth harrier was senior Zach Perrin. Perrin turned in a 16th-place finish in 24:08.8.
The Buffs had a couple other harriers at the meet. Sophomore Reilly Friedman was 32nd overall (24:30.8) and junior Ethan Gonzales was 41st (24:35.1). Graduate student Mark Tedder placed 57th (25:04.2) and senior Christian Martin was 61st (25:15.8). The final racer was freshman Paxton Smith, who finished 69th in 25:43.3.
UP NEXT: The postseason will continue for the Buffs at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships, November 10, in Logan, Utah.
QUOTEABLE:
Head Coach Mark Wetmore
On Dani Jones' Win
"It was a really good race. She was smart and patient. She kept herself within the front the whole time and closed hard. I knew with 300 to go she was going to be hard to beat."
On The Women's Team Performance
"They had their best race of the year for sure. Some people who had the sniffles two weeks ago are healthy. Some people who made tactical mistakes in races recently cleared those up. As I said, we ran our best race of the year and I am very happy for them."
On Joe Klecker's Runner-Up Finish
"It was an excellent race from Joe. The guy who beat him is one of the best in the NCAA. Joe beat some real good guys. He ran a smart and patient race and is just a sophomore."
On The Men's Team Performance:
"Well honestly I think our men ran their best race of the year. Guys like Adam Peterman, Zach Perrin are getting better by the week. We are smart and patient and ran really hard. We knew Stanford was coming in as a team that was a little under ranked. It was a war and we lost by a couple of points but I am real proud and happy with the men."
RESULTS:
2017 PAC-12 CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Springfield Golf Course (Springfield, Ore.)
Women's 6k Team Results:
1. Colorado 53; 2. Oregon 71; 3. Oregon 71; 4. Washington 128; 5. California 132; 6. Utah 146; 7. Arizona 186; 8. UCLA 221; 9. Arizona State 232; 10. Washington State 259; 11. Oregon State 263; 12. Southern California, DNF.
Women's 6k Individual Results (top 10):
1. Dani Jones, CU, 18:57.3; 2. Katie Rainsberger, UO, 18:58.5; 3. Amy-Eloise Neale, UW, 18:58.7; 4. Vanessa Fraser, SU, 19:02.6; 5. Grayson Murphy, UU, 19:03.8; 6. Lilli Burdon, UO, 19:07.8; 7. Fiona O'Keeffe, SU, 19:08.5; 8. Kaitlyn Benner, CU, 19:09.5; 9. Sage Hurta, CU, 19:12.2; 10. Bethan Knights, Cal, 19:13.6.
Other CU Finishers:
15. Makena Morley, 19:25.3; 20. Tabor Scholl, 19:29.1; 28. Madie Boreman, 19:39.5; 31. Melanie Nun, 19:48.3; 32. Brianna Schwartz, 19:52.4; 46. Tayler Tuttle, 20:12.4; 64. Val Constien, 20:40.3.
Men's 8k Team Results:
1. Stanford 41, 2. Colorado 47; 3. UCLA 103; 4. Oregon 109; 5. Washington 114; 6. Washington State 138; 7. California 158; 8. Arizona 234; 9. Arizona State 282.
Men's 8k Individual Results (top 10)
1. Grant Fisher, SU, 23:44.9; 2. Joe Klecker, CU, 23:48.0; 3. Steven Fahy, SU, 23:51.3; 4. Alex Ostberg, SU, 23:51.5; 5. Mahmoud Moussa, UW, 23:52.0; 6. Robert Brandt, UCLA, 23:55.9; 7. Ryan Forsyth, CU, 23:58.5; 8. Cooper Teare, UO, 23:59.4; 9. Chandler Teigen, WSU, 24:02.3; 10. Eduardo Herrera, CU, 24:02.7.
Other CU Finisher:
12. Adam Peterman, 24:07.0; 16. Zach Perrin, 24:08.8; 32. Reilly Friedman, 24:30.8; 41. Ethan Gonzales, 24:35.1; 57. Mark Tedder, 25:04.2; 61. Christian Martin, 25:15.8; 69. Paxton Smith, 24:43.3.
In addition to the team win, CU's Dani Jones, a junior, took home the individual championship, becoming the first Buff since Jenny (Barringer) Simpson (2009) to win a conference title.
The men's team ended up with a second-place finish, finishing behind Stanford by just six points (41-47), which was the identical score that CU recorded in 2016 when it defeated the Cardinal to win its sixth straight Pac-12 title.
THE WOMEN'S RACE: The third-ranked Colorado women won their fourth Pac-12 team title since joining the league in 2011. The Buffs did so in exciting fashion, defeating the host and top-rated Oregon Ducks, 53-71.
The Buffs trailed the Ducks through the first two splits, but moved up to first after the third split. The Buffs held a slight lead heading into the last split and was able to increase the lead to 18 points through the final kilometer. CU had all five scorers finish in the top 20, while UO's top five all finished in the top 30.
Like she has done all season, Jones led the Buffs. She improved from a third-place finish in last year's meet, to a first-place finish. She turned things up a notch heading into the homestretch, holding off the course record holder, Oregon's Katie Rainsberger, by just over a second. Jones clocked in at 18:57.3, while Rainsberger finished in 18:58.5. Jones also out-kicked the 2016 Pac-12 Champion, Washington's Amy-Eloise Neale, who crossed the finish in 18:58.7.
Colorado placed another pair in the top-10. Senior Kaitlyn Benner recorded an eighth-place finish in 19:09.5, while sophomore Sage Hurta was ninth, clocking in at 19:12.2. The ninth-place finish for Hurta is her highest at the meet as she was 15th in 2016.
Junior Makena Morley also had a nice race, finishing 15th overall in 19:25.3. CU's final scorer was sophomore Tabor Scholl, who finished 20th overall in 19:29.1.
The Buffs had five other racers toe the line at the meet and all three did quite well. Freshman Madie Boreman was 28th (19:39.5) and senior Melanie Nun was 31st (19:48.3). Sophomore Brianna Schwartz was just behind Nun at 32nd (19:52.4). Junior Tayler Tuttle was 46th overall (20:12.4) and junior Val Constien was 64th (20:40.3).
THE MEN'S RACE: Colorado, which was ranked fifth, saw its Pac-12 Championship win-streak haulted at six with sixth-ranked Stanford topping the Buffs 41-47. The Buffs were fourth around the midway point of the 8k race, and took over the top spot with about one kilometer left, but were not able to hang on and lost by a narrow six-point margin.
Junior Joe Klecker led Colorado with a second-place finish. He was right with Stanford's Grant Fisher before Fisher took off with about 200-meters to go. Fisher finished in 23:44.9 and Klecker hung on for second in 23:48.0. This was a 17-place improvement for Klecker as last season he was 19th at the meet. It is also the best finish for a Buff since 2007 when Brent Vaughn won the Big 12 title.
Another Buff who improved from 2016 was junior Ryan Forsyth. Forsyth was ninth last year and turned in a seventh-place finish in 23:58.5. Not too far back from him was freshman Eduardo Herrera, who placed 10th in his Pac-12 debut (24:02.7).
Senior Adam Peterman, who has only raced once at the Pac-12 Championship, recorded a 12th place finish (24:07.0), besting his 28th place finish from 2014.
CU's fifth harrier was senior Zach Perrin. Perrin turned in a 16th-place finish in 24:08.8.
The Buffs had a couple other harriers at the meet. Sophomore Reilly Friedman was 32nd overall (24:30.8) and junior Ethan Gonzales was 41st (24:35.1). Graduate student Mark Tedder placed 57th (25:04.2) and senior Christian Martin was 61st (25:15.8). The final racer was freshman Paxton Smith, who finished 69th in 25:43.3.
UP NEXT: The postseason will continue for the Buffs at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships, November 10, in Logan, Utah.
QUOTEABLE:
Head Coach Mark Wetmore
On Dani Jones' Win
"It was a really good race. She was smart and patient. She kept herself within the front the whole time and closed hard. I knew with 300 to go she was going to be hard to beat."
On The Women's Team Performance
"They had their best race of the year for sure. Some people who had the sniffles two weeks ago are healthy. Some people who made tactical mistakes in races recently cleared those up. As I said, we ran our best race of the year and I am very happy for them."
On Joe Klecker's Runner-Up Finish
"It was an excellent race from Joe. The guy who beat him is one of the best in the NCAA. Joe beat some real good guys. He ran a smart and patient race and is just a sophomore."
On The Men's Team Performance:
"Well honestly I think our men ran their best race of the year. Guys like Adam Peterman, Zach Perrin are getting better by the week. We are smart and patient and ran really hard. We knew Stanford was coming in as a team that was a little under ranked. It was a war and we lost by a couple of points but I am real proud and happy with the men."
RESULTS:
2017 PAC-12 CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Springfield Golf Course (Springfield, Ore.)
Women's 6k Team Results:
1. Colorado 53; 2. Oregon 71; 3. Oregon 71; 4. Washington 128; 5. California 132; 6. Utah 146; 7. Arizona 186; 8. UCLA 221; 9. Arizona State 232; 10. Washington State 259; 11. Oregon State 263; 12. Southern California, DNF.
Women's 6k Individual Results (top 10):
1. Dani Jones, CU, 18:57.3; 2. Katie Rainsberger, UO, 18:58.5; 3. Amy-Eloise Neale, UW, 18:58.7; 4. Vanessa Fraser, SU, 19:02.6; 5. Grayson Murphy, UU, 19:03.8; 6. Lilli Burdon, UO, 19:07.8; 7. Fiona O'Keeffe, SU, 19:08.5; 8. Kaitlyn Benner, CU, 19:09.5; 9. Sage Hurta, CU, 19:12.2; 10. Bethan Knights, Cal, 19:13.6.
Other CU Finishers:
15. Makena Morley, 19:25.3; 20. Tabor Scholl, 19:29.1; 28. Madie Boreman, 19:39.5; 31. Melanie Nun, 19:48.3; 32. Brianna Schwartz, 19:52.4; 46. Tayler Tuttle, 20:12.4; 64. Val Constien, 20:40.3.
Men's 8k Team Results:
1. Stanford 41, 2. Colorado 47; 3. UCLA 103; 4. Oregon 109; 5. Washington 114; 6. Washington State 138; 7. California 158; 8. Arizona 234; 9. Arizona State 282.
Men's 8k Individual Results (top 10)
1. Grant Fisher, SU, 23:44.9; 2. Joe Klecker, CU, 23:48.0; 3. Steven Fahy, SU, 23:51.3; 4. Alex Ostberg, SU, 23:51.5; 5. Mahmoud Moussa, UW, 23:52.0; 6. Robert Brandt, UCLA, 23:55.9; 7. Ryan Forsyth, CU, 23:58.5; 8. Cooper Teare, UO, 23:59.4; 9. Chandler Teigen, WSU, 24:02.3; 10. Eduardo Herrera, CU, 24:02.7.
Other CU Finisher:
12. Adam Peterman, 24:07.0; 16. Zach Perrin, 24:08.8; 32. Reilly Friedman, 24:30.8; 41. Ethan Gonzales, 24:35.1; 57. Mark Tedder, 25:04.2; 61. Christian Martin, 25:15.8; 69. Paxton Smith, 24:43.3.