Track and field heads to Wyoming

It’s an all-Wyoming weekend. The CSU men’s basketball will face

Wyoming Saturday at 7 p.m. at Moby Arena, the women’s team will be

in Wyoming to face the Cowgirls Friday at 7 p.m. and the CSU track

and field travels north to compete at the Robert Shine Invitational

in Laramie, Wyo., this weekend.

After last weekend’s dominating performance at the Air Force

Invitational, the Rams are content easing off the accelerator on

Saturday.

“We’re really gearing down this weekend,” head coach Del Hessel

said. “Not as concerned with the outcome as with running people in

one event.”

Among those taking a diminished role this weekend are distance

runner Colleen Blair, sprinter John Woods and the top distance

runners. Blair will still run the 3,000-meter run, but will sit

through the 5,000. Woods also will only compete in one event, while

Dylan Olchin, Josh Glaab and Austin Vigil, three of the men’s

strongest distance runners, will not run this weekend.

The Rams continue to train hard, putting an emphasis on practice

because with a long season in front of them it’s easy to lose focus

early. The goal is to “keep in mind what you want to accomplish at

the end of the year,” Hessel said.

With Wyoming’s small, tight turns and short, flat track,

injuries are also on the forefront of Hessel’s mind. At the Academy

the Rams lost two talented freshmen to injuries. Collin Ferguson, a

talented multi-event athlete, and Drew Morano, the best 400 runner

on the team, each left Colorado Springs injured.

Morano pulled his hamstring for the third time in five months,

“I made it fifty meters and then it just popped, or whatever

muscles do,” he said.

Morano will likely be redshirted for the indoor season and

attempt a comeback as the outdoor season begins later this

spring.

Junior Ryan Lowen returns from off-season knee surgery this

weekend. He will make his first appearance of the season in the

mile-relay.

The Rams head into the meet with a new look, a focused game plan

and the continued desire to win.

“We go with the intent to do as well as we can with what we put

on the track,” Hessel said.