Track Recap

On a blustery Saturday afternoon the Rams opened the outdoor

track and field season in dominating fashion.

Colorado State athletes dominated the field at the 10th Annual

Rob Upton Invitational. The home meet showcased the talented Ram

roster.

Throughout the day athletes from all competing teams were forced

to fight against the strong gusts, which stayed constant during the

afternoon, blowing debris across the track.

“I didn’t think it was going to go that well, with all the

wind,” freshman Megan Fox said.

The wind proved to be Fox’s toughest competition, as she won the

400-meter dash in 55.60 seconds, well ahead of the competition.

Fox said, she “could really feel the wind on the backstretch,”

but she pushed through to the homestretch, leaving the others to

fight for second.

Several women qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships with

their marks.

Keela Niemeyer in the shot put, Katie Hansen in the discus,

Janay DeLoach in the long jump, Haley Hunt in the hammer throw and

Christine Ahn in the pole vault were among those who posted

qualifying marks.

Other women blowing past the competition were Katrice Thomas,

who won the 200 and Danielle Korb, winner of both the 800 and

1,500.

“It changes strategy,” Korb said of the wind.

In the 1,500 she tried to stay behind and allow other runners to

provide a wind block, but with no one willing to take the lead she

motored ahead of the field. For the 800, she and teammate Becky

Hammit tried to work together.

The plan worked.

They raced side-by-side down the final 100 meters smiling. Korb

crossed the line .06 seconds ahead of Hammitt with a time of

2:19.79.

“It was really tough to run in (the wind), but it was nice to

run on our own track; it’s comfortable,” Korb said.

The men also made themselves comfortable at home.

In the 5,000, senior Bill Michel won in a blazing 14:43.89,

breaking the old track record. Freshman Magnus Lohse shattered the

school record in the shot put with a throw of 60 feet, 7.25

inches.

Justin Hazzard won both the 110-meter hurdles and the 400

hurdles and John Woods regionally qualified with his victory in the

100.

Lohse and Michel joined Woods with qualifying marks, as did Trey

Eder, Jace Rivera and Jeremy Graff in the hammer throw.

Seven athletes competed in California at the Stanford

Invitational with the goal of posting qualifying marks.

Austin Vigil, Dylan Olchin and Josh Glaab each provisionally

qualified in the 10,000 running times of 29:13.97, 29:27.41 and

29:32.77, respectively.

Nicole Feest qualified in the 5,000 with a time of 16:54.60, but

Colleen Blair (5,000, 17:09.48) and Katie Yemm (1,500, 4:30.58)

just missed their required marks.

The star of the weekend, however, may have been female thrower

Loree Smith. Returning from injury, the junior won the hammer

throw, broke the school record and qualified for nationals with a

toss of 214-8.

Colorado State will be at the Tom Benich Classic next Saturday

in Greeley and several Rams will also compete on Thursday and

Friday at the Bennett/Schiemenz Multis also in Greeley at Northern

Colorado.