Rams head to Greeley

Track spikes, skimpy running shorts and a nose plug.

The Colorado State track and field teams have gathered the

essentials for this weekend’s Tom Benich Classic in Greeley.

The Rams head east fresh off a hot performance at last weekend’s

season opening home meet. CSU swept the field at the Rob Upton

Invitational.

“This is a meet where once again we’re going to run athletes in

different events than their main event,” head coach Del Hessel

said.

The track season is long and it is hard to consistently be

motivated, Hessel said.

By switching not competing in their usual events, the athletes

can stay focused, fresh and ready for the next weekend. Each

successive meet provides a bigger challenge for the team.

Greeley’s challenge is one of conditioning and competitiveness.

The Rams will compete against teams from all over the region. With

aspirations of posting qualifying times and marks, the clock and

measuring stick may be the Rams’ biggest rival.

Loree Smith, CSU’s junior thrower, was named Mountain West

Conference Track and Field Athlete of the Week. She dominated the

competition last weekend at the Stanford Invitational.

She broke the school record in the hammer throw by more than 16

feet and the Mountain West record by 3 feet with her toss of 214

feet, eight inches.

Six other athletes traveled to California with Smith. Their

intent was to qualify for nationals. Five did so, but Katie Yemm

and Colleen Blair came up just short.

Weather permitting, Yemm will try to qualify this weekend in the

1500, Hessel said.

The Rams will deal with the weather, the competition and the

infamous Greeley stench.

Schiemenz Heptathlon-Bennett Decathlon

Already in Greeley, CSU’s decathletes and heptathletes got off

to a strong start Thursday with freshman Kevin Johnson posting a

first-day point total of 3,552, good for first, while junior

Cristina Gourdin is second overall and first among collegians with

3,123 points. Freshmen Katie Lloyd and Tonya Cure finished the day

in fourth and fifth, respectively, in the heptathlon.

The quartet will conclude competition today and the rest of the

team will join them for Saturday’s Tom Benich Classic.