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.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.