Air Force Quad Pre

The weather outside is frightful, yet not nearly as scary as the

Colorado State track and field teams. With unblemished records, the

men and women continue the indoor season this weekend in Colorado

Springs at the Air Force Classic.

The Rams join the Falcons, Arizona and Colorado at 10 a.m.

Saturday at the annual quadrangular. The men enter having won five

of the last six Air Force Classics, the women each of the last

three.

After gearing down last weekend in Wyoming, the Rams are ready

to once again go on the prowl.

“We’ll go after this meet very aggressively,” head coach Del

Hessel said. “It’s the last team-scored meet before

conference.”

With great all-around performances in each of the last two

meets, the Rams go in confident but with room to improve. Hessel

said he is looking for a stronger performance in the 800-meter from

both the men and women, even after winning the event last

weekend.

Hessel added junior Mike Nicks to the 800 field and junior Paul

Michel, competing in his first race of the season, to the mile.

Teammate and roommate Paul DiGrappa will continue to race in one of

the Rams’ stronger areas – distance. DiGrappa and fellow studs

Austin Vigil, Josh Glaab and Dylan Olchin add experience and talent

to a well-rounded team.

“We’ve got a good combination of throws, sprints, jumps and

distance,” DiGrappa said. “We want to win as a team.”

The men’s team boasts this week’s Mountain West Athlete of the

Week Magnus Lohse. The freshman from Sweden won the shot put in

Wyoming and shattered the school record, also the third longest

throw in conference history, with a toss of 63 feet, 2 inches.

The women continue to gain experience and display great

potential.

“The team is ready to show improvement,” Hessel said.

With this the last scoring meet before conference, the climax

couldn’t have come at a more opportune time – right before

“possibly the toughest meet of the year,” Hessel said.

With the women’s team gaining experience and the men’s filled

with talent, the end result for opponents could be scary.