Track and field does well in Greeley

Fighting a drizzly, cold, spring afternoon, the Colorado State

track and field program once again impressed.

The men’s and women’s teams competed in Greeley at the

University of Northern Colorado in the Bears’ home meet, the Tom

Benich Classic.

For the second straight week the Rams fought the cool, breezy

weather and squads from across Colorado.

With many athletes resting or competing in different events, the

coaching staff used the weekend to evaluate the fitness level and

motivation of its athletes.

The results showed another strong Ram performance.

The women throwers dominated the competition. They braved the

rain and UNC’s tough facilities to win each of the three throwing

events.

CSU’s Katie Hansen won the discus with her toss of 164 feet, 8

inches. Keela Niemeyer won the shot put (49-7.75) and Melissa Harms

won the hammer throw at 181-3.

“It was cold, but it definitely wasn’t anything unusual to track

meets,” Harms said. “You take into consideration that it’s cold

outside, but you do what you have to, to get into that ‘go

mode.'”

The solid throwing core of Harms, Hansen, Niemeyer and junior

Loree Smith has made an impact on the throwing scene. The three

winners qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships in May with

their throws and Smith, who did not compete at UNC, holds the

Mountain West Conference record in the hammer throw.

The steady competition and opportunity to learn from each other

makes it “easy to be good,” Harms said.

The throwers were not alone in destroying the field.

Freshmen Janay DeLoach and Megan Fox finished one-two in the

100-meters.

In the 1500, Danielle Korb and Katie Yemm also took first and

second. Yemm then placed third in the 400, behind runner-up Katrice

Thomas.

Christine Ahn won the pole vault and Jill McKenzie and Rheannon

Backes leapt to a tie for second in the high jump.

For the men, freshman Magnus Lohse won the shot put for the

second week in a row. Chris Grapsas took the 100 title and placed

third in the 200.

Jason Fearheiley was the top collegian in the discus, finishing

behind former Rams Casey Malone and Brian Trainor, who also

competed. His toss of 175-1 qualified him for the regional

meet.

In the multi-events competed in on Thursday and Friday at UNC,

CSU junior Cristina Gourdin won the heptathlon with 5,136 points

and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the

process. Freshman Katie Lloyd was right behind her in second place

with 4,875 points and freshman Tonya Cure finished fourth with

4,537 points.

Freshman Kevin Johnson placed third in the decathlon, totaling

6,091 points.

Runnin’ Rams of the Week:

The women’s throws should get a round of applause. They

qualified for regionals and swept the field.

Grapsas carried the torch for non-competing John Woods in the

100.