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