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CU’s Van Halen is 1st team All American
Jun 7th
Van Halen Earns All-America Honors
EUGENE, Ore. – Aric Van Halen finished his track and field career at the University of Colorado by earning All-America First Team honors with an eighth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday night at the NCAA Championships at Historic Hayward Field.
Van Halen, the 2013 Pac-12 Champion, finished in 8:44.50 to earn his best placing at nationals; his previous best finish was 10th in 2012 when he was named to the All-America Second Team.
Aric Van Halen made All American First Team
The top three finishers went to the start from the gun and immediately pulled away from the rest of the field. The other nine racers ran together for the majority of the race and Van Halen was right near the front of that pack and led the group for four laps until just before the field entered the bell lap. It was right before that lap that he dropped down to around eighth which is where he would finish.
COBURN COMPETES FOR THE STEEPLE CHASE CHAMPIONSHIP at 3:57 MT on ESPNU
The top three competitors in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase finished very closely. UTEP’s Anthony Rotich won in 8:21.19 and Texas A&M’s Henry Lelei, the overall favorite, ended up second after taking a spill in the final water jump (8:23.16). Arkansas’ Staney Kebenei was third in 8:24.45. Curtis Carr (BYU) was the next to cross the finish in 8:40.87. The following four finishers were separated by less than 1.5 seconds. Dakota Peachee (High Point) was fifth in 8:43.04, Louisville’s Mattias Wolter was sixth (8:43.59) and Eastern Kentucky’s Ole Hesselbjerg was seventh (8:43.80). Van Halen beat out Wichita State’s Tomas Cotter for the eighth position by .60 seconds (8:45.10).
In the high jump, Mark Jones made his first attempt over the bar at 6-8.75, but missed all three tries at 6-10.75. He tied with two others for 21st overall as all three made it over 6-8.75 on their first attempt. He’s the first Buff since Jason Dudley in 1990 to qualify for the NCAA Championships in the high jump.
Emma Coburn will wrap up the championships on Saturday afternoon for the Buffs in the women’s steeplechase. She will be going for her second title in the event as she won the championship in 2011 before redshirting the 2012 season. Coburn’s final is at 2:57 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on ESPNU. Live stats will also be available at www.flashresults.com.
NCAA Outdoor Championships Schedule (CU Events Only)
Historic Hayward Field (Eugene, Ore.)
Track Events
Men’s 3,000-Meter Steeplechase Finals: (1. Anthony Rotich, UTEP, 8:21.19) 8. Aric Van Halen, 8:44.50
Field Events
Men’s High Jump Finals: (1. Derrick Drouin, Indiana, 7-8) t21. Mark Jones, 6-8.75
– release by Colorado track & field –
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CU’s Emma Coburn is running for the gold–again
Jun 7th
EUGENE, Ore. – Emma Coburn will have a chance to win one last NCAA 3,000-meter steeplechase title for the University of Colorado after cruising to an easy win in the semifinals on Thursday night at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Historic Hayward Field.
Emma chasing steeples
The 2012 Olympian clocked a time of 9:46.76 to win not only the first heat, but the semifinal round as well. She outran the rest of the field by more than nine seconds as Cornell’s Rachel Sorna had the next fastest time at 9:55.84. (Sorna was also in the first heat with Coburn.) The second heat was won in 9:58.82 (Weber State’s Amber Henry).
The finals are on Saturday at 2:57 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on ESPNU.
Coburn went to the front of the pack at the start and put about 10 meters between her and the rest of the field. After that, she was able to run a very smooth and controlled race as she continued to put distance between her and her competitors. Entering the bell lap, Coburn had built up a commanding lead, approximately 50-meters, and was able to cruise to the finish.
Earlier in the afternoon, senior Joe Morris competed in his second event of the championships as he raced in the third section of the 200-meter semifinals. Morris ended up seventh in the heat and 22nd overall with a time of 20.81. Pac-12 Champion Bryshon Nellum (USC) won the semifinals in 19.99.
Although Morris did not advance to the finals in either event, he wrapped up one of the best sprinting careers at CU, finishing as the second best performer in the outdoor 200 (20.45) and tied for third in the 100 (10.27). He is also CU’s indoor 60-meter record holder (6.57) and won a pair of 2013 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation indoor track and field titles in the 60 and 200 in February. This past May he was named CU’s Male Career Athletic Achievement Award winner. He also became the first Buff since Devlon Dunn in 1988 to qualify for both the 100 and 200 races at nationals.
Action at the NCAA Championships will continue on Friday for the Buffs, starting with sophomore Mark Jones in the high jump which starts at 3:20 p.m. PT and the beginning of the meet will be streamed on the Pac-12 Live Stream (pac-12.com/live/goducks). Senior Aric Van Halen will be on the track at 5:40 p.m. PT for the finals of the men’s steeplechase. That final will be televised live on ESPNU. Live stats will also be available at www.flashresults.com.
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Buffs send 5 track and fielders to National Championships
Jun 4th
BOULDER – CU Seniors Emma Coburn and Aric Van Halen will compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Joe Morris will race in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes. The Buffs will also be sending a pair of athletes to compete in the field events; junior Emily Hunsucker in the hammer throw and sophomore Mark Jones in the high jump.
This will be Coburn’s fourth trip to the outdoor championships in the steeplechase and she has been quite successful. In 2009, she finished 11th, but the following year she was the runner-up. Finally in 2011, Coburn won her first NCAA individual steeplechase title. She redshirted the 2012 season, but is back and looking to finish her collegiate career strong. The 2013 Pac-12 Champion has the top time in the country and ranks ninth in the world (9:28.26).
Emma Coburn
Emily Hunsucker
Aric Van Halen
Joe Morris
Mark Jones
Van Halen is also no stranger to nationals. He finished 10th at the 2012 championships to earn his first All-America honor. Earlier this season, Van Halen won his first individual Pac-12 title and he ran a season-best time of 8:38.23 at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships, which was seventh overall.
The final three athletes will all be making their first appearances at NCAAs. Joe Morris is just the second Buff to compete in the 100 and 200 at nationals. The only other CU athlete to do the double was Devlon Dunn in 1988. Morris finished eighth at prelims in the 100 and was ninth in the 200. His season and personal bests are 10.27 (100) and 20.45 (200).
Hunsucker had a standout season, breaking a 15-year-old school record in the hammer throw. Not only did she break it, but she has continued to reset it several times since, most recently at the NCAA West Prelims on May 23 when she recorded a mark of 207-10. That throw placed her seventh in the west to advance to NCAAs.
Jones has also had a good season. He was the runner-up at the Pac-12 Championships with a jump of 7-2 ½, which also put him third all-time in CU history, just behind Bill Jankunis (7-4) and Jason Dudley (7-3). Jones has had two meets with jumps over 7-0 this season. He tied for 11th at the west prelims to advance to NCAAs.
The entire meet will either be streamed live or televised. Wednesday will be streamed on the Pac-12 Network (pac-12.com/live/goducks). Thursday’s events will be available via ESPN3.com, and Friday and Saturday’s events will be televised on ESPNU in a window beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday. Prior to those times on Friday and Saturday the meet will be on ESPN3.com. Live results can be accessed on NCAA.com and flashresults.com.
CU press release
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