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CU tracksters Nelson & Van Halen Advance At USAs
Jun 22nd
DES MOINES, Iowa – Billy Nelson and Aric Van Halen each advanced to the 3,000-meter steeplechase finals at the USA Track & Field Championships on Friday afternoon.
Nelson finished second overall, crossing the finish in 8:37.87, and Van Halen placed 11th overall (8:46.63). The duo ran in separate heats and both were able to finish in the top five for an automatic bid to the finals.
Nelson, an assistant coach for the Buffs, ran a very good race. Halfway through it, he was in third, but the top seven were very close. With two laps remaining, Nelson moved up to second place and was about eight meters behind the leader at the moment (Cory Leslie). As the field came into the bell lap, Nelson had dropped back to third, but he was still positioned very well and moved back up to second. Craig Forys won the heat in 8:37.79.
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Van Halen, who graduated in May, also had a good race but took a different approach. He started in the back of the field and slowly worked his way up. After two complete laps, Van Halen was up to seventh and three laps later he had moved into fifth, but the pack was still very close. With one lap left, the top six had pulled away from the rest of the field and Van Halen was still in great position as he earned the fifth and final automatic spot in the heat. He was just .47 seconds from a second-place finish as Daniel Huling finished in 8:46.16. Donald Cowart crossed third in 8:46.18 and De’Sean Turner was fourth in 8:46.62. Evan Jager won the heat in 8:45.85.
The men’s steeplechase finals will be at 2:55 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
Assistant coach Casey Malone was close to making the U.S. team, but came up just short as he placed fourth in the discus. Malone recorded a toss of 199 feet, 11 inches on his third throw of the afternoon, which won the first flight. Heading into finals, Malone was third overall before James Plummer moved ahead of him with a throw of 200-3. Lance Brooks won with a mark of 204-4.
Action continues at the USATF Championships on Saturday for CU. Former Buff Jeremy Dodson will run in the first round of the 200-meter dash at 1:40 p.m. CU senior Shalaya Kipp will race in the finals of the steeplechase at 3:20 p.m. and it will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.
USATF OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Drake Stadium (Des Moines, Iowa)
Track Events (Current and former CU Athletes)
Men’s 3,000-Meter Steeplechase (first round): (1. Craig Forys, NY Athletic Club, 8:37.79) 2. Billy Nelson, 8:37.87; 11. Aric Van Halen, 8:46.63
Men’s Discus Throw (finals): (1. Lance Brooks, Nike, 204-4) 4. Casey Malone, 199-11
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CU golfers head to the regional tournament
May 7th
Colorado Earns First Regional Bid Since 2009
Colorado, ranked No. 60 in the nation (GolfStat; No. 67 Golfweek) is the No. 10 seed in the field.
“We’re obviously really pleased about the selection, and it’s representative of a strong year by the team and all the hard work has paid off,” said head coach Roy Edwards. “Everyone is excited to advance to the regional, and we’re really excited that we get the chance to advance to the Finals from there.”
“We’re obviously really pleased about the selection, and it’s representative of a strong year by the team and all the hard work has paid off,” said head coach Roy Edwards. “Everyone is excited to advance to the regional, and we’re really excited that we get the chance to advance to the Finals from there.”
Edwards indicated that he would select which five players will make the trip to Fayetteville in the coming days. Four Buffs, seniors Jason Burstyn and Derek Fribbs, sophomore David Oraee and freshman Philip Juel-Berghave played in all 12 tournaments (38 rounds) this season, and most likely will be among that quintet. If so, the fifth player will come from a pool of four others who have competed at various times throughout the season.
Juel-Berg led CU with a 24th place finish at the recently completed Pac-12 Championships, as Colorado placed 10th as a team. A disappointing final round cost the Buffs as high as a sixth place finish.
“We were really close to having a top six finish, and in a six-count-five format, and even though we finished 10th, the performance wasn’t that poor,” Edwards said. “We were only a few shots short of finishing much higher, but the important thing that happened is that the golf course (Los Angeles Country Club North) taught our guys a lot of how we have to play the game. So no matter where we finished, that was a very valuable experience that I believe we can carry over into regionals.”
How good is the Pac-12 Conference? The league received three No. 1 seeds (California, UCLA and Washington), and is sending 10 teams into regional play. Thus, all nine schools that bested CU in the league meet are also in the postseason, though none are joining the Buffaloes in Arkansas.
Old Big 12 Conference foes Texas (No. 1 seed) and Oklahoma State (No. 3) are in the Fayetteville draw, with the two ranked Nos. 5 and 16 in the nation, respectively; in-between is host and 13th-ranked Arkansas. The remainder of the field in seed order includes No. 21 SMU, No. 28 Kent State, No. 32 Illinois, No. 40 Liberty, No. 45 Tulsa, No. 53 Kentucky, No. 60 Colorado, No. 67 Indiana, No. 72 UNC-Wilmington, UM-Kansas City and Alabama State.
The Buffaloes will attempt to advance to the NCAA Championship Finals for the first time since the 2001-02 season; five times since that year CU has qualified to the regional but would go no further.
“It’s really everybody’s first time except for Derek, who played last year as an individual, so it will be a new experience for everyone,” Edwards said. “We’re going to embrace it and are looking forward to playing well.”
The top five teams and top two individuals who are not members of those squads will advance to the NCAA Championship Finals, which are scheduled for May 28-June 2 in Atlanta, Ga.
David Plati
Associate AD/Sports Information
University of Colorado Buffaloes
357 UCB / Fieldhouse Annex #50
Boulder, CO 80309-0357
303/492-5626 (office)
david.plati@colorado.edu
Beemer, Torres and Mayden Lead Buffs On Day 1 Of Pac-12 Track and Field Championships
May 6th
LOS ANGELES – After the first day of competition at the Pac-12 Championships, University of Colorado senior Brianne Beemer is in third place in the heptathlon with 3,153 points.
Beemer leads a trio of Buffs in the heptathlon. She is 45 points in front of teammate, redshirt freshman Abrianna Torres, who is in fourth with 3,108 and junior Genny Mayden also had a good day and is sixth with 3,053 points. Arizona State’s Keia Pinnick is first overall with 3,441 points.
“The Buffs have kicked off the Pac-12 Championships in a big way,” Beemer said. “We hope to set the tone for tomorrow and the following weekend.”
Beemer had a solid effort on the first day, starting the day running 14.13 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. The time is the fastest she has ever run in a heptathlon and ranks sixth all-time in CU heptathlon history. Beemer came close to her personal best in the high jump when she cleared 5-4.25 and was also close to her shot put PR with a toss of 35-1.75. She finished the day by running 25.45 in the 200.
Torres wasn’t far behind Beemer, finishing the 100-hurdles with a PR of 14.61. She cleared 5-1.25 in the high jump and then came out with a huge throw of 41-11.25 to win the shot put portion of the heptathlon. Torres is already the CU heptathlon shot put record holder (42-7), but this throw was good for second all-time. She finished her day by clocking 25.97 in the 200.
Mayden, who is just 55 points behind Torres and 43 points behind fifth place holder Kimberly Conner (UCLA), also had a nice day. She ran the 100-hurdles in 15.23 and cleared 5-4.25 in the high jump. Mayden, who is also a very good thrower, placed third in the meet with a PR of 40-5.50, which was good for sixth in CU’s heptathlon record book. Mayden ran 26.11 in the 200 to finish her day.
In the decathlon, Emory had a very nice start and currently sits tied for sixth with 3,680 points. He is tied with Arizona’s Keegan Cooke. Both are just 30 points from fifth place holder, Washington State’s Spencer Wordell (3,710). Washington’s Jeremy Taiwo is first with 4,200 points.
Emory ran to a PR, and the eighth best time in CU’s decathlon history, in the 100 at 11.11. His long jump was just short of his personal best, jumping 20-6.50. Emory did extremely well in the shot put and recorded a PR by almost three feet when he earned a mark of 41-9.75, improving from his previous toss of 38-8.75. The throw also ranks third amongst CU decathletes. In the high jump, Emory cleared 6-4.25 before finishing the 400 with a PR of 50.31.
Overall the Buffs are poised very well with one day of action remaining in the combined events.
“It’s truly amazing to have all four Buffs in scoring position going into day two,” Mayden said. “All three girls finished day one well over 3,000 points, so we all have a lot of momentum going into tomorrow. We are all looking forward to seeing the Buffs dominate the podium tomorrow.”
The second and final day of the combined events championships is Sunday. The remaining events will all be contested next weekend, May 11-12, at Katherine B. Locker Stadium on the campus of USC.
CU press release
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