Emma Coburn is as good as GOLD!
Jun 9th
Coburn Finishes Storied Career With NCAA Title
EUGENE, Ore. – Emma Coburn finished her outstanding career at the University of Colorado with a bang when she won her second NCAA 3,000-meter steeplechase crown on Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Championships.
The 2012 Olympian was the overall favorite heading into the race as she has the best time by an American this year (9:28.26) and she did not disappoint, winning the race in 9:35.38. Her finishing time was the fifth best in NCAA history and coincidentally all five of those times belong to the Buffs.
The race was a lot closer than most of Coburn’s previous NCAA races despite her typical race strategy of going right to the front to get out of traffic. Heading into the bell lap, she had about a 50-meter lead on the field and the NCAA title was hers to lose. Coburn continued to lead the race, but Florida State’s Colleen Quigley started to regain some ground and finished less than three seconds behind Coburn in 9:38.23. After Quigley, Weber State’s Amber Henry was the next to cross the line in 9:43.39.
Heading into the race, there was a lot of hype surrounding Coburn about whether or not she would go for the NCAA record in the event (9:25.54), which is held by former CU standout Jenny (Barringer) Simpson. Ultimately Coburn did not break the record, but she didn’t seem too upset since she came away from the meet with another championship.
“On a day like this I have to look at the conditions and competition and think about if it is wise to shoot for the record and today I decided to be more conservative,” Coburn said. “I had to be smart. I‘d rather have an NCAA title and I didn’t want to risk not getting that. Today was just about winning the title and its fine with me.”
Overall this is Coburn’s third NCAA championship. She also won the steeplechase in 2011 and the 2013 indoor mile crown this past March. She is also a six-time All-American for the Buffs, three times in the steeplechase, twice in the indoor mile and once in cross country.
This is the sixth steeplechase title the Buffs have won in the last eight years. Simpson won in 2006, 2008 and 2009 and Shalaya Kipp, who is redshirting this season, won in 2012 while Coburn was redshirting.
The title caps off an amazing season for the Crested Butte, Colo. native. She started her senior year last June by winning her second USATF Steeplechase crown to earn a spot at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. There, she made the final and finished ninth in a personal best of 9:23.56.
She didn’t have any eligibility remaining for the cross country season, so Coburn was able to focus on the indoor season. She was invited to compete in the mile at the prestigious Millrose Games (in a field full of professional athletes) and ran a PR of 4:29.86 to become the fifth fastest NCAA athlete in the mile. A few short weeks later, she ran another sub-4:30 mile to win CU’s first NCAA indoor mile title in 4:29.91 and became the first American to run a pair of sub-4:30 miles in the same season.
During the outdoor season, Coburn continued to impress. She ran the then-fastest steeplechase time in the world at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invite (9:28.26) in Stanford, Calif. just two days after her 2013 1,500-meter debut (4:11.36) at the 106th Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. Coburn won her first Pac-12 title in the steeplechase in May (9:55.67).
Instead of taking a week off between conference and the NCAA West Preliminary Championship, she took to the track again in a field of professional athletes at the OXY High Performance meet in the 1,500 and blazed to a PR of 4:06.87 while becoming the fifth-best performer in NCAA history.
This past April, Coburn was named CU’s Co-Female Athlete of the Year for the third time, as well as winning CU’s Co-Female Career Athletic Achievement Award.
Coburn finished the 2013 indoor and outdoor season with the fastest time in the NCAA in the indoor mile, 1,500 and steeplechase.
Although the NCAA season is now complete, Coburn and several other current and former Buffs will compete at the USA Track & Field Championships, June 19-23, in Des Moines, Iowa.
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Jun 9th
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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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