BOULDER – Former University of Colorado cross country and track and field coach Jerry Quiller, who coached 15 years and hundreds of student-athletes at the school, has passed away after fighting a battle against multiple myeloma.  He was 69.

Coach Q started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Colorado State University and became an assistant with CU in 1970, holding that position for four years. In 1974 he took over the reigns as a head coach at Wayne (Mich.) State. After two seasons he came back to CSU (1976-80) before heading to Idaho State (1980-85). Quiller then took over the program at CU in 1985, replacing David Troy. He coached the Buffs until 1995 when he landed his final coaching post at Army (1995-2008).

“He had a resume of champions and All-Americans, but that is not why he was so loved,” Wetmore explained. “Simply, he was a great guy. He had a big smile, a nickname for everyone, and an arm around their shoulders. He made people feel happy, welcome, and at home. What greater measure of success could there be?”

During his time at CU, Quiller coached the Buffs to three Big Eight Conference titles and made a dozen (men and women) appearances at the NCAA Championships. He was named the league’s coach of the year five times in that span and directed 19 All-Americans (13 men and six women), including Olympians Adam Goucher and Alan Culpepper. In 1994, CU’s men placed second and the women were fourth at nationals, earning him national coach of the year accolades.

The program at CU was left to the very capable hands of Mark Wetmore, who was an assistant under Quiller. The two formed a strong bond and Wetmore has a great deal of respect for him.

“I’ve been lucky to know many people considered to be successful…athletic champions, Olympians, wealthy people, well known or influential people. But I’m not sure I ever knew anyone more successful than Jerry Quiller,” Wetmore said. “Everywhere I have traveled, people have asked me, “What do you hear from Q?”, “Can you get me Q’s phone number?”  We had a CU Track and Field reunion a year ago, with hundreds of graduates, going back forty years. Q was surrounded all night.

“He was also a coach up at CSU for a time. Just last year they had a similar gathering at one of their home track meets and the same thing happened. He moved around the meet like a celebrity, with an entourage following.”

“Our offices were side-by-side for over a decade, and I can’t recall a single day where he wasn’t always smiling,” said David Plati, CU’s associate AD for sports information.  “He was an ‘up’ person, even throughout his battle, a ‘glass is half full kind of guy.’  He left an indelible mark on those lives he touched.”

Coach Q was one of the most successful coaches in Army history. Quiller guided the Army men’s and women’s cross country and track teams to 37 Patriot League titles in 13 seasons on the job. He won a Patriot League title in either cross country or track and field in each of his 13 years at the Academy and was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year an astounding 22 times. He had two more athletes, Dan Browne and Anita Allen, become Olympians as they competed in the 2004 Athens Games.

As one of the most successful coaches in Army history, ‘Q’ went out on top, coaching the women’s team to their first outdoor Patriot League title in 10 years and earning 2008 Women’s Outdoor Track Coach of the Year honors from the Patriot League. He also earned one last trip to the NCAA Championships as distance runner John Mickowski advanced to the national competition under his leadership.

Quiller, a Fort Collins, Colo. native lettered in cross country, track and field and baseball at Fort Collins High School. He was a member of the Colorado State track and field team, graduating in 1964 with a bachelor’s of science degree in physical science. He earned his master’s in education in 1966, also from CSU. He was born on April 28, 1942 in Denver. He and his wife, Sandy, had three sons, Ryan, Rory and Robb, who were all pole vaulters.

Everywhere Coach Q went people could see what a genuine and amazing person he was. He left his mark on everyone he met, including Gary Ozzello, the Senior Associate A.D. for External Operations at CSU.

“I had the chance to know Jerry during his time at CSU and in his years since CSU,” Ozzello said. “He was very passionate about track and field and about his life and his family. I have nothing but great memories in all that Jerry did and every person he touched during his life.”

Quiller touched many lives in his nearly 40-year coaching career, including Idaho State coach Dave Nielson who served as an assistant for Quiller during his time at ISU.

“Coach Q has been a mentor to me and all whose lives he touched through his actions, style, and attitude.  In this very sad time, it is comforting to know that gifts to us in life are not lost in his passing,” Nielson said.

Coach Q was an assistant coach for the 2000 Olympic team which competed in Sydney, Australia. The team included two of his former athletes from CU, Goucher and Culpepper. He was the U.S. men’s team coach at the 1981 world cross country championships and the women’s team coach at the same meet in 1994. Quiller also served as the distance coach for the U.S. team at the 1987 track and field world championships.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Courtesy of CUBuffs.com

The book Running with the Buffaloes which chronicles the 1998 CU Cross Country team lead by Adam Goucher is under consideration of being banned in a middle school in Virginia. Its started when a 14 year old avid reader picked up the book from the library. His mom was glancing through it and found some curse words then called the school furious looking for answers. Here is the video.

The book has become a cult classic among high school, college runners and running fans alike. As author Chris Lear follows the team around during the tumultuous 1998 season on their quest for the national Cross Country title, he journals the conversations they have which at times are brash and juvenile yes, but remember this is who they are, young confident college students.

Of particular interest to running fans are the trails they run including the Buff Ranch, the Grange and the fabled Magnolia Road which runners from all around have added to their bucket list.

The controversy has sparked many discussions throughout Facebook and the internets. Teammate Steve Slattery commented on twitter: “People want to ban running with the buffaloes because of my #jersey language. In the age of #jerzyshore you think they would be cool”

Adam Goucher on his blog Run the Edge felt compelled to say,

I know I am partly to blame for the language used in Running With the Buffaloes but that is how we talked. Chris wanted the book to be authentic so he took down our words verbatim. In that sense the book is honest and does a great job of portraying real people on a real team going through a real season. He did not water it down to make it appropriate for all ages.

Tim Catalano, also a CU teammate and Adam’s best friend in college added this:

I taught and coached in high schools for eleven years after I graduated from CU. I am not sure if I ever walked into a middle school bathroom where I did not see graphic illustrations of genitalia on the walls along with language that would have made the characters in Running With the Buffaloes blush. I did not use foul language as a coach because I knew I was supposed to set a standard of intellectual maturity. I was not always mature, but I did uphold those standards fairly well.

A library is the same thing. It sets a standard by what it carries on its shelves. Not carrying books such as these will not prevent kids from cursing. Just as not carrying books about violence and sex will not stop fights and teen pregnancies.

But both Adam and Tim added that Middle school libraries probably aught not to carry the book. “If young runners want to read it, they can find it on amazon, the community library, or at the bookstore.”

And finally author Chris Lear stated:

They (the readers) may surmise after reading it that running can provide an avenue by which they will gain a sense of fulfillment and a sense of self. They may even learn that this melting pot of folks on the team may become like kin should – through shared effort and sacrifice – they commit to chasing some big goals.

There are worse takeaways to be found all around in media accessible to middle schoolers everywhere.

Are there some f-bombs along the way? You bet. Try training like those men trained, and you’ll find it’s not all unicorns, butterflies and cotton candy.

—

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Personally, as a father of a middle schooler, I am surprised that this mother didn’t take the time to talk to her obviously smart and well-read child about the context of these words within the story. The book doesn’t contain sex or drugs and is an honest chronicle about hard work, friendship, teamwork, and the twists that life can throw at you. This mother was quoted as saying “I know they hear it. I know they probably say some of them. It’s the age. They think it’s cool. But why should it be put under their noses in a book in the school library to read?” I think what she is forgetting is that her child had a choice to check out the book, and he has a choice not to read it.

Who knows, maybe this boy will connect in some way with the story and take up running himself. Now wouldn’t that be something?

Image courtesy of Pac-12.org

LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. — The University of Colorado cross country teams won the first ever Pac-12 Conference titles in any sport on Saturday morning, sweeping the men’s and women’s races at the Wigwam Golf Course.

The No. 6 CU men recorded 46 points in a very exciting race to defeat No. 4 Stanford by a narrow margin of seven points (53). The women entered the meet with a No. 16 national ranking and tallied a score of 50 points. No. 2 Washington was the runner-up with 73 points and No. 8 Stanford had 75 points in the team race.

“I would give each team an ‘A’ for today’s performance,” head coach Mark Wetmore said. “They came out and raced what they were capable of and some even exceeded expectations. It was a good day and we couldn’t have asked for much more from either team.”

Senior Richard Medina led the Buffs in the 8-kilometer race with a third-place finish, crossing the line in 22 minutes, 54 seconds. He was quickly joined by teammate senior Andy Wacker who finished sixth overall in 23:24.

“It means a lot to win the first Pac-12 Championship,” Wacker said. “In a conference that has the history that this one does (being the old Pac-10) and that has such great competitors with so many nationally ranked teams, it means an incredible amount to show them what we have and what we bring to the table.”

“We’ve really been working really hard for this,” Medina said. “It’s so exciting to be able to say that we are the first team to win. It is a great feeling.”

Junior Joe Bosshard ran in his first cross country race this season and recorded a top-10 performance by coming in ninth overall. He completed the race in 23:30. Senior Christian Thompson was 13^th (23:37) and freshman Ammar Moussa rounded out CU’s team score by taking 15^th. He finished in 23:43.

Medina is the only member of the men’s team that has won a conference title. He was on the last team that won a championship in 2007 when the Buffs were a member of the Big 12 Conference.

“Everything was so new then and I didn’t realize how special it was to win a conference title,” he said. “So to not have it for three years and then come back and win my senior year was pretty amazing.”

Sophomore Shalaya Kipp was the top female to finish the 6k course for the Buffs. She took fourth overall and had a time of 19:54. Senior Emma Coburn was fifth overall and finished one second behind Kipp (19:55). The pair ran the entire race together and helped pull each other along. Coburn was also competing in her first cross country race this season and was able make it a memorable one with her top-five performance.

Senior Lara Darco recorded a ninth-place finish as she finished in 20:18. Freshman Rachael Baptista was 14^th overall (20:25) and senior Katie Cumming was the fifth harrier for the Buffs (20:30), placing 18th.

 “We are so excited,” Coburn said. “We thought we would have a good chance if we came out and raced today like we know we can. Shalaya and I really played well off of each other and our third, fourth and fifth runners really did well today.”

The sweep by the Buffs marks the 13^th time in school history that the men and women have won both titles at the conference championship since the inception of a women’s program in 1976. This is the first time CU has won both titles since the Big 12 Championships in 2007.

After the men won their title, the women were given a little boost heading into their race.

“We all got chills watching the men’s race and were so excited for them,” Coburn said. “The mood was lightened and we got a better perspective on what this meet is about. Seeing the men win you understood what kind of occasion this is and how special it would be if we won too.”

The Buffs will be back in action at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships on Nov. 12 in Provo, Utah.

2011 INAUGURAL Pac-12 CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP

Wigwam Golf Course (Litchfield Park, Ariz.)

Men’s 8k Team Results

1.  Colorado , 46; 2. Stanford, 53; 3. Oregon, 93; 4. UCLA, 122; 5. California, 140; 6. Washington State, 148; 7. Washington, 153; 8. Arizona, 190; 9. Arizona State, 195.

Men’s 8k Individual Results

1.  Lawi Lalang, UA, 22:37; 2. Chris Derrick, SU, 22:45; 3. Richard Medina, CU, 22:54; 4. Jake Riley, SU, 22:55; 5. Luke Puskedra, UO, 22:58; 6. Andy Wacker, CU, 23:24; 7. Parker Stinson, UO, 23:28; 8. Kent Morikawa, UCLA, 23:29; 9. Joe Bosshard, CU, 23:30; 10. Brendan Gregg, SU, 23:32; 11. Collin Jarvis, Cal, 23:34; 12. Erik Olson, SU, 23:36; 13. Christian Thompson, 23:37; 14. Andrew Kimpel, WSU, 23:39; 15. Ammar Moussa, CU, 23:37.

Other CU Finishers:

22. Martin Medina, 23:52; 28. Blaker Theroux, 24:04; 36. Jonny Stevens, 24:45; 40. Dillon Shije, 24:30; 50. Matt Biegner, 24:44.

Women’s 6k Team Results

1.  Colorado, 50; 2. Washington, 73; 3. Stanford, 75; 4. Oregon, 89; 5. Arizona, 104; 6. Arizona State, 168; 7. California, 190; 8. Utah, 205; 9. Oregon State, 249; 10. UCLA, 288; 11. Washington State, 291; 12. USC, 384.

Women’s 6k Individual Results (top 15 Individuals)

1. Katie  Flood, UW, 19:32; 2. Kathy Kroeger, SU, 19:40; 3. Jordan Hasay, UO, 19:50; 4. Shalaya Kipp, CU, 19:54; 5. Emma Coburn, CU, 19:55; 6. Jennifer Bergman, UA, 20:00; 7. Stephanie Marcy, SU, 20:13; 8. Shelby Houlihan, ASU, 20:15; 9. Lara Darco, CU, 20:18; 10. Amanda Mergaert, UU, 20:21; 11. Jessica Tonn, SU, 20:23; 12; Christine Bobcock, UW, 20:23; 13. Elvin Kibet, UA, 20:25; 14. Rachel Baptista, CU, 20:25; 15. Claire Michel, UO, 20:25.

Other CU Finishers:

18. Katie Cumming, 20:30; 26. Camille Logan, 20:49; 35. Rachel Viger, 21:07; 51. Elizabeth Tremblay, 21:28; 69. Diana George, 21:55; 70. Courtney Bouchet, 21:56

Courtesy of CUBuffs.com

CU Cross Country

Senior Richard Medina and sophomore Shalaya Kipp led the University of Colorado cross country teams to victory at the 26th Annual Rocky Mountain Shootout at the Buffalo Ranch on CU’s South Campus. Both Medina and Kipp took first place overall to earn their first Rocky Mountain Shootout crowns.

Medina won the 8-kilometer race with the fourth fastest time ever in course history, crossing the finish in 24 minutes, 39 seconds. The Grand Junction, Colo. native redshirted last season, so this was his first cross country race in almost two years.

“It’s really special to me; I’m so blessed,” Medina said. ‘I’m so thankful for everything: my coaches, my teammates, God, my family. I was really looking forward to this race after this big block of training, and it was really nice.”

Medina defeated teammate Andy Wacker, who was the runner-up with a finishing time of 25:00. Wacker’s time ranks 22^nd overall on the all-time Buffalo Ranch course record book.

Colorado head coach Mark Wetmore was very happy with Medina’s performance as well as the team as a whole.

“Some of those times (in the record book) were performed here when the course was in immaculate condition, so that’s a very, very nice run for Richard,” he said. “Plus, he’s had so many little interruptions that, believe it or not as a fifth -year senior, he’s inexperienced on this course.

“And it was a good run for Andy. Andy was a little bit impetuous, I would say. But his training has been great and he’s just burst into race because he hasn’t raced since June, and I think he was just a little optimistic earlier.”

The No. 7 ranked Buffs also took fourth and fifth overall. Christian Thompson was third with a time of 25:20 and Martin Medina was fourth in 25:32. Jonny Stevens rounded out the score for CU. He was eighth overall with a time of 25:48.

The men showed how much depth they have this season with Blake Theroux taking 10^th (26:04), Dillon Shije placing 12^th (26:16) and Matt Biegner coming in 15^th (26:35). Aric Van Halen and Hugh Dowdy also had top-20 finishes. Van Halen was 17^th overall with a time of 26:40 and Dowdy was 20^th, finishing in 27:00.

The women’s race was also full of excitement. Kipp’s time of 20:29 tied for 10^th in 5.8k course history with teammate Laura Tremblay who recorded that mark at the 2010 shootout. Kipp had a decent lead on the field after the first half of the race and defeated the runner-up, Kristen McGlynn, by 27 seconds (20:56). The time was a personal best for Kipp as she bettered her mark of 20:42 from the 2010 meet.

“It didn’t feel like I had a huge lead the whole time, because I knew the girls were fast behind me,” Kipp said. “They ran a lot faster than last year; I was pretty excited. It definitely made me feel like I was in good shape.”

Lara Darco was the second Buff in the black and gold to cross the finish, doing so in 21:15. Right behind her in sixth was Camille Logan (21:19) and Katie Cumming was seventh (21:26). Diana George rounded out the team scoring with an 11^th-place finish, crossing the line in 22:17.

The Buffs had several other great finishers, also showing that they have a great deal of depth this season which has given then the fourth-place ranking in the nation. Staci Foster was 14^th overall (22:28), Courtney Bouchet took 18^th (22:52), Liz Tremblay was 19^th (22:54) and Kelly King placed 21^st (23:01).

“I am super excited,” Kipp said about the way the team performed. “Last year at this time, we didn’t have nearly as much of the depth, and this year, it was exciting that we had seven or eight girls running faster than four of us last year.”

Wetmore was pleased with the women’s finishes, but acknowledged there is some work for them to do between now and the next race.

“Frankly, I would say the women were a little behind what coach Burroughs and I had hoped for,” Wetmore said. “It was a very nice run for Shalaya, kind of out front the way with not a whole lot of help. I think we need to rest a little more. We didn’t rest much today. The rest of the women were good but not excellent so we have to get a little better rest.”

Overall CU won both men’s and women’s team titles. The men recorded 15 points, placing 1-2-3-4-5. Wyoming was the runner-up with 52 total points. Air Force placed third overall with 76 and Northern Colorado was fourth (112). Garden City Community College won the non-Division I team part of the meet with 34 points (1-3-7-11-12).

The women also defeated Wyoming for the title, taking 16 points (1-2-3-4-6) to UW’s 49. Air Force was third (91), Northern Colorado placed fourth (108) and Nebraska-Omaha was fifth (135). Colorado Mesa University, formerly Mesa State, won the non-Division I team meet with 33 points (1-4-7-9-12).

The Buffs will be back in action on Oct. 16 at the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind.

RESULTS

(for complete results go to CUBuffs.com/crosscountry)

26th Annual Rocky Mountain Shootout

Buffalo Ranch, CU South Campus

MEN’S 8K DIVISION I TEAM SCORES
1.Colorado, 15; 2. Wyoming, 52; 3. Air Force, 76; 4. Northern Colorado, 112.

MEN’S 8K NON-DIVISION I TEAM SCORES
1. Garden City CC, 34; 2. Western State, 54; 3. Fort Lewis, 70; 4. So. Dakota School of Mines, 86; 5. Western New Mexico, 143; 6. Colorado Mesa, 176; 7. Regis, 178.

MEN’S FINISHERS (Top 15):

1. Richard Medina, CU, 24:39; 2. Andy Wacker, CU, 25:00; 3. Christian Thompson, CU, 25:20; 4. Martin Medina, CU, 24:32; 5. Glen Randall, 25:41; 6. Amma Moussa, unattached, 25:47; 7. Matt Tebo, unattached, 25:58; 8. Jonny Stevens, CU, 25:48; 9. Garrett Zans, unattached, 26:00; 10. Blake Theroux, CU, 26:04; 11. Kevin Batt, unattached, 26:07; 12. Dillon Shije, CU,  26:26; 13. Brandon Johnson, unattached, 26:21; 14. Wesley Cheruiyot, Gillette, 26:34; 15. Matt Biegner, CU, 26:35.

Other CU Finishers: 17. Aric Van Halen, 26:40; 20. Hugh Dowdy, 27:00; 23. Garrett Ward, 27:06; 26. Mike Goodger, 27:16; 31. Steve Kasica, 27:36; 38. Ryan Savercool, 27:51

WOMEN’S 5.8K DIVISION I TEAM SCORES
1.Colorado, 16; 2. Wyoming, 49; 3. Air Force Academy, 91; 4. Northern Colorado, 108; 5. Nebraska-Omaha, 135.

WOMEN’S 5.8K NON-DIVISION I TEAM SCORES
1. Colorado Mesa University, 33; 2. Black Hills State, 52; 3. Fort Lewis, 114; 4. Regis, 125; 5. Western New Mexico; 129; 6. CSU-Pueblo, 166; 7. So. Dakota School of Mines, 183; 8. Garden City CC, 202; 9, New Mexico Military, 223; 10. DU-Club Team, 231

WOMEN’S FINISHERS (Top 15):

1. Shalaya Kipp, CU, 20:29; 2. Kristen McGlynn, unattached, 20:56; 3. Rachel Gioscia-Ryan, 21:04; 4. Rachel Baptista, unattached, 21:10; 5. Lara Darco, CU, 21:15; 6. Cami, lle Logan, CU, 21:19; 7. Katie Cumming, CU, 21:26; 8. Brooke Hughes, Wyoming, 21:44; 9. Kara Lubreniecki, unattached, 22:03; 10. Alexis Skarda, Colorado Mesa, 22:03; 11. Diana George, CU, 22:17; 12. Kristin Johansen, unattached,22:20; 13. Amanda Scott, unattached,, 22:25; 14. Staci Foster, CU, 22:28; 15. Megan Horsch, unattached, 22:34.

Other CU Finishers: 18. Courtney Bouchet, 22:52; 19. Liz Tremblay, 22:54; 21. Kelly King, 23:01; 65. Becky Popiel, 24:44

Courtesy of CUBuffs.com

CU Cross Country

The University of Colorado’s cross country season got off to a great start on Saturday morning at the CU Time Trial with strong performances from the No. 4 ranked women and No. 7 ranked men’s teams.

It’s a CU tradition to let a freshman runner cross the finish first at the time trial and this year the winners were Rachel Baptista and Ammar Moussa. Baptista won the women’s 5.8-kilometer race in 21 minutes, 44 seconds and Moussa won the men’s 8k in 26:06.

“Rachel Baptista is a very pleasant surprise,” coach Mark Wetmore said. “We knew that she was good or we never would have recruited her, but to run that far up and to finish with the varsity group is a pleasant surprise. Ammar was one of the best high school runners in the country and it was no surprise that he was up there at that pace. We will have to see in a few weeks when they are going two minutes faster if he is at the front.”

The men crossed the finish in an extremely close pack. Moussa was running unattached, but the next six runners to cross the finish were wearing the black and gold and all finished within a second of each other. Christian Thompson, Martin Medina, Richard Medina, Jonny Stevens and Andy Wacker all finished in 26:08, while Blake Theroux crossed in 26:09.

“We’ve already been pushing ourselves quite a bit,” Thompson said. “We had a really good summer. The team and everyone was meeting and doing a lot of good workouts, a lot of good runs and just a lot of group running. The team is definitely fit.”

The women ran very well. Behind Baptista was another CU freshman Jana Stolting who was also competing unattached. She finished in 21:45. Shalaya Kipp was the first CU uniformed finisher, crossing the finish line in 21:45 for third. Katie Cumming, a senior on the squad, was fourth overall and Lara Heigis took fifth. Both earned a time of 21:45.

“I think it’s looking like a really good season,” Kipp said. “This is much faster than we have run in the past [at the time trial]. We have a lot of fast freshmen and good transfers. I am excited about this season.”

Wetmore was happy with the day’s results for both squads, but knows the team has work to do.

“Today the times looked very good and the conditions were better than usual,” he said. “I have to be a little careful of those fast times. These are relatively excellent conditions. The course is never in brilliant condition this time of year, but I think the weather was a little conducive. So when I evaluate these performances I will have to do so with a grain of salt.”

Emma Coburn, who recently returned from competing at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, did not compete but was there to cheer on her teammates. Wetmore said the decision on whether Coburn will race this cross country season will be determined later this season.

The Buffs’ next action is the 26^th Annual Rocky Mountain Shootout on October 1. Meet information is available at cubuffs.com/crosscountry.

DES MOINES, Iowa — The third time is a charm, or at least that is the case for University of Colorado junior Emma Coburn who won her first NCAA 3,000-meter steeplechase title on Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Coburn, the 2010 and 2011 Big 12 champion, won the title in 9 minutes, 41.14 seconds. She was the runner-up to Penn State’s Bridget Franek in 2010 and was 11^th as a freshman in 2009. The Buffs have won the NCAA steeplechase title four times in the last six years as former Buff Jenny Barringer won it in 2006, 2008 and 2009. Coburn becomes just the second female CU athlete to win the steeplechase at nationals.

The race started out normally for Coburn as she went to the front from the gun, but she did have company for the majority of the race from Virginia’s Stephanie Garcia. With two laps remaining Coburn started to put some distance, about 15 meters, between her and Garcia. Coburn really turned in on heading into the last lap and won easily as Garcia could not match her kick. Garcia ended up finishing second in 9:47.29.

“It was a good experience to have someone pushing me,” Coburn said. “I hadn’t had that really all year in the steeple. That was really great that Stephanie Garcia was on my shoulder and a little ahead of me too. I wouldn’t have ran that fast if she hadn’t been pushing me.”

CU coach Mark Wetmore was also happy with Coburn having some company for the majority of the race.

“We knew that the Virginia woman would go with her,” he said. “She is coached by people that don’t like to get second, so we knew she would be there. She lasted a long time and kept Emma on pace. Emma needed that since she hasn’t had anyone to push her this season, so actually we wanted that.”

This has been quite the season for Coburn who is one of 10 NCAA female athletes on The Bowerman watch list, the top athletic honor in the track and field world. She ran a personal best time of 9:40.51 at the Cardinal Invitational on May 1, which at the time was the fastest in the world. That time is now 13^th overall and is the second fastest time by an American. Coburn’s time today was the fastest that she has run since May 1.

“I was really excited,” Coburn said. “I didn’t think I’d be able to run 41 in the heat like this – especially because I’m a wimp when it comes to hot weather. I was really proud of myself that I kept my poise even though I had someone on my shoulder and it was warm.

“I knew that even if I got second, I was still going to run a good time. It was definitely a mental fight with four laps to go, three laps to go, and she was still there. I just had to tell myself, ‘relax, relax.’ If it came down to it, I was getting myself ready for a big last 150 (meters).”

Coburn wasn’t the only Buff to do well in the steeplechase as teammate, sophomore Shalaya Kipp, raced to a third-place finish. Kipp over took two runners in the final lap to move from fifth to third and crossed the finish in a personal record time of 9:56.37. She improved two positions from her fifth-place finish last year as a freshman. Kipp was ranked fifth on the form chart heading into the finals.

“She was fifth a year ago and we were confident that she could be higher than that,” Wetmore said. “She ran a sound race technically and followed our race plan and we are very proud of her finish.

“I’m very happy with how Emma and Shalaya ran. Both of them did very well and what we expected them to do.”

As a team Coburn and Kipp recorded 16 points for Colorado and helped the Buffs to a 17th-place overall team finish, tying Central Florida. Texas A&M won the women’s team championship with 49.00 points. This is the best team finish for the women since 2005 when CU placed 12^th.  The Aggies also won the men’s championship with 55 points. CU tied for 64^th with one point.

Redshirt sophomore Joe Bosshard raced in the men’s 5,000-meter run less than 20 hours after placing eighth in the 10k on Friday. Bosshard gave the race a good effort and finished 13^th overall, finishing in 13:55.67.

“Joe has had way too many meters of racing in his legs the last month, but he came out and ran an honorable race which we knew he would do and we are proud of him,” Wetmore said.

Some of the Buffs will compete at the USA Track & Field Championships June 23-26 in Eugene, Ore.

NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Des Moines, Iowa (Drake Stadium)

Track Events (CU Athletes Only)

Women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase (Finals): 1. Emma Coburn, 9:41.14; 3. Shalaya Kipp, 9:56.37
Men’s 5,000-Meters (Finals): (1. Sam Chelanga, Liberty, 13:29.30) 13. Joe Bosshard, 13:55.67

Source : CUBuffs.com

CU Cross Country

SALT LAKE CITY — The No. 9 University of Colorado men’s cross country teams finished second at the NCAA Mountain Region Championship on Saturday to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship on November 22 in Terre Haute, Ind.

The No. 8 women’s team placed third overall, just missing an automatic bid but still have a good chance to earn one of the 13 at-large bids for the championship, which will be announced on November 14 at 5 p.m.

Colorado coach Mark Wetmore was very pleased with the results of the meet, as the goal is to make it through to nationals.

“I thought that both teams ran sound races today,” Wetmore said. “We wanted to try to leave a little in the well for next week.”

The men, who are now running a 10-kilometer course instead of the 8k course, recorded 66 points. No. 10 New Mexico put together a score of 45 points to win the team title, going 4-5-6-7-23. The Buffs defeated No. 15 BYU by 14 points (80 total points) and topped No. 7 Northern Arizona by 22 points (88).

“The men exceeded our expectations a little bit, finishing second and getting in automatically,” Wetmore said. “They went in ranked fourth [in the region] but again ran a very careful and conservative race.”

Joe Bosshard and Andy Wacker are proving to be an excellent 1-2 punch for Colorado as they placed eighth and ninth, respectively, by less than half a second. Bosshard’s time was 30 minutes, 8.0 seconds and Wacker clocked a mark of 30:08.5. Northern Arizona’s David McNeill won the individual crown in 29:24.1.

Sophomore Aric Van Halen raced to a 14th-place finish, improving from 42nd a year ago. He raced to a time of 30:08.3. Teammate Matt Tebo was just on his heels, finishing 1.5 seconds behind him (30:19.8) for 16th-place. Shortly after that, Christian Thompson crossed the finish for 19th to round out CU’s score. He finished the course in 30:23.7. All five of CU’s scorer’s earned all-region honors for their performances.

Cameron Clayton and Matt Biegner also ran for CU, though they did not score. Clayton placed 42nd (31:09.3) and Biegner was 60th overall (31:47.0).

The women recorded a team score of 59 points for their third-place finish. No. 10 New Mexico just edged out No. 3 Texas for the title by two points. The Lobos recorded a score of 53 points while the Red Raiders had 55 points.

“The women were third [in the region], but with the poll system the way that it is, there is no question they will get through. Even if they were fourth, they would have probably gotten through, and that is why they ran so conservatively today,” Wetmore explained.

Laura Tremblay led the women with a third-place individual finish, recording a time of 20:23.9, 21.4 seconds behind the winner, UTEP’s Risper Kimaiyo. Tremblay, only a sophomore, has been leading the team all season and ran a smart race to put herself, and the team, in a good position to advance to nationals.

“The goal was to make nationals and I wanted to do it as easily as possible,” Tremblay said. “I probably ran the first 4K in 20th place or so, but I started kicking in and caught a couple people and was able to do pretty well. My main goal was to do it without too much effort. By the end, I was pretty tired. The cold was a shock but thankfully Colorado just got a nice wave of cold so we were able to get ready for it.”

Laura Thweatt, the team’s only senior, earned her best finish at the regional meet, crossing the finish line in 20:42.7 for eighth place. Her previous best showing at this meet was 14th, which Thweatt did as a sophomore in 2008.

Freshman Shalaya Kipp raced to a top-10 finish in her hometown and clocked a mark of 20:48.2. She was a full second ahead of teammate Emma Coburn who finished 11th overall. This was also Coburn’s best finish at the regional meet. (Her previous best was 16th). All four earned all-region honors.

Junior Katie Cumming turned in a good performance for the Buffs as well, rounding out the team’s score with a 27th-place finish. She recorded a time of 21:28.3.

Camille Logan and Rachel Viger also ran for the Buffs but did not score. Logan was 43rd overall (21:54.4) and Viger was 69th (22:20.8).

All in all, Wetmore is happy with the results of the day’s meet.

“Nobody had a bad day and we are all healthy,” Wetmore said. “Now it’s back to work.”

The NCAA Championship is Monday, November 22 in Terra Haute, Ind.

2010 NCAA MOUNTAIN REGION CHAMPIONSHIP Results
Rose Park Golf Course (Salt Lake City, Utah)

MEN’S 10K TEAM SCORES

1. New Mexico, 45; 2. Colorado, 66; 3. BYU, 80; 4. Northern Arizona, 88; 5. U.S. Air Force Academy, 155; 6. Wyoming, 105; 7. Utah State, 209; 8. UTEP, 210; 9. Montana State. 217; 10. Colorado State, 245; 11. Utah Valley, 289; 12. New Mexico State, 311; 13. Texas Tech, 341; 14. Weber State, 356; 15. Idaho State, 412; 16. Montana, 440.

MEN’S FINISHERS (Top 25 and All-Region Honorees):

1. David McNeill, NAU, 29:24.1; 2. Miles Batty, BYU, 29:30.1; 3. Deigo Estrada, NAU, 29:33.0; 4. Keith Gerrard, UNM, 29:45.9; 5. David Bishop, UNM, 29:58.4; 6. Rory Fraser, UNM, 30:01.9; 7. Ross Millington, UNM, 30:04.0; 8. Joe Bosshard, CU, 30:08.0; 9. Andy Wacker, 30:08.5; 10. Justin Tyner, AFA, 30:11.9; 11. Travis Fuller, BYU, 30:15.3; 12. Patrick Casey, MSU, 30:17.0; 13. Jeremy Drenckhahn, AFA, 30:17.3; 14. Aric Van Halen, CU, 30:18.3; 15. Jared Ward, BYU, 30:19.1; 16. Matt Tebo, CU, 30:19.8; 17. Josh McCabe, UVU, 30:20.2; 18. Daniel Howell, USU, 30:20.6; 19. Christian Thompson, CU, 30:23.7; 20. Brian McKenna, USU, 30:24.1; 21. Ahmed Osman, NAU, 30:25.7; 22. Elkana Rotich, UTEP, 30:26.0; 23. Brock Hagerman, UNM, 30:26.3; 24. Daniel Wallis, CSU, 30:26.8; 25. Nathan Ogden, BYU, 30:30.1.

Other CU Finishers: 42. Cameron Clayton, 31:09.3; 60. Matt Biegner, 31:47.0

WOMEN’S 6K TEAM SCORES

1. New Mexico, 53; 2. Texas Tech, 55; 3. Colorado, 59; 4. BYU, 156; 5. Colorado State, 175; 6. Montana, 215; 7. UTEP, 218; 8. Weber State, 243; 9. Idaho State, 252; 10. Utah Valley, 287; 11. Southern Utah, 291; 12. Utah, 307; 13. New Mexico State, 313; 14. U.S. Air Force Academy, 335; 15. Northern Arizona, 347; 16. Wyoming, 358; 17. Utah State, 364; 18. Nevada, 486; 19. Montana State, 536.

WOMEN’S FINISHERS (Top 25 and All-Region Honorees):

1. Risper Kimaiyo (UTEP), 20:02.2; 2. Rose Tanui, TTU, 20:11.5; 3. Laura Tremblay, CU, 20:23.9; 4. Natalie Gray, UNM, 20:28.6; 5. Sarah Waldron, UNM, 20:30.8; 6. Ruth Senior, UNM, 20:32.9; 7. Winrose Karunde, TTU, 20:40.90; 8. Laura Thweatt, CU, 20:42.7; 9. Amanda Mergaert, UU, 20:45.2; 10. Shalaya Kipp, CU, 20:48.2; 11. Emma Coburn, 20:49.2; 12. Kate Bowen, BYU, 20:50.7; 13. Kathya Garcia, UTEP, 20:09.5; 14. Caroline Jepleting, TTU, 21:00.0; 15. Purity Biwott, TTU, 21:00.4; 16. Katrina Drennen, UM, 21:01.2; 17. Caroline Karunde, TTU, 21:03.0; 18. Vanessa Ortiz, UNM, 21:04.3; 19. Amber Henry, WSU, 21:08.8; 20. Kirsty Milner, UNM, 21:09.1; 21. Courtney Schultz, NMSU, 21:09.4; 22. Ellie Keyser, CSU, 21:10.6; 23. Katy Andrews, BYU, 21:17.7; 24. Christine Nelson, UW, 21:18.7; 25. Katherine Ward, USAFA, 21:20.3.

Other CU Finishers: 27. Katie Cumming, 21:28.3; 43. Camille Logan, 21:54.4; 69. Rachel Viger, 22:20.8

BOULDER— The University of Colorado track and field team will host the Potts Indoor Invitational this Friday and Saturday, January 22 and 23, at Balch Fieldhouse.

The Buffaloes will host several Front Range schools as Air Force, Colorado State, Colorado School of Mines, Northern Colorado, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and Wyoming will all send athletes to compete.

The Balch Fieldhouse houses a tight track and bleachers which allow for upfront views of the action.

The pentathlon will start with the 60-meter hurdles at 9 a.m. and the men will start at 9:05 with the 60-meter dash. The other events in the pentathlon that will be contested are the high jump, shot put, long jump and 800-meter run. The events in the heptathlon on the first day are the long jump, shot put and high jump. The other three events (60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000-meter run) will take place on Saturday.

The women’s and men’s pole vault will also take place on Friday, starting at 10 a.m. The rest of the events are scheduled for Saturday. The complete schedule is listed below.

The Buffs will have a good showing at the meet as 36 men and 34 women are registered for events in all areas. For more information, go to www.CUBuffs.com.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 2010

9 a.m.                     Women’s Pentathlon 60m Hurdles

9:05 a.m.               Men’s Heptathlon 60 Meters

9:35 a.m.               Women’s Pentathlon High Jump

9:40 a.m.               Men’s Heptathlon Long Jump

******                    Men’s Heptathlon Shot Put

******                    Women’s Pentathlon Shot Put

******                    Men’s Heptathlon High Jump

******                    Women’s Pentathlon Long Jump

******                    Women’s Pentathlon 800 meters

10 a.m.                   Women’s Pole Vault

Following Women’s PV     Men’s Pole Vault

(The Combined Event Competition will follow a rolling time schedule after the second event)

SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2010

FIELD EVENTS

10 a.m.                   Men’s Weight Throw

10 a.m.                   Women’s Shot Put

1:35 p.m.               Men’s Heptathlon Pole Vault

2 p.m.                     Men’s Long Jump

3 p.m.                     Men’s High Jump

Following Men’s WT          Women’s Weight Throw

Following Women’s SP      Men’s Shot Put

Following Men’s LJ            Women’s Long Jump

Following Women’s LJ     Men’s Triple Jump

Following Men’s TJ            Women’s Triple Jump

Following Men’s HJ            Women’s High Jump

RUNNING EVENTS

1 p.m.                     Men’s Heptathlon 60mh

1:45 p.m.               Men’s 60m Dash Prelim

1:50 p.m.               Women’s 60m Dash Prelim

2 p.m.                     Men’s 60m Hurdles

2:10 p.m.               Women’s 60m Hurdles

2:15 p.m.               Men’s 60m Dash Final

2:20 p.m.               Women’s 60m Dash Final

2:25 p.m.               Men’s Mile

2:35 p.m.               Women’s Mile

2:50 p.m.               Men’s 400 Meters

3 p.m.                     Women’s 400 Meters

3:10 p.m.               Men’s 600yds

3:20 p.m.               Women’s 600yds

3:30 p.m.               Men’s 800 Meters

3:40 p.m.               Women’s 800 Meters

3:50 p.m.               Men’s 200 Meters

4 p.m.                     Women’s 200 Meters

4:10 p.m.               Men’s 3000 Meters

4:25 p.m.               Women’s 3000 Meters

4:40 p.m.               Men’s Heptathlon 1,000 Meters

4:50 p.m.               Men’s 4 x 400 Meter Relay

5 p.m.                     Women’s 4 x 400 Meter Relay

There will not be a rolling schedule in the running events.

CU Cross Country

BOULDER— The University of Colorado women’s and men’s cross country teams are each ranked No. 6 in the final USTFCCCA Coaches Top 30 after placing first and second, respectively, at the NCAA Mountain Region Championship on Saturday.

Colorado will race at the 2009 NCAA Championship on Monday, November 23, in Terre Haute, Ind. The men are slated to run first at 10:08 a.m. and the women will race at 10:58 a.m.

Set your DVR

NCAA Cross Country Championships

Barringer will be eying the individual championship as she has been the runner-up the last two times she has raced at the meet (2006, 2007). Both championship races will be broadcast live on Versus Network (Comcast Channel 73) and streamed online via NCAA.com.

The Buffalo men collected 296 points in the poll for their No. 6 ranking. They dropped from fifth to sixth while BYU moved up from 14th to fifth with 306 points. BYU defeated the Buffs by a single point at regionals. CU had all five scorers place in the top 24 to earn all-region honors, but BYU had its top five finish in the top 16 to win the title. Stanford remained the top team in the poll and has had the ranking for the last six polls. The Cardinal earned 11 first-place votes to take the top honor with 359 points, while Oklahoma State is No. 2 with 349 points.

The CU women picked up 299 points in the poll for their sixth-place ranking. Colorado won the women’s regional championship for the first time since 2006. Jenny Barringer became the first CU female to win the regional title since 2004. Washington has been ranked on top of the poll for all eight polls. The Huskies took 10 of 12 first-place votes on the women’s side with 358 points. Villanova, the second-place team, recorded the other two votes and took 350 points.

Courtesy of CUBuffs.com

Photo Courtesy: Chip Bromfield, ProMotion Ltd.

University of Colorado senior Jenny Barringer won the individual crown at the 2009 Big 12 Cross Country Championship on Saturday morning, while the CU men’s and women’s teams each took second place.

Barringer took off from the gun, running up the first of many hills, and never looked back as she captured her first conference cross country title.

“This took me five years. It took me three years of college to get to the Olympics (3,000-meter steeplechase), and five years of cross country to get to the Big 12 Championship. It means a lot and it means a lot that I came back with a really strong team. This is absolutely the most fun race I’ve had in college so far. It was a really fun day.” - Jenny Barringer

“She was cruising and had a huge smile on her face, It was an easy run for her and she was having fun the whole way.” – Colorado Head Coach Mark Wetmore

On the men’s side, the top four finishers were Cowboys as OSU got all five of its scorers across the finish in the top 14. Colorado had all five scorers finish in the top 15.

The first Buffalo to cross the line was senior Kenyon Neuman. He was seventh with a time of 25:10.33 on the 8k course. Christian Thompson, who led the Buffs at pre-nats, earned his first top-10 finish by placing ninth (25:18.83). He was 29th in 2008.

Read more at CUBuffs.com

Post Race Interview http://www.cubuffs.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?catid=1802&id=657018