After two days of grueling competition in the oftentimes misleading Colorado weather, the 2010 CU Track and Field Invitational came to an end.
Competing along with Colorado was a slew of local rivals, including Colorado State, Northern Colorado, UCCS and Wyoming.
Festivities kicked off on Friday at Potts Field with the men’s and women’s hammer throw event where senior Patrick Bachmann placed ninth in the men’s event with a throw of 165 feet, 8 inches. The event winner was Drew Loftin (unattached) who managed a distance of 231-04.
On the women’s side, two Buffs placed with senior Kaity Kark leading the way. Kark finished fifth in the event with a throw of 160-04. Also scoring was senior Chynna McCall, who finished eighth with a throw of 148-05. Kate Burton (unattached) captured the victory in the hammer throw with a toss of 193-03.
This string of strong marks only proved to be the beginning, as Saturday brought many more events and spectators to Potts Field.
The Buffs would claim victories in six events: sophomore Richard Medina in the men 1,500-meter, sophomore Brianne Beemer in the women 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Emma Coburn in the women 800-meter, and junior Kristin Johansen in the women 3,000-meter. Other winners included sophomore Cameron Clayton in the men 3,000-meter steeplechase and the men’s 4×100 meter relay team of sophomore Quinton Dodson, senior Jeremy Dodson, sophomore A.J. Whitaker and freshman Kyle MacIntosh.
Medina was a spotlight athlete, leading a contingent of teammates to a sweep of the first through fifth places in the men’s 1,500 meter. He finished in three minutes and 51.12 seconds and exuded mid-season confidence, even at such an early point of the outdoor season.
“It’s a pretty good stepping-stone for the rest of the season,” Medina said of his performance on Saturday. “It’s good to get a shorter race in before your longer ones that are coming up.”
Coburn matched that unprecedented performance by leading a foursome of CU runners consecutively past the finish line in the 800 meter, with a time of 2:10.61. It was a new personal record as well as the seventh fastest time in school history, but Coburn hinted that she was already focusing on the next track meet.
“I’m really excited,” Coburn said. “I felt good out there. This was a good workout for me before the steeplechase next week at Mt. SAC [Relays].”
Beemer was beaming with smiles as well, after winning the 400-meter hurdles in 1:01.65. She would also place eighth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.08.
“I’m very happy, given the conditions,” Beemer said of her performance, despite CU’s late start to the outdoor season due to weather-related cancellations. “Things have been very different, with so many meets being canceled, but we’ve been working really hard.”
Junior Joi Windham also competed in the 400-meter hurdles, placing third with a time of 1:03.85.
And then we all had seconds.
Sophomore Steve Kasica finished second in the 800-meter with a time of 1:51.80. Freshman Kyle MacIntosh finished second in the 400-meter hurdles with a 53.38, and sophomore Quinton Dodson who raced to a second place finish in 21.68 in the finals of the 200-meter.
For the women, freshman Shalaya Kipp took second in the 1,500 with a time of 4:41.98. Also senior Kark came back from her fifth place finish in the hammer throw on Friday to take second in the shot put with a final measuring of 43-09.
Despite constant rumors of rainfall floating amongst spectators in the bleachers on Saturday, sunlight ultimately prevailed, and the Buffs are hoping to carry this metaphor with them well into the spring season.
The track and field’s next event will be April 15 through 17 with the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. and some of the Buffs will also compete at the Michael Johnson Invite on April 17 in Waco, Texas.
Meet notes:
• CU assistant coach Casey Malone is now ranked ninth in the world in the discus throw, winning the event at the CU Invite with a throw of 206-11.
• Former CU standout Brent Vaughn (Nike) raced on Saturday in the men’s 3,000 meter to a first place time of 8:08.04.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Gino Figlio at Gino.figlio@colorado.edu.
