Buffs Ready For 2016 Cross Country Season

BOULDER — Entering the 2016 season, Colorado Head Cross Country Coach Mark Wetmore has a lot to be excited about.

"The women finished second last year at the national championships, and we have a good group returning this year," Wetmore said. "Frankly I think it might be our best team ever, and so we expect to finish very high in the national championships. New Mexico won by a large margin last season, and they have a good team returning this season. Stanford, Oregon and Washington have good teams making up a loaded Pac-12 this season. Our women could be one of the three or four best teams in the country and still finish fourth in the conference."

The Buffs return a good group from the 2015 team that won the Pac-12 and NCAA Mountain Region Championships. Senior Erin Clark, a two-time All-American, and junior Kaitlyn Benner, a 2015 All-American, both return to lead the team to another successful campaign.

Some of the other key returners for the Buffs include sophomore Dani Jones, junior Melanie Nun and senior Carrie Verdon, who have all scored for Colorado in the postseason. But they aren't the only ones who can help the team this fall as the Buffs have added a trio of newcomers who look to make an immediate impact. Sophomore Makena Morely transferred to CU from Montana after winning the Big Sky Championship as a freshman. She was also eighth at the NCAA Mountain Region Championship, which qualified her for nationals where she placed 97^th. Freshmen Madie Boreman and Sage Hurta also come in with some big credentials and will be looking to make the varsity roster.

"The women's team is really excited since last year was a big year for us," Verdon said. "Coming into the fall, we haven't really sat down and talked about specific goals, but we are all gearing towards that national meet and we know we have a good team. So placing as high as we can is one of main goals this season."

The men's team graduated some big talent in four All-Americans, so Wetmore knows they have some rebuilding to do. But the future looks bright with a large group of underclassmen.

"The new people are hungry and are working hard," he said. "They've had a good summer and I think the men will out run their early season ranking."

Senior Ben Saarel, a three-time All-American, will be joined by another All-American, sophomore John Dressel. The team will have many options with several upper classmen looking to break into the top seven this season. Juniors Zach Perrin and Adam Peterman have both been a part of an NCAA Championship team and look to take a bigger step this fall.

Colorado redshirted two freshmen last season, Reilly Friedman and Joe Klecker, and added seven freshmen. Expectations will be high given the history of the program.

"We don't really talk about expectations on the men's team," Saarel said. "I think on an individual level there are guys who really want to step up and do well this season. A lot guys want to step up for us and be really good, and I'm sure they have individual aspirations but we haven't really talked about the team's expectations. If they take care of themselves, then we can handle the team competitions."

Overall, Wetmore is excited about both recruiting classes this year, saying "it is the best incoming gender-combined class he can remember."

"Two national caliber women and seven men who are all good, going all the way up to really good," Wetmore said. "Six of the seven men have been together for a month up in the mountains Mammoth, Calif. They've been training and bonding during their own self-created preseason training camp. I've never seen freshmen do that before. It's a very good class."

The season will start on September 2 at the Colorado State Invitational in Fort Collins, Colo. After that, CU will have almost a full month off to prepare for its only home meet of the season, the Rocky Mountain Shootout on Oct. 1.

The postseason will come quickly with Arizona hosting the Pac-12 Championship on October 28, in Tucson, Ariz. The Buffs won both the men's and women's team titles in 2015, but repeating won't be an easy task.

The men, who have won all five titles since entering the conference in 2011, have a lot of rebuilding to do. Oregon is the highest ranked Pac-12 team in the national preseason poll, coming in at second overall. Stanford is fourth, CU is fifth and Washington is eighth overall. Washington State and UCLA are both receiving votes.

The women will see strong competition against several Pac-12 teams as well, although they are the highest nationally ranked team at second overall. Behind the Buffs, Oregon is ranked fourth, Stanford is seventh and Washington is 11^th, while California and Utah are also receiving votes.

For the 11^th time in 13 years, the NCAA Championships will happen in Terre Haute, Ind. Terre Haute has been a great place for the Buffs. CU's men have won four of their five NCAA titles on the course, while the women have record several second place finishes and won an NCAA title there.

"We like Terre Haute, but I did like how it was in the old days where we traveled around the country," Wetmore said. "I think Terre Haute is a fair course, while not being a particularly challenging course. No one gets pinched off in certain places, and no one has to step on roots or jump over creek, so it's fair for everybody and less likely for things to go wrong. It might be good for our team. I think our team is a speedier more track like cross country team with good 1,500-meter and steeplechase runners and not so many 10,000-meter warhorses. So, Terre Haute might be better for us then Louisville."

Players Mentioned

Kaitlyn Benner

Madie Boreman

Erin Clark

John Dressel

Reilly Friedman

Sage Hurta

Dani Jones

Joe Klecker

Melanie Nun

Adam Peterman

Ben Saarel

Carrie Verdon

Related Videos