Buffs to Compete in Pac-12 Multi-Event Championships

Rajon O'Quinn

Photo by: Pro-Motion Photography

May 03, 2018 | Track and Field

By: Rosie Jeffery, Interim SID Assistant

Seven track & field athletes are headed to Stanford to compete in the combined events Pac-12 Championships.

BOULDER – Colorado's track and field multi-athletes are headed to Stanford this weekend to compete in the Pac-12 combined events championships. The Buffs are sending three women to compete in the heptathlon and four men to compete in the decathlon.

Competing for the women will be sophomore Drianna Mustin, junior Maja Wichhart-Donzo and senior Michaela Wenning. Competing for the men will be sophomores Davis Butte and Aaron Carmichael, junior Nate Gravelding and senior Andrew Ghizzone.

The combined events will kick off the Pac-12 Championships, with the remainder of the events to be held May 11-12 in Stanford. The points earned by the multi-athletes this weekend are combined with the points earned next week for the Buffs final score.

"For some reason, this year the men's decathlon has not been a deep event on the Pac-12 level and so I think we have an opportunity to score some significant points for the overall team title," head Coach Mark Wetmore said. "There are 10 men entered in the decathlon, but only six have done decathlons so far this year, and four of those are ours. One would extrapolate from that, that we probably should have four out of the top six." Ghizzone is currently ranked No. 2 for the decathlon in the Pac-12, and right behind him are teammates Carmichael at No. 4, Butte at No. 5, and Gravelding at No. 6.

As for the women, the field will be a little deeper.

"I think there are 16 or 17 entries, we have three and they are all good," Wetmore said. "Maja is so far our best, I would think she will be in the top three or four."

At the April 18-19 Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific, Wichhart-Donzo recorded several personal bests and also earned the No. 4 spot on Colorado's all-time list for the women's 800 meters. She is currently ranked No. 5 for the heptathlon in the Pac-12.

"Michaela has got a good chance of scoring and if Dri has a better ankle than she did two weeks ago, she should score as well. So, this could be a great jumping off point for the overall team score by the end of Sunday," Wetmore said.

The Pac-12 Multi Meet Championships will take place May 5-6 in Stanford, California. The competition will begin on Saturday at noon with the last event slated to begin at 5:45. The remaining events will begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The full event schedule can be found on the Pac-12 website.

Air Force Twilight:
A small contingent of Buffs will also be competing at the Air Force Twilight meet in Colorado Springs on Friday. The athletes in this meet will be jumpers, throwers and sprinters. Their goal is to have one last chance to sharpen up before they head to the Pac-12s next weekend.

The meet will be held at the U.S. Air Force Academy on Friday. The field events will begin at 2 p.m. and the track events are slated to begin immediately following at 3:55 p.m. The full event schedule can be found at goairforcefalcons.com.

Colorado Women's Entries — Tashay Brown (100 meters), Elisa Grandemange (Discus, Hammer, Javelin), Eriana Henderson (400-meter IH), Rajon O'Quinn (200 meters, high jump), Alexandria Peters (200 meters), Gabby Scott (400-meter IH), Mariah Walker (shotput, discus), Valerie Welch (100 meter HH)

Colorado Men's Entries — Alexander Billing (100 meters, 110-meter hurdles), Matthew Denton (Hammer), Paden Gatlin (Discus), Aaron Haigler (Shoput, Discus), Nathan Hoy (400-meter IH), Brock Knechtel (Discus, Hammer), Jon Maas (200 meters), Duane McClurkin, Jr. (200 meters, 400 meters, High Jump), Aaron McCoy (400-meter IH), Giancarlo Narvarte (High Jump), Caleb Penner (Discus, Hammer), Jaysean Skrine (100 meters), Kendal Smith (400 meters), Austin Swanson (Shotput, Discus, Hammer), Davion Taylor (100 meters), Grayson Webber (Discus, Hammer)