Colorado University Athletics
Val Constien
Photo by: Cliff Grassmick
CU Sends Six Athletes to NCAA Outdoor Championships
June 05, 2018 | Track and Field
BOULDER – Colorado's track and field team is sending six athletes to Eugene, Ore. for the NCAA Championships that begin on Wednesday, June 6.
Representing the women will be Kaitlyn Benner, Erin Clark, Valerie Constien, Elissa Mann and Makena Morley. On the men's side, Zach Perrin will be competing.
The competition begins on Wednesday, but the first Buff to race will be Constien in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase on Thursday afternoon. Constien is going into the competition after running a personal record in the steeplechase at the NCAA West Prelims, crossing the finish line in 9:47.97.
Also at the NCAA West Preliminary Championship, Morley, Clark and Benner all broke the school record in the women's 10,000-meter run and earned a spot in the national finals on Thursday night. Morley, who was the first Buff to finish the race in sixth place overall, reset the record with a time of 32.28.58. Clark placed seventh with a PR of 32:28.88 and Benner clocked in at 32:45.05 for 10th place. All three raced faster than the previous CU 10k record of 32:50.80, which was set in 2002 by Jodie Hughes.
Clark will be pulling double duty in her final meet for the Buffs as she also qualified for NCAAs in the 5k, which is on Saturday. Her season best time is in the 5k is 15:30.59.
Mann ran her fastest 800-meter time at the NCAA West Prelims (2:03.96), and is set to race on Thursday afternoon in the semi-finals of the 800 to qualify for the finals on Saturday.
Finally, representing the men is Perrin in the 5k. He finished second at Pac-12s behind teammate Ben Saarel, and is going into the weekend after an 11th place finish at the prelims. Perrin's season best time is 13:37.06.
"The NCAA Championships is one of the two big weekends of the year coupled with the Pac-12s. We tell them that that's when they need to be ready to do team duty and be at their best. And we hope they are; we hope they're mentally prepared, and we hope we have done a good job physically as well," CU head coach Mark Wetmore said. "As far as I can tell everybody seems to be topped off and ready to go. They all look pretty good to me and we are ready to race."
For more information including a schedule of events, start lists and live results, click here. The entire meet will either be streamed live or televised by ESPN. Click here for broadcast information.
NCAA Outdoor Championships Schedule (CU Events Only)
Thursday, June 7 (times are Mountain)
Friday, June 8 (times are Mountain)
Saturday, June 9 (times are Mountain)
Representing the women will be Kaitlyn Benner, Erin Clark, Valerie Constien, Elissa Mann and Makena Morley. On the men's side, Zach Perrin will be competing.
The competition begins on Wednesday, but the first Buff to race will be Constien in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase on Thursday afternoon. Constien is going into the competition after running a personal record in the steeplechase at the NCAA West Prelims, crossing the finish line in 9:47.97.
Also at the NCAA West Preliminary Championship, Morley, Clark and Benner all broke the school record in the women's 10,000-meter run and earned a spot in the national finals on Thursday night. Morley, who was the first Buff to finish the race in sixth place overall, reset the record with a time of 32.28.58. Clark placed seventh with a PR of 32:28.88 and Benner clocked in at 32:45.05 for 10th place. All three raced faster than the previous CU 10k record of 32:50.80, which was set in 2002 by Jodie Hughes.
Clark will be pulling double duty in her final meet for the Buffs as she also qualified for NCAAs in the 5k, which is on Saturday. Her season best time is in the 5k is 15:30.59.
Mann ran her fastest 800-meter time at the NCAA West Prelims (2:03.96), and is set to race on Thursday afternoon in the semi-finals of the 800 to qualify for the finals on Saturday.
Finally, representing the men is Perrin in the 5k. He finished second at Pac-12s behind teammate Ben Saarel, and is going into the weekend after an 11th place finish at the prelims. Perrin's season best time is 13:37.06.
"The NCAA Championships is one of the two big weekends of the year coupled with the Pac-12s. We tell them that that's when they need to be ready to do team duty and be at their best. And we hope they are; we hope they're mentally prepared, and we hope we have done a good job physically as well," CU head coach Mark Wetmore said. "As far as I can tell everybody seems to be topped off and ready to go. They all look pretty good to me and we are ready to race."
For more information including a schedule of events, start lists and live results, click here. The entire meet will either be streamed live or televised by ESPN. Click here for broadcast information.
NCAA Outdoor Championships Schedule (CU Events Only)
Thursday, June 7 (times are Mountain)
| 5:32 p.m. | W 3k Steeplechase (semis) | Val Constien | ESPN2 |
| 6:44 p.m. | W 800 meters (semis) | Elissa Mann | ESPN2 |
| 7:38 p.m. | W 10,000 Meters (finals) | Kaitlyn Benner | ESPN2 |
| Erin Clark | |||
| Makena Morley |
Friday, June 8 (times are Mountain)
| 8:25 p.m. | M 5,000 Meters (finals) | Zach Perrin | ESPN |
Saturday, June 9 (times are Mountain)
| 4:54 p.m. | W 3k Steeplechase (Finals) | Val Constien | ESPN |
| 5:44 p.m. | W 800 meters | Elissa Mann | ESPN |
| 6:25 p.m. | W 5,000 Meters (finals) | Erin Clark | ESPN |
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and FieldColorado T&F/XC: 2016 HOF Sara Gorton Slattery
Monday, August 12
Bailey Hertenstein @baileyh_ Wins the Pac-12 5k Championship @cubuffstrack #gobuffs
Monday, May 13
Pac-12 TRACK Championships - Wrap Up
Monday, May 13
@cubufffstrack First Crack at NEW Potts Field #gobuffs
Wednesday, April 10