Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Sweep Big 12 Cross Titles
November 01, 2002 | Cross Country
Paced by course-record wins by defending champions Jorge Torres (23:32) and Molly Austin (20:26), the third ranked Colorado men's and women's cross country teams won their seventh and sixth Big 12 Conference championships, respectively at the A.J. Gustin Golf course here Saturday. The four-race sweep is the fourth-straight for CU's storied distance programs.
"That was our goal coming in, but I was nervous about the Missouri women on their home course and being particularly aggressive up front early," said head coach Mark Wetmore. "We brought 16 and 16 ran well. Across the board we had good performances."
With their individual titles, Torres became just the second Buff to win three conference crowns in the fall, as Adam Goucher won Big Eight and 12 titles in 1995, `97 and `98 while Austin became just the second CU woman to successfully defend her title, following in the footsteps of Kara Grgas-Wheeler who won back-to-back crowns in 1999 and 2000.
"It feels really nice to win again, " said Austin on her back-to-back titles. "I tried really hard not to think about it and not add anymore pressure, but I'm really psyched about the finish."
The women's race was anyone's at the 1k mark as both Colorado and Missouri each had five runners among the lead pack of 20. The race had been decided as early as the halfway mark of the 6k race contest, as Austin (running a 10:24 split), Sara Gorton and Natalie Florence were 1-2- and 4 respectively with Kansas State's Amy Mortimer in third. At the 3-mile mark, Florence (who would have a career-best finish) had taken over third with Baylor's Debbie Thornhill and Missouri's Valerie Lauver trailing in fourth and fifth which is the way the race would finish.
With 34 points, Colorado would win with 73 points to spare over host Missouri's 107. Texas finished just two points behind with 109, followed by Texas A&M (125), Baylor (136) and Kansas (147).
"Molly led sooner than I thought she would," said Wetmore. "That she went out so soon didn't surprise me. An unheralded high school runner and not recognized at FootLocker, her hard work and patience has paid off."
Although favored to win the race, the CU women were pleasantly surprised by their 1-2-3 finish. Senior captain Tera Moody would score as CU's fourth runner, followed by freshman Christine Bolf in 17th to round out CU's 34-point scoring efforts. Freshman Jackie Zeigle, running in her first postseason environment, turned in an equally impressive finish, crossing the line in 34th, followed by Kendall Grgas-Wheeler (52nd) and Katie Kissane (65th).
"We thought coming into the season that we had the best team ever at Colorado," added Austin. "But we had a lot of injuries early in the season. I never thought we would finish 1-2-3. But this race just proves that we're going to be tough. Each meet has been more impressive for our team."
"We came in here a little nervous about the course," added Gorton who was running her first conference meet in the fall since the '00 season. "But we showed our full potential. Kansas State has a great team and Missouri has a great team, but this was the start of a great season."
The men's race unfolded like the women's, but it was clear at the 1k mark that it was Colorado's race to lose as just under three minutes into the 8k course, the Buffs had five runners among the top 10 with Jorge and Ed Torres and Steve Slattery running 1-2-3. At the 2,500-m mark Jorge Torres had begin to pull away with Oklahoma State's Jason Woolhouse leading the chase pack that included Ed Torres, Slattery and CU freshman Billy Nelson which is how, 5,500-m later, the race would finish with Jorge Torres running with a 16 second cushion.
Colorado's 25 points was 65 ahead of runner-up Texas (90) and far ahead of the top half of the field as Texas A&M finished third with 114, followed by Oklahoma State (132), Iowa State (141) and Baylor (148).
"It would have been ideal to run 1-2-3 with Steve," said Jorge Torres. "We came in together as a group, but Ed and I going 1-2 is something to be really proud of. That combination has a sweet sound."
"Coming in behind him is great," added Ed. "Especially for our family. I just wish Steve could have come in behind us. This is our best finish as a team so far this year. Early this year we struggled a little bit, but hopefully we will keep this going."
Jorge commented on the team's outlook since the loss of Dathan Ritzenhein to a stress fracture, "We feel confident. To be a good team you have to go through adversity. Year in and year out you have to be able to deal with losses like that."
Billy Nelson's fifth-place finish was the top effort of the day by a freshman, and he was followed by Jon Severy who finished 13th to round out CU's low score of 25, the third-lowest score in a Big 12 title meet. Bret Schoolmeester, just four seconds behind Severy, was the second highest finishing frosh, coming in at 16th. Coming in as CU's seventh runner was Payton Batliner (29th) and eighth was Casey Burchill (36th).
"Jorge was an excellent cross country runner coming out of high school. He's perfectly suited in style and disposition on this course... he was the horse on this course," complimented Wetmore.
The Buffs will take a two-week break between meets, as they will run in the NCAA Mountain Region Championships, Nov. 16 for the first time in Albuquerque. After that the NCAA Championships will be decided on Nov. 25 in Terre Haute, Ind.
"We're aware that Stanford is a very good team. They're better and four and five and look like 50-60 points better than us on paper. But Billy Nelson ran such a race. If he does this at NCAAs, he'll take a big chunk of that out.
BIG 12 CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS (Columbia, Mo.) Men's Team Scores 1. Colorado 25-points 2. Texas 90 3. Texas A&M 114 4. Oklahoma State 132 5. Iowa State 141 6. Baylor 148 7. Nebraska 171 8. Kansas 208 9. Kansas 208 10. Kansas State 254 11. Oklahoma 274 12. Texas Tech 329 Colorado Finishers 1. Jorge Torres 23:32 (course record) 2. Ed Torres 23:48 4. Steve Slattery 24:00 5. Billy Nelson 24:01 13. Jon Severy 24:34 16. Bret Schoolmeester 24:42 29. Payton Batliner 24:57 36. Casey Burchill 25:08 Women's Team Scores 1. COLORADO 34-points 2. Missouri 107 3. Texas 109 4. Texas A&M 125 5. Baylor 136 6. Kansas 147 7. Kansas State 169 8. Oklahoma State 179 9. Texas Tech 197 10. Iowa State 237 11. Nebraska 257 12. Oklahoma 256 Colorado Finishers 1. Molly Austin 20:26 (course record) 2. Sara Gorton 20:37 3. Natalie Florence 20:40 11. Tera Moody 21:15 17. Christine Bolf 21:35 34. Jackie Zeigle 22:08 52. Kendall Grgas-Wheeler 22:49 65. Katie Kissane 23:28
