Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
at NCAA Pre-Nationals
RITZENHEIN WINS PRE-NCAA INVITATIONAL
October 18, 2003 | Cross Country
WATERLOO, Iowa ? In hist first race since the 2001 NCAA Championships, redshirt sophomore Dathan Ritzenhein led the Colorado men to a fourth consecutive win at the Pre-NCAA Invitational today at the Irv Warren Golf Course. The “gold” race title won by the men was complemented by the women's third place finish, also in the “gold” division.
Following Ritzenhein's race winning time of 23:17, Billy Nelson bettered his season record with a time of 23:54, placing 13th. Brett Schoolmeester, Casey Burchill, and Bret Vaughn rounded out Colorado's podium finish, placing 30th at 24:13, 32nd at 24:15, and 33rd at 24:16, respectively.
Third ranked Northern Arizona University placed second with 114 points, five behind the Buffs' 109 score. Unranked Ohio State University placed third with a score of 141. The Pre-NCAA Invitational individual title has been won by Colorado for two consecutive years, with Jorge Torres' win in 2002, and Ritzenhein's win this year. The men have placed within the top three at every Pre-NCAA Invitational since 1996.
The seventh ranked Colorado women finished the NCAA Pre-Nationals in third place with 148 points, following second ranked Stanford (66) and sixth ranked North Carolina State (101). The Buffalo women were led by senior All-American Natalie Florence with a seventh place finish at 20:28.
Junior transfer Renee Metivier also finished within the top 10, posting a 20:32 and a ninth place finish. Christine Bolf at 25th place (21:05), Kalin Toedebusch at 30th (21:09), and Shanna Sparks at 77th place (22:01) completed the women's podium finish. The Colorado women have finished in the top 10 in eight out of the past nine Pre-NCAA Invitational races.
The team will have a two week break before running the Big 12 Championships on October 31 in Austin, Texas, and the NCAA Mountain Region Championships on November 15 in Riverdale, Utah.
NCAA Pre-National Invitational
Irv Warren Golf Course (
MEN'S 8000 METER GOLD TEAM RESULTS
1.
2.Northern
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
TOP-10 MEN'S FINISHERS
1. Dathan Ritzenhein, CU, 23:17
2.
3. Travis Laird, NAU, 23:33.4
4. Henrik Ahnstrom, NAU, 23:33.8
5. Gavin Thompson, EMU, 23:34
6. Ed Moran, WM, 23:38
7.
8.
9.
10.
1. Dathan Ritzenhein,
13. Bill Nelson,
30. Bret Schoolmeester, 24:13
32. Casey Burchill, 24:15
33. Brent
65. Jon Severy, 24:41
83. Jared Scott, 24:56
WOMEN'S 6000 METER GOLD TEAM RESULTS
1. Stanford 66
2.
3.
4. Wake Forest 163
5. UCLA 173
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
TOP-10 WOMEN'S FINISHERS
1. Alicia Craig, Stanford, 19:52.6
2. Sara Bei, Stanford, 19:52.8
3.
4. Megan Metcalfe, W
5. Arianna Lambie, Stanford, 20:13
6. Julia Lucas, NCS, 20:17
7. Natalie Florence, CU, 20:28
8.
9. Renee Metivier, CU, 20:31
10. Annie Bersagel, WFU, 20:32
7. Natalie Florence,
9. Renee Metivier,
25. Christine Bolf,
30. Kalin Toedebusch,
77. Shanna Sparks,
88. Kendall Grgas-Wheeler,
110. Jackie Zeigle,
