Colorado University Athletics
Cross Country Sweeps Big 12 Weekly Honors
October 21, 2003 | Cross Country, General
BOULDER-- Colorado senior harrier Natalie Florence and sophomore Dathan Ritzenhein have been named the Big 12 Cross Country Runners of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday.
Florence turned in a Pre-National Invitational personal record finish Saturday when she finished seventh overall (of the 222 runner field) to lead the CU women to a third place finish in the meet's "gold" race. She covered the 6,000-m loop in 20 minutes, 29 seconds for her second straight top-10 finish in as many races in '03.
In his first cross country race since the 2001 NCAA Championships, Ritzenhein won the "gold" race of the Pre-National Invitational in 23 minutes, 18 seconds to pace the CU men to their second straight Pre-National team title of this year's 35-team contest. His time over the 8k Irv Warren Golf Course was the fourth-fastest of the meet's three men's races.
Next up for Florence, Ritzenhein and the rest of the Buffs is the eighth annual conference championships Oct. 31 at Barton Creek Lakeside Country Club in Spicewood, Texas, hosted by the University of Texas. CU's men have won all seven Big 12 league titles while the CU women's team have won all but the 1998 championship which Kansas State claimed. The Buffs have also claimed six individual men's crowns and five women's, including the last four.
