Colorado University Athletics
Cross Country's Ritzenhein Named CU Athlete of the Week
October 23, 2003 | Cross Country, General
BOULDER-Â Sophomore cross-country runner Dathan Ritzenhein earned CU Athlete of the Week honors for his performance at this past week's Pre-National Invitational. This accolade comes in addition to being named the Big 12 Cross Country Runner of the week as well.
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This past Saturday Ritzenhein won the "gold" race of the Pre-National Invitational in his first cross-country race since the 2001 NCAA Championships. His time of 23 minutes and 18 seconds paced the CU men to their second straight Pre-National team title and it was the fourth fastest time of the meet's three men's races.
This was Ritzenhein's first race since 2001, as he redshirted his 2002 season due to a right femur stress fracture. In his last race of 2001 he proved he was the best freshman in the nation as he finished fourth overall at the NCAA Championships.
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Other athletes receiving nominations are:Â Natalie Florence (cross-country), Laura Munnelly (soccer), and Brian Calhoun (football).
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Women's Cross-Country: Natalie Florence, Senior, Lawrenceville, Ga.
Natalie Florence turned in a Pre-National Invitational personal record finish Saturday when she finished seventh overall to lead the CU women to a third place finish in the meet's "gold" race.Â
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Soccer: Laura Munnelly, Freshman, Arvada, Colo.
Freshman center back Laura Munnelly controlled CU's back line that held both Kansas' and Oklahoma State's top offensive threats scoreless, with just a single shot in both games. She is the only CU player to be on the field for all 1,284 minutes of the season.
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Football: Brian Calhoun, Sophomore, Oak Creek, Wisc.
Tailback Brian Calhoun caught a career-high seven receptions for 38 yards and carried the ball 19 times for 87 yards in CU's 49-20 loss to Kansas State on Saturday.
