Colorado University Athletics
Gorton Earns Athlete of the Week
March 02, 2003 | General, Track and Field
Boulder - Junior indoor track athlete Sara Gorton earns Athlete of the Week honors after an outstanding performance at the Big 12 Track & Field Indoor Championships on Friday and Saturday of this past week. Gorton won titles in the women's 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs, setting a new school record in the 5,000 meter.
Gorton started the weekend off with a time of 15.58.86 in the 5,000 meter run, setting a new Colorado and national record time for the event. The effort also gave Gorton her first of two Big 12 titles at the Championships. Three other Buffaloes ended up in the top five including junior Natalie Florence (3rd, 16:22.09), senior Molly Austin (4th, 16:28.74), and senior Brianna Torres (5th, 16:46.57), giving the Buffaloes a tie for second place going into Saturday.
Continuing her performance on the second day, Gorton placed first in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:23.11. The performance gave her the second title of the weekend. She led the way as the Buffs swept the top three positions, with Molly Austin (9:30.87) finishing second and Natalie Florence (9:31.00) finishing third.
With last weekend's titles, Gorton has five career Big 12 track titles, including four indoor. Overall the Buffs finished sixth at the Big 12 Championships.
Others nominated for this week's award were Michel Morandais (men's basketball) and Kendra Strandemo (women's tennis) and Mike Brenneman (men's golf).
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Michel Morandais, Junior, Guadeloupe, French West Indies
Michel Morandais averaged 20.5 points on the road this week at Iowa State and Baylor. On Tuesday at Iowa State he hit 19 points on 8-17 field goals and 2-4 from behind the arc as the Buffs fell to the Cyclones. Morandais helped the Buffs bounce back on Saturday as he drained 22 points and grabbed a career high 9 rebounds including another career high 6 offensive rebounds as the Buffs defeated Baylor 72-59. Morandais' scoring effort put him 20th in single season scoring with 486 points. The performance helped the Buffs get their first road win in Big XII conference play. The win improved the Buffs' record to 17-10 overall and 7-7 in the conference.
WOMEN'S TENNIS: Kendra Strandemo, Sophomore, Encinitas, CA.
Kendra Strandemo won her two No. 4 singles matches this weekend in Columbia, Missouri as she defeated Lucie Ruskova of Missouri, 7-6(4), 6-4 and Jasmin Singh of Louisville, 7-5, 6-0. Strandemo, along with doubles partner Morgan Sall, won at No. 2 doubles by defeating Missouri's doubles team Kristina Olshanskaya and Lucie Ruskova, 8-6. For the spring season Strandemo improved to 8-1 at No. 4 singles and 6-2 at No. 2 doubles with partner Morgan Sall and she is 2-0 in Big XII conference play. The Buffaloes are 6-3 overall and 0-2 in the conference.
MEN'S GOLF: Mike Brenneman, Sophomore, Pheonix, AZ.
Mike Brenneman led the Buffaloes to a 13th place finish at the Puerto Rico Classic at the par-72 Westin Rio Mar Country Club in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Through the three day tournament, he finished with a team best 224 and matched a career best 74 on the last day of the competition. The performance gave him a tie for 35th place. The Buffs were happy with their performance in the tough tournament that included eight of the country's top 15 teams.
