Mullen Leads CU On Day One

AUSTIN - The University of Colorado track & field team kicked off the 2003 Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships here Saturday night with the men's hammer and the men's and women's 10,000 meters. The CU men are in fourth place with 10 points, while the women are in ninth with two points.

Chase Mullen was CU's high finisher of the day, taking third in the men's hammer throw with his throw of 191-02.00, his fifth throw of the contest. Russ Bell won the event with a toss of 195-04.00 on his first throw of the day. Matt Carr took ninth with a throw of 172-04.00, a personal best while freshman Zach Hazen also threw a personal best with 170-00.00.

"The highlight of the day was Chase's third place with a solid throw," said head coach Mark Wetmore. "What shouldn't be missed is personal bests from both Matt Carr, just missing scoring in ninth, and Zach Hazen, just a freshman, who just learned the event this year. I'm very impressed when people come to this meet late in the year after a full year of competition, often-difficult conditions and throw their personal best. I'm very happy with those two guys.

Other Buffs scoring Saturday night were Tera Moody, taking sixth in the 10K with a time of 36:50.40, and Jon Severy also in the 10K taking fifth with his time of 31:15.64.

"The women's 10,000 really didn't go as we'd hoped," Wetmore said. "Tera and Christine (Bolf) probably belonged higher in the race, but maybe they didn't manage the conditions because we never experience it until we get here. Good race for Jon I think, leading most of the way. We agreed that he would not let it run slower than 31:40 pace, and no one else would take it so he led for most of the race, especially the later stages. He's not a kicker so some people got by him at the end."

The majority of the Buffaloes will get to work tomorrow with the qualifying heats for sprints and hurdles, as well as the finals of several field events. According to Wetmore, day two of the meet will be a big one for the Buffs.

"We're not where we need to be point wise at this point, but we have a lot of people starting up tomorrow so we need some big performances."

Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Colorado Athletes Only
Men's Hammer Throw
3. Chase Mullen, 58.27m 191-02.00
9. Matt Carr, 52.52m 172-04.00
10. Zach Hazen, 51.82m 170-00.00
14. Mike Moratelli, 48.44m 158-11.00

Women's 10,000 Meters
6. Tera Moody, 36:50.40
10. Christine Bolf, 37:40.17

Men's 10,000 Meters
5. Jon Severy, 31.15.64