RITZENHEIN MVP AT BIG 12 TRACK

Friday, February 27

Lincoln, Neb.

TBA

Colorado

Big 12 Indoor Championships

Photo by: CUBuffs.com

February 28, 2004 | Track and Field

By: David Plati, Associate AD/Sports Information

LINCOLN, Neb. ? The University of Colorado indoor track team saw two of its student-athletes crowned as champions here Saturday, as the women finished fifth and the men eighth at the Big 12 Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Sophomore Dathan Ritzenhein was the most valuable player for the men, as he earned 20 points for his Colorado teammates, while Texas' Sanya Richards was the women's MVP with 19 points.

Nebraska swept the team titles, as the Huskers won a fierce battle with Texas in the men's competition, out-pointing the Longhorns 171.5 to 158, while in the women's events, they won easily with 141.67 points, with Kansas State a distant second with 77.

The Colorado women tallied 45.5 points to finish fifth, while the Buffalo men amassed 50 points to finish eighth, though were just 27 points out of second.

Ritzenhein, who was crowned the Big 12 champion in the 5,000-meter run Friday night, added the 3,000-meter title to his resume in style on Saturday, setting a new conference meet record in easily winning in an 8:01.18 time. In winning by over 11 seconds, he eclipsed the old league meet mark of 8:01.23, set back in 1997, the first year of the conference, by former Buffalo Adam Goucher.

It was the second time the CU sophomore swept the 3,000 and 5,000-meter indoor titles in the same meet; he captured both as a true freshman in 2002 but missed last year after rehabbing a leg injury.

Junior Renee Metivier won an exciting mile run, as she defeated Missouri's Amanda Bales by five one-hundredths of a second. Metivier's time of 4:45.94 not only knocked 20 seconds off he previous season best but also provisionally qualified for next month's NCAA Championships.

In the men's mile, the Buffaloes had the second and third place finishers behind Oklahoma State's Jason Woolhouse, who set a conference meet record with a time of 4:03.19. Freshman Stephen Pifer was right there with Woolhouse; the CU frosh actually led the fifth-year senior most of the way and was caught down the stretch, finishing just a little over a second behind with a 4:04.32 clocking, an effort that also provisionally qualified him for nationals. Sophomore Bret Schoolmeester was third in 4:05.82.

In the 3,000-meter run, the CU women placed four finishers in the top 10, with junior Kalen Toedebusch posting a 9.33.47 time in finishing second. Already provisionally qualified for the NCAA's, she was just a shade back of Texas A&M's Melissa Gulli who won in 9:31.79. Metivier was fifth with a 9:42.47 effort.

“We finished kind of in reverse of where I expected we would,” CU head coach Mark Wetmore said. “It was a pleasant surprise on the women's side, as I thought we'd be a bit further down, but really not a disappointment for the men considering we had to leave some points home at the last minute.”

Sophomore Billy Nelson came up with a mild leg injury, and Wetmore thought it best to leave him in Boulder and not risk any further damage. “We thought discretion would be the better part of valor and left him behind. He probably would have finished second or third in his two events, so that's up to 16 additional points we may very well have earned. It's just better to be discreet this time of year instead of risking someone and then they're out come May or June.

“But overall, we're pretty happy,” Wetmore continued. “We had points from a lot of different people that was the story for the women, picking up some here and there. A lot of people contributed.

“We received a good performance out of Stephen Pifer, he definitely set a freshman record in the mile and I think will one day soon set an overall school record. He led almost the entire way, and got run down at the very end. Bret Schoolmeester had a good day as well; he tied his best in the mile and then finished sixth in the 3,000 just an hour and a half later out of the unseeded section.

“We also did well in the weight throw, even though we didn't score, we got two PR's out of Matt Carr and Zach Hazen, which was a bonus we are excited about.”

Wetmore was pleased with the efforts of Metivier and Toedebusch, who combined to score 21 points here.

“Renee won her mile trial on Friday, anchored our distance medley team, came back today and won her mile in about 4:45, her fastest time ever today and then came back a couple of hours later and finished fifth in the 3,000,” Wetmore said. “That's a hard day's work, scoring in three events, and Kalen pushed her for the most points score here, just a point or two behind Renee, so she also had a great day.”

Junior Deneeka Torrey scored in the women's 60-meter hurdles, finishing eighth in 8.53 seconds; her 8.47 time in the semis was a season personal best. She also ran a season best 7.61 in the 60-meter dash, finishing 13th in the prelims.

Freshman George Pincock, while missing out on advancing to the finals on the 400-meter dash, posted a personal as well as a season team best with a 48.45 time in the prelims.

Big 12 Men's Indoor Track Championship Scores?1. Nebraska 141.67; 2. Kansas State 77; 3. Baylor 72; 4. Texas 67; 5. Texas Tech 60.33; 6. Oklahoma 58.5; 7. Texas A&M 56; 8. Colorado 50; 9. Kansas 45; 10. Iowa State 44; 11. Oklahoma State 37; 12. Missouri 31.5.

Big 12 Women's Indoor Track Championship Scores?1. Nebraska 171.5; 2. Texas 158; 3. Kansas State 69; 4. Missouri 56.5; 5. Colorado 45.5; 6. Baylor 42; 7. Kansas 38; 8. Oklahoma 37.5; 9. Texas A&M 32; 10. Iowa State 31; 11 (tie). Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, 28.

Saturday's Finals Results

(those involving CU performers; top 3 plus CU results)

Women's 60-Meter Hurdles?1. Nichole Denby, UT, 8.01; 2. Raasin McIntosh, UT, 8.09; 3. Priscilla Lopes, NU, 8.15. CU Result: 8. Deneeka Torrey, CU, 8.53.

Women's 60-Meter Dash?1. Sanya Richards, UT, 7.21; 2. LaVerne Jones, OU, 7.24; 3. Priscilla Lopes, NU, 7.28. CU Result: Deneeka Torrey, 7.61 (13th in prelims).

Women's Mile Run?1. Renee Metivier, CU, 4:45.94; 2. Amanda Bales, MU, 4:45.99; 3. Laura Lavoie, KU, 4:46.43. Other CU Results: Jackie Zeigle, 5:04.72 (14th in the prelims); Kate Owen, 5:16.68 (17th in the prelims).

Men's Mile Run?1. Jason Woolhouse, OSU, 4:03.19; 2. Stephen Pifer, CU, 4:04.32; 3. Bret Schoolmeester, CU, 4:05.82. Other CU Result: Jared Scott, 4:11.43 (9th in the prelims).

Women's 600-Yard Run?1. Sheretta Jones, UT, 1:20.18; 2. Kim Clark, KU, 1:20.75; 3. Shunte Thomas, KSU, 1:23.46. CU Result: Alexandra Boksay, 1:27.58 (13th in the prelims).

Men's 600-Yard Run?1. Joseph Lee, KSU, 1:09.58; 2. Jonathan Johnson, TTU, 1:09.58; 3. Jeremy Mims, 1:09.83. CU Result: Chris Abuan, 1:13.03 (15th in the prelims).

Women's 1,000-meter Run?1. Anne Shadle, NU, 2:48.49; 2. Katie Scarlett, UT, 2:48.73; 3. Catherine Odell, OU, 2:49.83. CU Results: 4. Laura Zeigle, 2:50.61; Jacyln Baca, 3:02.96 (14th in prelims).

Men's 1,000-meter Run?1. Christian Smith, KSU, 2:20.24; 2. Aaron Nasers, NU, 2:22,12; 3. Chris Stoves, OSU, 2:22.88. CU Result: Gus Lundin, 2:27.89 (11th in prelims).

Men's Shot Put?1. Carl Myerscough, NU, 68-7?; 2. Ronnie Jiminez, A&M, 64-2?; 3. Conrad Woolsey, MU, 61-7. CU Result: 13. Andy Passen, 51-5.

Women's Shot Put?1. Becky Breisch, NU, 55-4?; 2. Michelle Carter, UT, 54-2?; 3. Rebekah Green, KSU, 53-11. CU Results: 12. Carly Newlands, 44-9; 13. Obiamlam Ikwuakor, 44-4; 14. Cortney Hutmacher, 43-9.

Women's Triple Jump?1. Ineta Radevica, NU, 45-0?; 2. Chaytan Hill, KSU, 44-9?; 3. Brooklyn Hann, KU, 41-9?. CU Results: 13. Liza Negriff, 38-9?; 16. Amberly Casey, 36-8?.

Women's High Jump?1. Na'Tassia Vice, NU, 5-11?; 2. JaNelle Wright, KSU, and Morgan High, KSU, 5-8. CU Result: T8. Anna Magle, 5-6.

Men's High Jump?1. Andra Manson, UT, 7-5?; 2. Kyle Lancaster, KSU, 7-3?; 3. Mike Kizinkewich, KSU, 7-0?. CU Result: 12. Andrew Miller 6-8?.

Men's 400-Meter Dash?1. Jeremy Wariner, BU, 45.78; 2. Darold Williamson, BU, 46.44; 3. Albert Booker, TTU, 46.92. CU Results: George Pincock, 48.45 (10th in the prelims), Daric Willhite 50.07 (19th in the prelims).

Men's 200-Meter Dash?1. Leo Bookman, KU, 20.58; 2. Albert Booker, TTU, 21.03; 3. Jamen Saziru, BU, 21.12. CU Result: George Pincock, 22.01 (13th in the prelims).

Women's 3,000-Meter Run?1. Melissa Gulli, A&M, 9:31.79; 2. Kalen Toedebusch, CU, 9:33.47; 3. Michelle Prowse, OSU, 9:35.62. Other CU Results: 5. Renee Metivier, 9:42.57; 9. Christine Bolf, 9:46.75; 10. Laura Zeigle, 9:50.46; 28. Kendall Grgas-Wheeler, 10:17.74; 30. Jackie Zeigle, 10:21.30.

Men's 3,000-Meter Run?1. Dathan Ritzenhein, CU, 8:01.18; 2. Kyle King, BU, 8:12.36; 3. Jason Woolhouse, OSU, 8:14.66. Other CU Results: 6. Bret Schoolmeester, 8:17.27; 9. Stephen Pifer, 8:18.21; 25. Pete Janson, 8:31.57; 29. Jared Scott, 8:33.83; 39. Payton Batliner, 8:41.68.

Men's 4x400 Relay?1. Baylor, 3:05.98; 2. Nebraska, 3:09.66; 3. Oklahoma, 3:10.24. CU Result: 9. (George Pincock, Daric Wilhite, Chris Abuan, Brandon Johnson), 3:19.02.