Colorado University Athletics
Men's Track & Field Team Ranked 21
March 26, 2008 | Track and Field
NEW ORLEANSÂ -Â The University of Colorado men's track and field team entered the USTFCCCA rankings at 21 to start the outdoor season on the right foot.
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Florida State is the top ranked team with 259.63 points and is closely followed by LSU with 247.33 points. The Buffs have 110.90 points in the first ranking of the outdoor campaign.
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Colorado returns several top placers from last year's conference and national championships which played a huge part in the Buffs' national ranking. Brent Vaughn, a premiere 5,000-meter runner, has won the race at the league championships two of the past three seasons, as well as the regional title the previous three seasons. He also owns the Big 12 and Midwest Region records.
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Billy Nelson and Pete Janson earned the Big 12 Conference 3,000-meter steeplechase titles in 2007 and 2006, respectively, and should prove to be top competitors in the event this spring. Nelson took fourth at the 2007 NCAA Championship and Janson was 16th in 2006.
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Stephen Pifer is one of CU's best 1,500-meter harriers. He won the 2006 conference crown in a Big 12 meet record and earned All-American honors last season. He currently owns the best time in the country, after the altitude conversion, at 3:42.19. The time at altitude (3:47.75) is a Potts Field record which he set last weekend.
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The CU sprinters once again add depth to a once distance dominated squad. Jeremy Dodson and Ryan Campbell both advanced to nationals last season in the 200-meter dash. Campbell took 16th and Dodson was 21st. Both were part of the 4x100-meter relay which placed sixth at nationals and was the first relay team to advance to nationals since 1972.
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Colorado will host the 2008 Big 12 Track & Field Championships May 16-18 at Potts Field. The field will be a track aficionado's dream as eight of the top 25 teams in the USTFCCCA ranking are from the Big 12 on the men's side.
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