Colorado University Athletics
Von Hagen and Hajkova Earn CU Athlete of the Week Honors
January 26, 2010 | General
Von Hagen, a native of Broomfield, Colo. (Legacy), won the heptathlon at the Potts Indoor Invitational with a record of 4,995, the best in the Big 12 to date. Von Hagen started the second day of the event with a time of 8.97 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles and then recorded a height of 13 feet, 5.25 inches in the pole vault. He was 113 points out of first place (behind Wyoming's Jay Petsch) with his premiere event, the 1,000-meter run, remaining. Von Hagen timed the race perfectly, finishing in 2:46.59 for 802 points, to leap-frog Petsch by 21 points. Pesch crossed the line in 2:59.64. The point total is also the third-best in CU history and surpassed his previous personal best by 28 points. After the first day, he had recorded a personal best 2,796 points following the first four events. Von Hagen recorded a trio of second place finishes in the 60-meter dash (7.29), long jump (21-11.75) and high jump (6-02.75) and was third in the shot put (36-08.25)
Hajkova, a Joblonec, Czech Republic (Gymnasium Vseobeecne) native, earned her first collegiate win in the 5K Classical at the Utah Invitational, and followed it up with a runner-up finish in the 15K Freestyle the next day. She has that win and three second place efforts in four races this winter, wither her efforts helping the Buffs finish third in Utah after the team got off to a subpar start. She was named the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) Skier of the Week for her finishes.
Others nominated for this week's award were: Vegard Kjoelhamar (skiing), Alec Burks (men's basketball), Brianne Beemer (women's track), Brittany Spears (women's basketball).
Skiing: Vegard Kjoelhamar, Senior, Jar, Akershus, Norway.
Finished fourth in both the 10K Classical and the 20K Freestyle races at the Utah Invitational, helping to rally the Buffs into a third place team finish. It was his 13th and 14th straight top 10 finishes in the regular season, as he is a big reason why CU's men's Nordic team is the most dominant in the west. Named the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Associate (RMISA) Skier of the week for his finishes.
Men's Basketball: Alec Burks, Freshman, Grandview, Missouri
Burks averaged 21.5 points and four rebounds per game, in addition to shooting 55.2 percent from the field in Colorado men's basketball's 0-2 week. The Buffaloes lost 90-78 at Oklahoma State with Burks scoring a team-best 24 points, adding three steals and sharing top rebounding honors with five. He also shared team scoring honors with 19 points in CU's 67-63 loss at Texas A&M. In both Big 12 games, Burks made eight field goals. The freshman guard also averaged 2.5 steals and shot 84.6 percent from the free throw line. On the season, Burks has scored 322 points, tying for the seventh-most among the CU freshmen.
Women's Track: Brianne Beemer, Sophomore, Loveland, Colo.
Beemer led the Buffs with a third-place finish in the women's pentathlon at the Potts Indoor Invitational. Beemer finished the pentathlon with a personal record 3,444 points, surpassing her previous best of 3,209 points, which she set at the Air Force Duals in 2009. It is the best pentathlon mark in the Big 12 this year. Beemer started off the day with a time of 9.59 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. She tied a career-best with a mark of 5 feet, 4.25 inches in the high jump, followed by a throw of 32-08.25 in the shot put. Her best long jump was 15-07.75. The best event for Beemer in the past has been the 800-meter run, which she won in 2:17.56 (857 points), which propelled her from fifth-place to third-place.
Women's Basketball: Brittany Spears, Junior, Pasadena, Calif.
Spears averaged 16.5 points, nine rebounds and four steals per game as the Buffs went 1-1 for the week. She led the team to a 63-57 road victory over Kansas State with 15 points, nine rebounds and five steals. The Buffs fell at home to Oklahoma State as Spears collected 18 points, nine rebounds and three steals. The junior was 11-for-12 from the free throw line and was 36 percent from the field for the week.
