Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Day 2
Three Buffs Score in the Decathlon
May 15, 2010 | Track and Field
COLUMBIA, Mo. ? Despite rainy, muddy, windy and cool conditions on Saturday, the University of Colorado had an outstanding performance in the men's decathlon at the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championship.
Adam Salzmann led the way for the Buffs on the second day of the championship by recording a personal record 6,879 points to place fourth overall. Eddie Taylor was seventh with 6,212 points and Alex Von Hagen picked up eighth place with 6,143 total points.
“I'm absolutely elated,” assistant coach Lindsey Malone said. “I don't think I could be any more proud of their efforts today. They were together in everything and supported each other through this entire battle and they came out of it all scoring. It brought tears to my eyes.”
The three finished the two-day event in less than desirable conditions but ended on a very high note as they came in 1-2-3 in the 1,500-meter run. Taylor led for the majority of the race, but it was Von Hagen who crossed the finish first in 4:26.83. Salzmann was second with a time of 4:28.14 and Taylor was third after clocking a time of 4:30.47.
“This is really special for me and special for the group because the guys have trusted in me and coach (Mark) Wetmore has put trust in me that I could come here and build this [combined events] program, and to have three decathletes score is very special,” Malone said.
“The great thing about this season is that we have had a lot of meets that were not ideal and I think it actually helped them pull together and get what they needed to get accomplished today.”
The pole vault portion of the decathlon was moved indoors due to conditions deemed unsafe for outdoor competition. Salzmann tied for second after clearing a height of 15-05. The jump propelled him from sixth place to fourth place, where he would eventually finish.
Von Hagen was not as lucky in the pole vault as he unfortunately recorded a no height. Von Hagen bounced back in the next event, the javelin, with a personal best throw of 188-06 for second place behind KSU's Tomas Kirielius (195-10). Lar Rise was the only other athlete to throw further than 180 in the event with his mark of 187-00.
“The great thing about Alex is that he is definitely a fighter,” Malone said. “If he hadn't no heighted in pole vault, this would have been a huge meet for him. But that fact that he did come back from that and was able to PR in the javelin and then win the 1500 just shows the amount of heart he has and what he is willing to put on the line for himself and the team.”
This is the first time that CU has had three men score at the Big 12 Championship in the decathlon.
“We are thrilled with the men scoring the points that they did in the decathlon,” Colorado head coach Mark Wetmore said. “On one hand people could argue that it was really difficult conditions and some people struggled and missed things along the way. One of those people was Alex, but he bounced back to score. Handling the conditions is part of the decathlon. They and coach Malone have a lot to be proud of over the last two days.”
Brianne Beemer scored the first points for the CU women with a seventh-place finish in the heptathlon. Beemer's point total of 4,680 edged out Missouri's Lauren Begany (4,584). She had been in 10th-place after six events with 3,820 points, but earned 860 points to move her into seventh after winning the 800-meter run, the last event of the heptathlon, in 2:17.31. Beemer finished almost four seconds in front of Nebraska's Megan Wheatley (2:21.14), who finished second overall in the heptathlon.
“Bri did what we hoped for and she probably wanted to finish higher,” Wetmore said. “It was a very difficult weekend.”
Malone agreed with Wetmore and explained how the weather affected the heptathlon more than the decathlon.
“The women had the harder portion of the meet weather-wise,” Malone said. “Long jump today was miserable and the downpour during the 800 was also not desirable. But they practiced this during the bad weather we had at the Fum McGraw (Colorado State) meet and came together as a team. Bri is a true competitor and she has never let me down.”
The Buffs also had several strong performances in the prelims, including three athletes advancing to the finals in their respective events on Sunday.
Jeremy Dodson ran a time of 10.41 in the 100, second place in his heat, to automatically advance to the finals in his first prelim of the day. He also advanced to the finals in the 200, his favorite event, with a time of 20.77. He won the third heat handily and is looking forward to the finals on Sunday and the chance to win his first Big 12 individual title.
“Jeremy ran well in both the 100 and 200 to get through to the finals,” Wetmore said. “We were pretty sure that he would make it through in both, but again in 40 degrees with rain and wind, you never know. He kept his head about him and got the job done. He will score for us tomorrow.”
Emma Coburn advanced to the finals in the 800-meter run with the 12th fastest time in CU history. She advanced on time after finishing in 2:09.81 for second place in the third heat. Coburn was in third place heading into the final turn when she kicked her race into high gear. After catching the second place runner, she almost caught the heat winner, Purity Biwoot (Texas Tech), who finished in 2:09.78. Coburn's time also makes her the fourth best performer at CU.
“It was a pleasant surprise for us in the 800 that Emma got through,” Wetmore said. “She is certainly not known as an 800-meter runner. It was her idea to run it. She ran smart and used the conditions to her advantage and got through. Before that race (on Sunday), she will have done the steeplechase, which is her specialty, and she should score high in that as well. She should score a handful of points for us tomorrow.”
Steve Kasica also advanced to the finals in the 800 by winning his heat with a season-best time of 1:51.59. Kasica took over the lead after the first 300-meters and never let it go.
“Steve was also a pleasant surprise,” Wetmore said. “He went into his heat and led and dominated the whole way. He is still a novice to this level of running but made a good decision in the middle of the race when he felt it was slow to take the lead. He outfoxed his opponents and he will also score tomorrow.”
The Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championship wraps up action on Sunday. Live stats can be found at www.big12sports.com and www.flashresults.com.
- CU Track & Field ?
14th Annual Big 12 Track & Field Championship
Columbia, Mo. (Aubrey J. Walton Stadium)
Men's Team Scores (after Day 2 of 3)
1. Nebraska, 52; 2. Texas, 34; 3. Oklahoma, 30; 3. Missouri, 30; 5. Kansas, 28; 6. CU, 26: 7. Texas A&M, 22; 8. Texas Tech, 17; 9. Iowa State, 12; 10. Oklahoma State, 10; 11. Baylor, 6; 11. Kansas State, 6.
Women's Team Scores (after Day 2 of 3)
1. Nebraska, 59; 2. Texas, 35; 3. Texas A&M, 33; 4. Iowa State, 32; 5. Kansas, 25; 6. Oklahoma, 13.5; 7. Baylor, 11; Texas Tech, 9.5; 9. Missouri, 9; 10. Oklahoma State, 3; 11. Kansas State, 2; 11. Colorado, 2.
Track Events (All Prelims)
Men's 1,500-Meters: (1. Johnathan Stublaski, OSU, 3:43.93) 14. Matt Biegner, 3:52.59
Men's 100-Meters: (1. Martynas Jurgilas, KSU, 10.33) 5. Jeremy Dodson, 10.41; 16. A.J. Whitaker, 10.79
Women's 800-Meters: (1. Blaire Dinsdale, NU, 2:09.28) 4. Emma Coburn, 2:09.81; 15. Elizabeth Tremblay, 2:11.99; 19. Brooke Regan, 2:13.94
Men's 800-Meters: (1. Chris Gowell, BU, 1:50.13) 8. Steve Kasica, 1:51.59; 26. Matthew Biegner 1:55.03
Women's 400-Meter Hurdles: (1. Angele Cooper, UT, 58.37) 11. Brianne Beemer, 1:02.18; 13. Joi Windham, 1:02.54
Men's 400-Meter Hurdles: (1. Bryce Brown, TTU, 50.83) 18. Kyle MacIntosh, 54.52
Men's 200-Meters: (1. Curtis Mitchell, TAMU, 20.50) 5. Jeremy Dodson, 20.77; 12. Quinton Dodson, 21.45
Field Events
Men's Shot Put: (1. Mason Finley, KU, 62-08.75) 15. Dane Chobanian, 43-05
Women's Discus: (1. Brittany Borman, OU, 174-05) 9. Kaity Kark, 155-06
High Jump: (1. Victoria Lucas, UT, 5-08.75) t11. Laurisa Canini, 5-05
Decathlon
Point Totals: (1. Nick Adcock, MU, 7704) 4. Adam Salzmann, 6879; 7. Eddie Taylor, 6212; 8. Alex Von Hagen, 6143
110-Meter Hurdles: (1. Nick Adcock, MU, 14.26) 4. Adam Salzmann, 15.30; 8. Alex Von Hagen, 16.58; 9. Eddie Taylor, 16.92
Discus: (1. Lars Rise, MU, 138-03) 6. Adam Salzmann, 116-09; 8. Alex Von Hagen, 103-06; 10. Eddie Taylor, 98-01
Pole Vault: (1. Isaac Murphy, UT, 15-09) t2. Adam Salzmann, 15-05.00; 7. Eddie Taylor, 13-01.50; Alex Von Hagen, NH
Javelin: (1. Tomas Kirielius, KSU, 195-10) 2. Alex Von Hagen, 188-06, 9. Adam Salzmann, 142-01; 10. Eddie Taylor 122-10
1500-Meters: 1. Alex Von Hagen, 4:26.83; 2. Adam Salzmann, 4:48.14; 3. Eddie Taylor, 4:30.47
Heptathlon
Point Totals: (1. Chantae McMillan, NU, 5,349) 7. Brianne Beemer, 4680; 10. Alyssa Frank, 4510; 11. Katie Dreher, 4445; 13. Holly Odneal, 4277
Long Jump: (1. Chantae McMillan, NU, 18-04.25) 10. Brianne Beemer, 15-11.00; 11. Alyssa Frank, 15-10.50; 12. Katie Dreher, 15-09.50; 13. Holly Odneal, 15-03.50
Javelin: (1. Chantae McMillan, NU, 136-06) 5. Holly Odneal, 113-03; 7. Alyssa Frank, 105-06; 9. Brianne Beemer, 97-11; 11. Katie Dreher, 92-10
800-Meters: 1. Brianne Beemer, 2:17.31; 3. Katie Dreher, 2:21.68; 9. Alyssa Frank, 2:32.80; 10. Holly Odneal, 2:34.30
Players Mentioned
