University of Colorado Athletics
T&F Preps For Final Indoor Big 12 Championship
February 24, 2011
BOULDER - The University of Colorado track and field team is gearing up for the 2011 Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships on Friday and Saturday, February 25-26 in Lincoln, Neb.
Nebraska will host the championship for the ninth and final time since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1996. The Huskers last hosted the meet in 2008. This will be the last time NU will host the event as it will join the Big Ten Conference next year.
The Buffs are looking to rebound from last year's championship when both teams placed 12th. CU will look for points in all areas; particularly the distance events. The men have five athletes ranked in the top 10 in the 5,000-meter run. Joe Bosshard is fourth overall in the conference. Richard Medina ranks seventh and is followed by Matt Tebo (eighth), Andy Wacker (ninth) and Christian Thompson (10th). Thompson is also ranked 11th in the 3k.
The women have fourth athletes that are ranked in the top 13 in the 5k. Laura Thweatt leads the team in fourth and Shalaya Kipp is eighth overall. Katie Cumming ranks ninth and Camille Logan comes in at 13th. Kipp has also run a 3k this season and that time is 20th in the league.
The middle distance events could bring in some points for CU. Emma Coburn leads the Big 12 in the women's mile, which also ranks sixth in the nation. Steve Kasica ranks ninth in the 800 and Liz Tremblay is fourth on the women's side. The women also have a couple of women in the top 11 of the 1,000. Staci Foster ranks 10th and Paige Throckmorton is 11th in the conference.
The men's team will look for some serious points in the sprints as well. Joe Morris, who broke the CU 60-meter record in his first meet as a Buff, ranks fifth in the conference in the 60 and 11th in the 200. A.J. Whitaker and Quinton Dodson also have the chance to pick up points for the Buffs in the 60. Whitaker is 12th overall and Dodson ranks 19th. On the women's side Brooke Regan ranks 14th in the 600-yard run. She recorded the second fastest time in school history three weeks ago.
The combined events are another area the Buffs should come away with points from. Adam Salzmann and Alex Von Hagen have been a solid 1-2 punch for CU in the heptathlon. Salzmann currently ranks fifth in the league and Von Hagen is ninth. Eddie Taylor and Brock Emory rank in the top 14 and could add some points as well. Taylor is 13th and Emory ranks 14th. Katie Dreher leads the CU women this year. She is 11th overall and Holly Odneal ranks 13th.
CU's field events can also help out the team score. Jake Timmons earned the 10th best jump in the league this season in the high jump, while Dreher and Laurisa Canini are tied for 12th on the women's side. Trey Mullen is fresh off a huge personal best in the weight throw and ranks 14th in the conference standings.
The combined events will kick off the weekend events on Friday at 10:30 a.m. (CT). The running events will start at 2 p.m. on Friday with the prelims of the women's 60-meter hurdles. The field events will start at 3:30 p.m. on Friday with men's weight throw. The championship will wrap up on Saturday with an awards ceremony at 7:15 p.m.
Live stats for the championship can be found at www.big12sports.com and www.huskers.com.
Following the conference championships, the Buffs will have one more opportunity to qualify for the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championships. Select athletes will travel to a last chance meet March 4 and 5. The national indoor championship is set for March 11 and 12 in College Station, Texas.
