Colorado University Athletics
Oedegaard, Hajkova Named CU Athlete Of The Week
January 25, 2012 | General, Skiing
In just his third and fourth collegiate races, Rune Oedegaard earned a sweep in the men's Nordic races at the Denver Invitational over the weekend. Helping the Buffs hold on to a second place finish, Oedegaard won the 10K classic race by an impressive 32.8 seconds. The Molde, Norway (NTG Lillehammer/Molde Ski Club) native used impeccable strategy to win the men's race. He put himself into second place and then twice let his teammates break away from the lead pack, refusing to catch up until skiers from the other teams were forced to do so. On the final of three laps, Oedegaard beat two Utah skiers by less than 5 seconds to win the race. Oedegaard is the first men's Nordic skier in the RMISA to sweep races since former CU skier Matt Gelso did so at the 2010 RMISA Championships.
Nordic skier Eliska Hajkova also had an outstanding weekend, with two top 10 performances in Nordic action at the Denver Invitational. Finishing second place in the 10K freestyle race on Saturday,? Hajkova made her first podium appearance of the 2012 season, the 19th podium appearance of her career. Despite having four top 10 performances this season, the Jablonec, Czech Republic (Gymnasium Vseobecne/Masaryko) native has struggled recently in races at high altitude. Her performance this weekend is sure to be a confidence boost heading into the University of Alaska Anchorage Invitational which will be held at sea level.
Also nominated for this week's award: Austin Dufault (men's basketball), Mark Jones (track and field), Brianne Beemer (track and field) and Julyette Steur (women's tennis).
Senior forward Austin Dufault averaged 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in Colorado's 2-0 week with home wins over both Arizona State (69-54) and Arizona (64-63). Dufault scored 11 points and five rebounds in CU's Thursday night win over the Sun Devils. He also added two assists and a steal, while shooting 5-of-8 from the floor. ?On Saturday, Dufault scored nine of his 12 points in the second half, helping the Buffs rally from a four-point halftime deficit in the win over the Wildcats. In the second half alone, Dufault went 4-of-5 from the field with four rebounds and a steal. In a two-minute span with under five minutes to play, Dufault made consecutive baskets while getting fouled (converting one three-point play) giving CU a five-point lead (their biggest of the game) with 3:53 to play. The Buffs now stand with a 5-2 record for Pac-12 play.
Freshman Mark Jones tied the 12th best high jump mark in CU history after clearing a height of six feet, 11 inches on Saturday at the Potts Indoor Invitational. Jones' debut was also enough to make him the seventh best high jumper in Buffs' history. He was the only high jumper to attempt 6-11 and came very close to clearing the next height at 7-1.
Redshirt junior Brianne Beemer finished the 800-meter run in 2 minutes, 21.10 seconds to win the pentathlon on Friday night at the Potts Indoor Invitational. She entered the fifth and final event of the pentathlon with a 22 point lead over (CU volunteer coach) Emily Pearson, but needed a strong finish to hold on to the lead. Beemer finished 3.7 seconds in front of Pearson to earn the victory while recording an impressive point total and personal record of 3,769, which was 72 points more than Pearson's second-place total of 3,697. Beemer had a solid day in her first pentathlon for the Buffs in almost two years after redshirting the 2011 season. She placed second in the 60-meter hurdles (9.05) and tied for first in the high jump after clearing 5 feet, 7 inches. Beemer added to her score in the shot put with a toss of 35-10.75, fifth overall, and was third in the long jump with a leap of 17-00.75.
Freshman Julyette Steur won her first collegiate singles and doubles match as a CU Buffalo, helping the team to a 4-2 win over Air Force in the season opener for both schools. In her first week of being a college student-athlete, Steur teamed with sophomore Winde Janssens for an 8-5 win. Following the win with a straight set victory over Christine Molina, 6-1, 7-6(4) at No. 3 singles, Steur followed Friday's play, falling in three sets to LSU's Kaitlin Burns at No. 3 on Sunday. After losing the first set 7-7(4) in a tie-breaker, Steur stormed back to win the second set 6-1, only to lose 6-3 in the final.
