Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Day 4
Saarel Earns Bronze In Indoor NCAA 3k
March 15, 2014 | Track and Field
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — University of Colorado freshman Ben Saarel added another piece of hardware to his collection as he picked up a third-place finish in the men's 3,000-meter run on Saturday night at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship.
Saarel crossed the finish in 8 minutes, 13.45 seconds to earn the bronze medal, while his teammate, junior Jake Hurysz, picked up a 12th-place finish in the same race with a time of 8:18.57.
“That was a very nice race for Ben,” coach Mark Wetmore said. “He is just a freshman and is inexperienced against collegiate runners and in running in big crowds; but he managed the race well and positioned himself very well there at the end. It was a good performance for him.
“Jake had about 2,500-meters of a good race. He made good moves but when the race shifted and picked up, he said his legs felt flat.”
The field ran a very close race and didn't get much separation until the end. Saarel showed signs that he was looking to move up with about 800 meters left in the race, but wasn't able make a big move until there was about 400 meters remaining. Saarel moved into fifth heading into the bell lap and picked off two more racers before crossing the finish. He was just .37 seconds from overtaking the runner-up, Oklahoma State's Kirubel Erassa, who finished just a nose ahead of him in 8:13.08. Oregon's Edward Cheserek won his second individual title of the meet, winning the 3k in 8:11.59. He also took home the 5k title on Friday night.
The race was so close that Saarel came in just one second in front of three other runners. BYU's Jared Ward was fourth (8:13.73), Oregon's Trevor Dunbar placed fifth (8:14.13) and Minnesota's John Simons was sixth (8:14.40).
Saarel's third-place finish is the highest for the Buffs since 2007 when Stephen Pifer took third in the mile. With his finish, Saarel was awarded All-America First Team honors. Hurysz was named to the second team for his performance.
“All in all, it was a pretty good trip down here,” Wetmore said. “We're pretty happy with the performances this weekend and it was a good experience for everyone. Now we need to get back to work and prepare for the outdoor season.”
CU will host the Second Annual Jerry Quiller Classic, March 21-22, at Potts Field in Boulder to start the outdoor season. Meet information and a complete schedule are available at CUBuffs.com/trackandfield.
NCAA INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Albuquerque Convention Center (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Men's 3,000-Meters: (1. Edward Cheserek, Oregon, 8:11.59) 3. Ben Saarel, 8:13.45; Jake Hurysz, 8:18.57
Players Mentioned
