Torres Starts Season off With A Win in the CSM Pentathlon

GOLDEN — University of Colorado senior Abrianna Torres defended her pentathlon title at the Colorado School of Mines Alumni Classic and Open on Thursday at Steinhauer Fieldhouse, finishing first with a total score of 3,860.

Torres started her day running the 60-meter hurdles and finished first with a time of 8.89 seconds, just missing her personal record of 8.88. The next event was the high jump, and Torres set a PR at 5-6 (her previous best was 5-5.75) while finishing second overall.

Torres' best event, the shot put, was next and she did not disappoint. Her first place mark of 43-9.25 was almost a full five feet farther then the second place mark of 38-9 by Azusa Pacific's Daphne Chambers.

Moving along in the competition, Torres finished second in the long jump with a mark of 19-4, placing second by just a quarter of an inch to former teammate, Colorado State's Brittany Lewis, who jumped 19-4.25. Torres finished the evening placing 19th in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:43.69.

“Abrianna had a whole bunch of PR's today,” assistant coach Lindsey Malone said. “Her score is awesome for the first meet. She worked her tail off and was very consistent. The last event didn't go exactly how we wanted it to go, but she did so well in everything else that it didn't matter.”

Not to be outdone, the other three freshmen women competing for the Buffs all finished well.

Freshmen Maja Wichhart-Donzo finished with 3,335 total points giving her a an eighth place finish for the competition. She ran 9.21 mark in the 60-hurdles, starting her evening off with a 15^th place finish. Wichhart-Donzo moved onto the high jump were she finished 12th with a mark of 5-0.25.

The shot put was her only top ten finish of the evening. A final mark of 34-0.75 was good enough for ninth. Wichhart-Donzo jumped 17-0.75 in the long jump, placing her 16th in the final standings. A time of 2:33.92 in the 800 completed her evening.

“Maja came out and cleaned up in most everything,” Malone said. “She had one of the highest freshman tallies for a first multi meet ever.”

Rounding out Colorado's athletes in the standings were the freshmen Rachel Sharpe and Lauren Sharpe. Rachel finished with a total score of 3,044, just edging her sibling Lauren who finished with a total score of 2,942.

As for the CU men, four Buffs began their heptathlon competition by completing four of the seven events. Sophomore Andrew Ghizzone finished the first day in seventh with 2,774 points to lead the Buffs.

He placed eighth in the 60-meters in 7.24 and followed up that performance with a 22-3 mark in the long jump for fifth place. Next up for Ghizzone was the shot put where he recorded a throw of 35-11.25. He finished off the evening completing the high jump with a mark of 6-0.75.

The other three Buffs had a good first day. Freshman Joseph Martinez finished with 2,373 points, while freshman Nate Gravelding had 2,289 points. Sophomore Matt Walker was also competing for CU and has 1,981 points (he did not record a height in the high jump.)

“Andrew had four PR's out of four events which is a great way to start the season,” Malone said. “We are doing great and are looking forward to day two tomorrow for the men, as well the open events.”

The second day of the CSM Alumni Classic and Open continues Friday, with the men finishing the heptathlon, and several other track and field events being decided during the day. The meet runs through Saturday.

2015 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES ALUMNI CLASSIC

Golden, Colo. (Steinhauer Fieldhouse)

Pentathlon: 1. Abrianna Torres, 3,860; 8. Maja Wichhart-Donzo, 3,335; 16. Rachel Sharpe, 3,044; 18. Lauren Sharpe, 2,942

60-Meter Hurdles: 1. Torres, 8.89; 13. Donzo, 9.21; 26. Sharpe, L, 9.90; 29. Sharpe, R, 10.35

High Jump: (1. Jessica Green, Colorado State, 5-7.25/1.71); 2. Torres, 5-6/1.68; t9. Sharpe, L, 5-1.25/1.56; t9. Sharpe, R, 5-1.25/1.56; t12. Donzo, 5-0.25/1.53

Shot Put: 1. Torres, 43-9.25/13.34; 9. Donzo, 34-0.75/10.38; 18. Sharpe, L, 28-1.75/8.58; t20. Sharpe, R, 26-3.50/8.01

Long Jump: (1. Brittany Lewis, Colorado State, 19-4.25/5.90); 2. Torres, 19-4/5.89; 12. Donzo, 17-0.75/5.20; t16. Sharpe, R, 16-7/5.05; 21. Sharpe, L, 15-11.50/4.86

800 meters: 1. Sharpe, R, 2.26.80; 9. Donzo, 2:33.92; 17. Sharpe, L, 2.40.86; 19. Torres, 2.43.69

Heptathlon (Day 1): (1. Shakiel Chattoo, Azusa Pacific, 3,061); 7. Andrew Ghizzone, 2,774; 13. Joseph Martinez, 2,373; 16. Nate Gravelding, 2,289; 18. Matt Walker; 1,981

60-meters: (1. Chattoo, 9.92); 8. Ghizzone, 7.24; 13. Walker, 7.31; t15. Gravelding, 7.52; 18. Martinez, 7.57

Long Jump: (1. Hunter Price, Colorado State, 24-3/7.39); 5. Ghizzone, 22-3/6.78; t12. Martinez, 20-3.75/6.19; 17. Gravelding, 19-4/5.89; 18. Walker, 19-0.50/5.80

Shot Put: 1. Walker, 42-4.25/12.94; t9. Ghizzone, 35-11.25/10.95; 17. Martinez, 28-8.50/8.75; 18. Gravelding, 28-1.75/8.58

High Jump: (1. Justin Green, Unattached, 6-9); 9. Ghizzone, 6-0.75/1.85; 10. Martinez, 5-11.50/1.82; t11. Gravelding, 5-10.50/1.79; Walker, NH