Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Day 1
Torres, Benner Win Individual MPSF Titles
February 27, 2015 | Track and Field
SEATTLE — University of Colorado junior Abrianna Torres (pentathlon) and freshman Kaitlyn Benner (5,000-meter run) won Mountain Pacific Sports Federation individual titles on Friday at the first day of the MPSF Indoor Track & Field Championships at Dempsey Indoor.
Torres won the pentathlon with a personal best score of 4,025 points, which included three personal records, and became just the third Buff to win the pentathlon at a conference meet. Annette Tannander won the Big Eight title in 1983 and Pam Owen took home a pair of Big Eight titles in 1991 and '93.
“That was a really good performance by Abrianna,” head coach Mark Wetmore said. “She had a nice solid performance all day that culminated in a great 800. She ran her heart out and I'm really happy for her.”
Torres started the day with a second place finish in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking in with a personal best at 8.88 seconds. In the following event, the high jump, she was just shy of her PR, clearing 5 feet, 4.75 inches to tie for fourth. Torres came back to win the shot put with another personal best of 44-8, which also broke CU's shot put pentathlon record. The long jump, another good individual event for Torres, saw her take second with a jump of 19-4.
With just one event left, the 800-meter run, she had a 124 point lead (3,290) on the rest of the field with BYU's Nicole Law, the 2014 MSPF Champion, in second (3,166). Torres finished the day strong, clocking in with a PR of 2:26.66 to take ninth individually. The time was enough to keep Torres in first as she defeated UCLA's Alexis Walker by 49 points.
“This was an amazing way to end the indoor season for Abrianna,” assistant coach Lindsey Malone said. “Unfortunately she doesn't get the chance to go to the NCAA Championships. This will be the first year to my knowledge that her score (4,025) does not get into nationals. This year has been extremely competitive across the nation.”
Just a short time later, freshman Kaitlyn Benner won the 5,000-meter run with a huge PR of 16:08.22, becoming the first Buff since 2006 to win the indoor conference 5k. She defeated Arizona's Elvin Kibet by more than five seconds, with Kibet clocking in at 16:13.35. Benner's time ranks sixth on CU's all-time performers list and is the fastest 5k debut by a CU freshman.
“Kaitlyn's race was big surprise honestly,” Wetmore said. “She had never run a 5,000 before. We put her in there mostly as training for her race coming up at the world cross country championships in March. Coach [Heather] Burroughs and I thought that maybe she could run in the mid 16:20s and maybe sneak up into the points, but she just kept moving up in the race and picking people off. She took the lead in the last lap and pulled away for an unexpected 10 points.”
Junior Maddie Alm also picked up three points for CU's team score with a sixth place finish in the 5k. She finished the race with a huge PR of 16:25.86. “Maddie had a really nice race as well and added some good points to the team score,” Wetmore said.
In the sprints, Ana Holland earned a fifth place finish in the 200, finishing with a season best time of 24.18.
“Ana had a really nice race in a really excellent field,” Wetmore said. “She's coming down to her fastest time ever. It's not quite her lifetime best, but she is creeping down after a year off.”
Senior Alex Kizirian was the first male to score for the Buffs, placing third overall in the weight throw. He recorded a throw of 68-3.75 for his highest ever placing at the conference meet.
“Over 20 meters is pretty good for Alex,” Wetmore said. “It was another solid performance for him. Honestly, the two guys who finished in front of him are two of the best in the country and those were two big throws.”
On the track, sophomore Jaron Thomas advanced to the finals in the 60-meter hurdles after placing eighth in 8.10. The finals are on Saturday at 11:35 a.m. PT.
“That's his fastest time of the year and is close to his fastest time ever,” Wetmore said. “He had a little bit of an interrupted fall, so we've been waiting for him to come down. He took the last spot to get into finals, but he's a racer and he will beat some people.”
Freshman Andrew Ghizzone will also be in action on Saturday as the heptathlon wraps up. He is currently 14th overall with 2,483 points, but the second day of the event is his strongest day. Ghizzone placed 11th in the 60 (7.41), 12th in the long jump (20-7.25), 14th in the shot put (30-9.75) and 13th in the high jump (5-11.50).
Saturday's events will start at 10:30 a.m. PT with the heptathlon 60-meter hurdles, women's shot put and women's high jump. The championship is set to conclude at 2:40 p.m. PT with the men's 4x400-meter relay. Live stats can be found at http://www.gohuskies.com/fls/30200/trackresults/022715/index.htm?&DB_OEM_ID=30200. Flotrack will also be streaming the meet live but a subscription is required to watch.
2015 MPSF INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Dempsey Indoor (Seattle, Washington)
Women's Team Scores (Through 6 Events)
1. UCLA, 51; 2. Washington, 36; 3. USC, 35; 4. Colorado, 27; 5. Arizona, 21; 6. Arizona State, 17.33; 7. BYU, 15.33; 8. California, 14; 8. Washington State, 14; 10. Long Beach State, 13; 11. Stanford, 10; 12. Portland, 5; 12. Oregon State, 5; 14. Cal State Northridge, 4; 14. Utah, 4; 16. Oregon, 1; 17. Hawai'i, 0.33
Men's Team Scores (Through 6 Events)
1. Washington, 32.50; 2. California, 31; 2. UCLA, 31; 4. Oregon, 26; 5. Stanford, 25.50; 6. BYU, 24; 6. USC, 24; 8. Arizona State, 20; 9. Washington State, 10; 10. Colorado, 6; 11. Long Beach State, 3; 12. Arizona, 1.
Women's Pentathlon
Points: 1. Abrianna Torres, 4,025; 10. Mariah Slack, 3,420; 14. Michaela Wenning, 3,173
60-Meter Hurdles: (1. Nicole Laws, BYU, 8.49) 7. Torres, 8.88, 12. Slack, 9.70, 13. Wenning, 9.75
High Jump: (1. Alexis Walker, UCLA, 5-8.75) t4.Torres, 5-4.25, t9. Slack, 5-3; t11. Wenning, 5-1.75
Shot Put: 1. Torres, 44-8; 12. Slack, 30-4.75; 13. Wenning, 28-6.25
Long Jump: (1. Alyssa Thompson, UA, 19-8) 2. Torres, 19-4; 13. Slack, 16-7; 15. 15-6.25
800-Meters: (1. CJ Smith, UW, 2:16.16) 3. Slack, 2:17.30; 5. Wenning, 2:23.06; 9. Torres, 2:26.66
Men's Heptathlon
Points: (1. Mitch Modin, UO, 3,154) 14. Ghizzone, 2,483
60-Meters: (1. Mitch Modin, UO, 6.98) 11. Ghizzone, 7.41
Long Jump: (1. Alex Fellows, UO, 22-10) 12. Ghizzone, 20-7.25
Shot Put: (1. Mitch Modin, UO, 44-1.25) 14. Ghizzone, 30-9.75
High Jump: (1. Harrison Ivie, UA, 6-8) 13. Ghizzone, 5-11.50
Field Events
Women's Weight Throw: (1. Ida Storm, UCLA, 73-6) 18. Sophie Hallam-Eames, 52-8.75; 26.Mariah Walker, 48-8.25
Men's Weight Throw: (1. Conor McCullogh, USC, 77-5.25) 3. Alex Kizirian 68-3.75
Track Events
Men's 60-Meter Hurdles (prelims): (1. Chris Williams, UW, 7.90) 8. Jaron Thomas, 8.10q
Women's 60-Meters (prelims): (1. Jasmine Todd, UO, 7.26) 25. Tashay Brown, 8.01
Men's 60-Meters (prelims): (1. Beejay Lee, USC, 6.63) 16. Erik Gaytan, 6.97; 19. Austin Mitsch, 7.04
Women's 5,000-Meters (Finals): 1. Kaitlyn Benner, 16:08.22; 6. Maddie Alm, 16:25.86
Men's 5,000 Meters (Finals): (1. Aaron Nelson, UW, 13:53.80) 19. Paul Miller, 14:31.79
Women's 200-Meter (Finals): (1. Deanna Hill, USC, 23.51) 5. Ana Holland, 24.18; 19. Tashay Brown, 25.08
Men's 200-Meters (Finals): (1. Beejay Lee, USC, 21.01) 14. Austin Mitsch, 21.95; 18. Erik Gaytan, 22.33
Players Mentioned
