Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Day 1
Murphy Leads Buffs With Sixth Place Finish At NCAAs
March 13, 2015 | Track and Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — University of Colorado junior Pierce Murphy picked up a sixth place finish in the men's 5,000-meter run on Friday night to record his first All-America track and field honor at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championship.
Murphy finished the race in 13 minutes, 54.36 seconds and led a trio of Buffs in the race as junior Ammar Moussa was 10th (14:01.22) and junior Morgan Pearson finished 14th (14:16.63). Moussa and Pearson will both earn second team All-America status for their performances, while Murphy will receive first team status.
The Buffs took control of the race at the start, with Moussa leading the way. Murphy and Pearson were near the back of the pack the first couple of laps, but quickly worked their way up. CU had its trio in the top 10 for the majority of the race with Pearson moving up to lead for a good chunk of the race. With about 1,200 meters left, Oregon's Eric Jenkins took the lead from Pearson. Pearson wasn't able to keep pace and gradually dropped back in the field. As the race continued, Murphy was able to move up to sixth and stay there, but Moussa also lost some ground and finished 10th.
“The 5k was a mixed bag, I guess,” head coach Mark Wetmore said. “I know Morgan is disappointed, but he needs to be a little more patient. Ammar went in ranked 16th, so he beat a few of the higher qualified guys, but he also led too early. Pierce keeps surprising us. He is patient and calm. I'm very happy for him.”
Senior Jake Hurysz had a great race in the preliminary round of the mile run, earning a spot in the finals on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. MT with a third place finish in the first of two heats. Hurysz, the CU record holder in the mile, became the first Buff to record a pair of sub-four minute miles, clocking in at 3:59.93.
“I was very happy with Jake's race,” Wetmore said. “Maybe it wasn't perfect tactically, but he is fit enough to solve the traffic problems of indoor racing. Let's hope he can repeat that again tomorrow.”
All eight runners in the first heat ran closely through the entire race. Hurysz was seventh entering the bell lap and started to work his through the field. He had moved up to fifth with about 100 meters remaining and down the homestretch he was able make up ground as he caught the third and fourth place runners, Anthony Rotich (UTEP) and Brannon Kidder (Penn State). The three came across the finish three-wide, but Hurysz had the edge as he crossed the finish first. Rotich finished in 3:59.94, and Kidder's time of 4:00.00 was the last time accepted to the finals.
Hurysz will have a busy day on Saturday as he is scheduled to race in the men's 3,000-meter finals as well with Pearson. That final is set for 7:15 p.m. MT.
CU's only field event participant, senior Alex Kizirian, placed 12th overall in the weight throw for second team All-America honors. He recorded a toss of 67 feet, 3.50 inches on his first throw of the day, which wound up being his best. Kizirian fouled on his second attempt before throwing 64-6.75 on his third toss.
“Alex didn't have his best day, but was still well over 20 meters,” Wetmore said. “He has had a solid, steady season, which bodes well for outdoors and his best event, the hammer throw.”
NCAA INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Randal Tyson Track Center (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Men's Mile (Prelims): (1. Cristian Soratos, Montana State, 3:57.94) 8. Jake Hurysz, 3:59.93
Men's Weight Throw (Finals): (1. Michael Lihrman, Wisconsin, 80-10.25) 12. Alex Kizirian, 67-3.50
Men's 5,000-Meters (Finals): (1. Eric Jenkins, Oregon, 13:48.36) 6. Pierce Murphy, 13:54.36; 10. Ammar Moussa, 14:01.22; 14. Morgan Pearson, 14:16.63
Players Mentioned
