Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Mt. SAC Relays
Torres Impresses, Places 4th at California Invite
April 16, 2015 | Track and Field
AZUSA, Calif. – The season keeps getting better and better for University of Colorado junior Abrianna Torres. On Thursday afternoon at the California Invitational, she recorded the fifth best heptathlon mark in CU history with 5,544 points, which is the highest score since 1996.
The mark put Torres in elite company at CU. Olympian Annette Tannander and Heather Sterlin are the only two other Buffs who have put together a score over 5,500. Tannander has the top two scores (5,863 and 5,638) from the 1983 season, while Sterlin has the third (5,582) and fourth (5,573) best marks from 1996.
“To be the number three performer in CU history is so humbling but as anyone would, I want to be number one,” Torres said. “For now I'm ecstatic, these past two days with my teammates and coach is everything I could have asked for and more. Everyone excelled and brought great vibes and hopefully we can continue that into the weekend.”
Torres entered the day with 3,276 points and was fifth overall at the meet. She went to work right away and during the course of the remaining three events, she notched 2,268 more points to improve to fourth place at the meet.
“I feel amazing after today's performance,” Torres said. “I came in here with a goal in mind and was able to accomplish that and more. This weekend had some highs and lows to it. I know that I missed out on some points in hurdles, shot put and javelin for sure, but there's going to be room for improvement everywhere. My jumping events were clutch and I thankfully gained some good points there.”
The first event of the day was the long jump and Torres jumped a season-best mark of 20-1, which was second. The next discipline was the javelin and Torres recorded a toss of 120-11, her second best throw of the year. The 800-meter run was the last event and Torres didn't leave anything on the track as she finished with a personal best time of 2:23.59.
“AB's (Abrianna) score was absolutely tremendous,” assistant coach Lindsey Malone said. “The exciting part is that I think we have several more hundred points left for her and I think we will see that at Pac-12s. If everything goes our way, we'll have Pac-12s and NCAAs to post up an even bigger score. I'm looking forward to her having two more attempts at putting together all seven of her PR's. She did a fantastic job and had a huge smile at the end of it.”
PR's were everywhere again for the team. Freshman Michaela Wenning finished her first heptathlon 25th overall with 4,542 points and had a pair of PR's in the javelin (107-6) and 800 (1:23.99). Junior Ewelina Pena also tallied a personal best total score of 4,488 for 26th place. She finished the 800 with a PR of 2:28.16. Sophomore Mariah Slack recorded PR's in all three events and in her total score (4,340) to place 30th overall. She jumped 17-1.50 in the long jump, threw the javelin 61-8 and ran 2:18.81 in the 800.
Freshman Andrew Ghizzone had a solid finish in the decathlon, moving up from 20th to 12th with 6,603 points. He was ninth overall in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing in 15.63. Ghizzone went on to toss the discus 100-10 for 17th overall before tying for third in the pole vault with a season-best of 15-5. The mark also tied the third best vault in CU decathlon history. In the javelin, Ghizzone was 14th with a throw of 136-9. The final event was the 1,500, and Ghizzone didn't disappoint, winning the race in 4:17.07, a CU decathlon record. He cruised past Adam Salzmann's previous record of 4:22.22, which was set in 2012.
“Andrew broke the school record in the 1,500 and he broke it with domination and walked off at the end of it, so I know there is more there,” Malone said. “He did a great job as a freshman in the decathlon.
“It was an amazing day and I'm incredibly impressed with my group. We're exactly where we need to be this time of the year. Some of the marks reflected that and some didn't, but ultimately I'm looking for technic. The speed and the power are there. I was very pleased with what I saw.”
Meanwhile, the Buffs' steeplechasers got the action going at Mt. SAC Relays for CU. Redshirt freshman Adam Peterman won the 'B' section of the men's race in 8:48.68, almost a 30 second PR (his former PR was 9:18.05). Junior Connor Winter was the runner-up in that same heat, finishing with another PR of 9:54.32.
The women also raced. Redshirt freshman Erin Clark won the 'A' section with a personal best of 10:10.62, improving by over 20 seconds in just the second steeplechase of her career. Freshman Val Constien placed eighth in the 'B' section of the meet, finishing in 10:45.46.
Mt. SAC Relays runs through Saturday. The Buffs are also competing at the Bryan Clay Invitational on Friday and the Beach Invitational on Saturday.
2015 California Invitational Combine Event
Women's Heptathlon
Day 1 Scores: (1. Kaylon Eppinger, unattached, 5,863) 4. Abrianna Torres, 5,544; 25. Michaela Wenning, 4,542; 26. Ewelina Pena, 4,488; 30. Mariah Slack, 4,340
Long Jump: (1. Jessamyn Sauceda, Mexico FMAA, 20-7.25) 2. Torres, 20-1/6.12; 28. Slack, 17-1.50/5.22; 35. Wenning, 16-3/4.95; 38. Pena, 16-1/4.90
Javelin: (1. Amanda Alexander, UNO, 131-10) 6. Torres, 120-11/36.87; 18. Wenning, 107-6/32.76; 34. Pena, 88-9/27.06; 46. Slack, 61-8/18.79
800-Meter Run: (1. CJ Smith, Washington, 2:11.96) 12. Slack, 2:18.81; 18. Torres, 2:23.59; 19. Wenning, 2:23.99; 25. Pena, 2:28.16
Decathlon
Day 1 Scores: (1. Roman Garibay, Mexico FMAA, 7,363) 12. Andrew Ghizzone, 6,603
110-Meter Hurdles: (1. Taylor Sanderson, ISU, 14.91) 9. Ghizzone, 15.63
Discus: (1. William Phillips, Idaho State, 154-7) 17. Ghizzone, 100-10/30.73
Pole Vault: (1. Matthew Nash, Azusa Pacific, 16-00.75) t3. Ghizzone, 15-5/4.70
Javelin: (1. Roman Garibay, Mexico FMAA, 218-4) 14. Ghizzone, 136-09/41.69
1,500-Meters: 1. Ghizzone, 4:17.07
2015 Mt. SAC Relays
Track Events
Men's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase (B): 1. Adam Peterman, 8:48.68; 2. Connor Winter, 8:54.32
Women's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase (Section B): (1. Regan Ward, Ark, 10:22.36) 8. Val Constien, 10:45.46
Women's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase (Section A): 1. Erin Clark, 10:10.62
Players Mentioned
