Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Ready For 'Loaded' Pac-12 Cross Country Championships
October 27, 2016 | Cross Country, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When Friday morning's Pac-12 Cross Country Championships are contested in Tucson, Ariz., there will be a slight twist to the regular story line.
For the first time since the conference became the Pac-12, the Colorado men won't be a favorite to claim the team championship. The Buffs have won all five titles since they entered the Pac-12, but enter this year's race as "only" the nation's seventh-ranked squad, trailing conference rivals Stanford (No. 2) and Oregon (No. 3).
However, the CU women — also the defending champs — will be slight favorites to win their third championship since entering the conference, as they aim to add to their 2011 and 2015 titles. The CU women enter the race as the nation's top-ranked squad, but they'll no doubt be challenged by Washington (No. 2), Oregon (No. 5) and Stanford (No. 11).
Notice the trend? When it comes to highly competitive conference championships, the Pac-12 is in a league of its own.
"The Pac-12 is always loaded, but it's a little extra loaded this year," said CU head coach Mark Wetmore. "Our women are ranked No. 1, Washington is very good and ranked No. 2. My guess is whichever team has the better day will win — and our goal is to have the better day.
"As for the men, they are ranked third in the conference but I think they're close enough that if they do things very well, they can finish higher than that."
Leading the CU women will be senior Erin Clark, CU's top runner all season and the Buffs' first finisher at last year's NCAA Championships, when they finished second as a team.
Clark's first goal will be to help the Buffs successfully defend their title. But she'll also be looking for a little personal redemption. At last year's conference meet, she finished fourth and was CU's second runner, finishing behind Kaitlyn Benner (second overall).
"I have some high expectations not just for our team but myself as well going into this weekend," Clark said. "I didn't have the performance that I wanted at this meet last year. I think I'm a smarter runner and I'm fitter now. I think it will be a pretty good battle of five to 10 women up at the front and hopefully I can put myself in the mix to be one of the top contenders."
Clark is coming off a long outdoor track season last spring and summer, one that saw her compete at the NCAA Championships and the Olympic Trials. She was then sidelined by some minor injuries, but now believes she's back at full strength.
"Things have come around really well," she said. "My fitness is where I would hope it to be right now, so everything has played out just fine, even if it was a little rocky to start with and we were a little nervous last summer."
Carrying the nation's No. 1 ranking along with the tag of defending champs into the meet also means the women will be carrying a little pressure. Clark, though, said it's nothing the Buffs haven't become accustomed to dealing with over the years.
"We really don't think much about the rankings," Clark said. "We train to run our race and and then we see what happens. The eyes are always on the victor from the previous year, but we've never been this good and we're looking forward to the challenge."
As one of two seniors in terms of cross country eligibility, Clark has also assumed a leadership role.
"It's interesting — I don't feel like I'm that old," she said with a laugh, "but it's something I've come to enjoy. It's not so much pressure as it is just doing what you can to help your teammates by using your experience and knowledge. You help them learn what to expect and what to avoid. It's an interesting role and hopefully I'm doing a good job."
Clark will be among the individual favorites in the race and Benner will also be expected to be among the leaders. Others likely to score well for the Buffs are sophomores Makena Morley and Dani Jones, and senior Carrie Verdon, junior Melanie Nun and freshmen Sage Hurta and Tabor Scholl could also be factors.
The men will be looking for another big performance from sophomore Ryan Forsyth — CU's highest finisher at the recent NCAA Pre-Nationals — as well as improved efforts from Ben Saarel, John Dressel, Joe Klecker and Zachary Perrin.
"Inevitably, our men are going to lose one of these years," Wetmore said of the Buffs' streak of winning every Pac-12 title. "We're going to try our best to not let it be this year."
It's the time of the season when the Buffs — and every other national contender, for that matter — are aiming for a steady peak that will culminate with the Nov. 19 NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. The Buffs will compete again in two weeks in the NCAA Mountain Regional in Logan, Utah, then run Terre Haute just eight days later.
"When you get to the end of October, it's nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time," Clark said. "Once you get past Pre-Nationals, it feels like the rest of the season just flies through. When it gets to this point of the season, it's all focus."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
