Colorado University Athletics
CU Freshmen Post Impressive Times Early
February 24, 2016 | Track and Field, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — When Colorado freshmen Dani Jones and Joe Klecker recently ran their first major indoor races as Buffs, they were both happy with their finish, and with good reason: both recorded times that put them at least within range of possible NCAA Indoor Championships qualifying times.
But neither had any idea that their performances also put their names into some rather lofty territory — territory that includes the names of All-Americans, NCAA champions and Olympians.
Jones, running in her first track race as a Buff (she competed for the cross country team last fall), clocked a four-minute, 38.68 second mile at the Husky Invitational in Seattle. That was good enough for seventh place in the meet and put her in the top 25 in the nation on the NCAA qualifying charts.
But it also put her third on CU's all-time performers list for the women's indoor mile. The only two women in CU history to run a faster mile are former NCAA champions and Olympians Jenny Simpson and Emma Coburn.
Fast company, indeed.
“When I saw those names, it was, 'Wow, those are some big names,'” said Jones, who came to CU from Desert Vista High School in Phoenix. “But then when you see their times and how much farther I have to go, I know how much work I have to do.”
Indeed, Jones still has some work to do to catch Simpson and Coburn. She's roughly 13 seconds short of Simpson's school record of 4:25.91, and about nine seconds short of Coburn's 4:29.86.
Still, as Jones noted, “It's still encouraging when you see how big of steps they took from high school to college, and then how much they improved when they were here. You want to go somewhere that you can develop, and this is the place.”
Klecker, meanwhile, made his 3,000-meter debut one to remember at the Husky Invite. Racing in his first major race as a Buff (he redshirted in the cross country season), Klecker clocked a 7:59.77, good enough for fourth in his heat and currently putting him in the top 50 in the nation on the NCAA meeting qualifying list.
And, just like Jones, Klecker put his name on a rather impressive CU list, as his time was the second-fastest ever recorded by a Buffs freshman.
The only freshman with a faster time was Ben Saarel, who ran a 7:52.61 on the same track three years ago. But the list of freshmen Klecker bested is impressive indeed, one that includes the names of at least four Olympians: Alan Culpepper, Adam Goucher, Jorge Torres and Dathan Ritzenhein.
“It means something, but at the same time, it's just a freshman time,” said Klecker, who came to CU from Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minn. “It's not like anything those guys did later in their careers. It's nice to be mentioned with them, but they obviously went on to do a lot more stuff than just running fast as freshmen. I've got a lot of work to do.”
Still, both performances were impressive, particularly for freshmen competing in their first major indoor collegiate race. Both will be aiming to improve those times this weekend when they compete in CU's league championships, the MPSF Indoor meet in Seattle.
Jones, who was a top-50 finisher for the Buffs at the NCAA Cross Country championships last fall, will be aiming to move up a few spots on the qualifying list. She needs to get into the top 16 to guarantee a berth, but moving up a few notches might be enough if other runners drop out in favor of other events.
“Before, I wasn't putting a lot of pressure on myself to make indoor nationals, but I think I needed to hit something like my first race to see where my fitness level was,” she said. “Now that I have, I can gear my attention on trying to get a top 16 time. I'm just a few seconds away, and it will definitely be hit or miss … There's going to be a lot of girls racing with me that are on that cusp of qualifying.”
Klecker comes from a running family. His father, Barney, owns the U.S. record for the 50-mile ultramarathon and his mother, Janis, is a two-time national marathon champ and 1992 Olympian. He'll also be aiming for an NCAA berth, but his road will be a little steeper: he'll need to move up about 25 to 30 spots to nab a spot.
“I just want to compete with the top guys,” Klecker said. “It would be awesome if I could run a time that would get me to the NCAAs, but I realize that's pretty fast. I just want to get in there and compete and see what happens.”
After the indoor season, both will turn their attention to the outdoor season — a much more competitive arena. Jones will likely stay with the mile and 1,500 while Klecker will stick with the 3K — and maybe give the steeplechase a try.
Next fall, both are also expected to be key members of the cross country squads.
“I'd just like to help our team score points in meets,” Jones said. “When I came here as a high school athlete, I was pretty confident that I'd be scoring points, but then when we began workouts, reality hit me a little. I realized how hard I had to work just to get there. It's been a great learning experience.”
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
