Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Head For MPSF Indoor Championships
February 25, 2016 | Track and Field
BOULDER — The University of Colorado track and field team is prepped for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Indoor Track & Field Championships this Friday and Saturday, February 26-27, in Seattle.
The University of Washington will host the championships at Dempsey Indoor, the site of many of the nation's top indoor meets. Admission is free.
CU is sending a strong group of athletes to the championship. As usual, the Buffs have some of the top distance runners, not only in the conference, but in the nation. Senior Pierce Murphy ranks sixth in the nation, second in the league, in the 5,000-meter run after recording a time of 13:40.12. Senior Morgan Pearson has the fifth fastest league time, 16th in the NCAA (13:48.18) and senior Ammar Moussa is ninth in the conference, 24th in the nation (13:51.85). Freshmen Joe Klecker and John Dressel are ninth and 11th in the 3k, respectively. Klecker ran 7:59.77, while Dressel recorded a time of 8:00.05.
The women are just as talented in the long distance events. Sophomores Erin Clark and Kaitlyn Benner rank third and fourth, respectively, in the 5k. Clark owns a PR of 15:54.01, while Benner's PR is 16:01.53. Clark's time ranks 17th in the NCAA, while Benner's time is 22nd. CU has two other sophomores in the top 10. Carrie Verdon is seventh (16:16.77) and Mackenzie Caldwell is 10th (16:32.93).
The Buffs middle distance events are looking good as well. Senior Connor Winter ran the third fastest CU mile time (3:59.76), which is fourth in the MPSF. Freshman Dani Jones is ninth in the conference, third in CU history, in the mile after clocking in at 4:38.68 a couple weeks ago.
CU's sprinters are also positioned well for this weekend. Sophomore Ana Holland is a top 10 performer in the 60 and 200-meter dash. Her time of 7.46 in the 60 (converted to 7.48 for altitude) is ninth overall in the MPSF, while her time of 24.08 in the 200 (24.15) is 10th. Holland's 60 and 200 times rank second in CU history.
Freshman Duane McClurkin Jr. leads the men in the 200 and 400. He is 12th in the league in the 200 (21.58 – altitude converted time) and is 11th in the 400 (47.89 converted). The Buffs 4x400-meter relay teams are both ranked in the top 10. The men are sixth (3:16.67 converted) and the women are eighth (3:44.10 converted).
Senior Abrianna Torres is third in the league (23rd in the nation) to lead the Buffs in the pentathlon. The reigning MPSF Champion, Torres has room to add her season-best total of 3,890, since her PR is 4,025. She also ranks fifth in the long jump (19-4) and is ninth in the high jump (5-7). Freshman Maja Wichhart-Donzo is also a top-10 conference performer in the triple jump, coming in at ninth with a 40-2.75 mark.
Sophomore Andrew Ghizzone has the eighth best heptathlon total in the league at 5,262 points, which ranks third in CU history. The Buffs have a couple of good chances for points in the open men's jumps as well. McClurkin Jr. ranks ninth in the high jump (6-9.75) and freshman Isaiah Oliver is 11th in the long jump after recording a 23-6.25 performance in his first competition last Friday.
The throwers will be led by senior Brady Rutt, who ranks third in CU history with a mark of 61-11. That throw, which he recorded last Friday at the Rocky Mountain Classic (Laramie, Wyo.) is sixth in the MPSF. Senior Sophie Hallam-Eames leads the women and ranks ninth in the weight throw (58-6.50) and freshman Mariah Walker is 12th in the shot put (48-11.75).
The first event of the meet is the women's weight throw on Friday at 12 p.m. PT. The pentathlon will start at 12:15 p.m. and the heptathlon will begin at 2 p.m. The first prelim on the track, the women's 60-meter hurdles, will start at 4:30 p.m.
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. with the men's 4x400-meter relay.
Live stats can be found at gohuskies.com. Flotrack will also be streaming the meet live but a subscription is required (flotrack.org).
The Buffs are competing in the MPSF for indoor track and field as the Pac-12 Conference does not sponsor an indoor track and field championship. All 12 Pac-12 schools are members of the MPSF for the indoor championships, although Oregon State and Utah only compete on the women's side. In total, there are 19 schools that will compete at the MPSF Indoor Track and Field Championships.
After the league meet, the NCAA will announce the field for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which are March 11-12, in Birmingham, Ala.
