Colorado University Athletics
Ghizzone Finishes Fifth At Husker Invitational
February 06, 2016 | Track and Field
LINCOLN, Neb. — University of Colorado sophomore Andrew Ghizzone finished the heptathlon at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on Saturday with back-to-back wins in the final two events for a fifth place overall finish.
“Andrew is quite the phenomenal athlete,” assistant coach Lindsey Malone said. “His ability to stay calm in competition is an incredible asset especially in the multi-events when scores and places can change so drastically between events. His biggest competitor is himself and I can truly count on him to perform to the best of his ability in each event. He is ready for a big score and I'm excited to see what he can accomplish in the next couple of weeks.”
Ghizzone entered the final day of competition sitting in 11th place with 2,578 points, and he finished the competition with 5,164, his second best overall score.
The solo Buff competing on the day, Ghizzone kicked the day off winning his heat in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing fifth (8.53) in the standings.
Next up was the pole vault and a chance to perform in one his best events. Tying the all-time best indoor heptathlon mark in CU history, Ghizzone finished tied for first in the pole vault after clearing 15-9. His mark vaulted him into eighth, giving him a great chance of cracking the top five.
Needing another great performance to finish the day, Ghizzone delivered, finishing first in the 1,000-meters with a time of 2:39.06. The time is the fifth best on the all-time indoor CU record books. The time moved Ghizzone from eighth to fifth.
“Andrew woke up this morning not feeling so hot and still managed a very technically sound hurdle race,” Malone said. “We decided to limit his vaults to three attempts to conserve energy and he still nearly met his PR height. I asked him to run a conservative race in the 1,000 and he executed it perfectly. He won the 1,000 by a very large margin and was able to move up three spots in the overall competition.”
The track and field team will be back in action next weekend, February 12-13. The team will be split with one group heading to compete in Seattle at the Husky Classic, while another group will go to Albuquerque, N.M. for the Don Kirby Invitational.
2016 FRANK SEVIGNE HUSKER INVITATIONAL
Bob Devaney Sports Center (University of Nebraska, Neb.)
Heptathlon
Total Score: (1. Steele Wasik, UCLA 5,599) 5.Andrew Ghizzone, 5,164
60-Meter Hurdles: (Wasik, UCLA, 8.08) 5. Ghizzone, 8.53
Pole Vault: t1. Ghizzone, 15-9, Cody Walton, 15-9
1000-Meters: 1. Ghizzone, 2:39.06
