Colorado University Athletics
Benner, Saarel Tabbed Academic All-District
May 26, 2016 | Track and Field
BOULDER— University of Colorado sophomore Kaitlyn Benner and junior Ben Saarel have been named to the All-District 7 Track and Field/Cross Country teams, the College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA) announced on Thursday.
Benner has had an outstanding 2015-16 season as a member of both the cross country and track and field teams at Colorado, and looks to add to it this weekend at the NCAA West Preliminary round where she is competing in the 5,000-meter run. The Superior, Colo. native is ranked seventh entering the meet with a personal best of 15:56.52. She was the Pac-12 5,000-meter Champion, winning the title two weeks again in Seattle.
Benner, who owns a 3.93 while majoring in chemical and biological engineering, has earned a pair of All-American honors during her sophomore season. In cross country, she placed 16th overall at the NCAA Championships and helped CU to a runner-up team finish. She also placed second at the Pac-12 Championships and was second again at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships, helping to pace the Buffs to the team crowns at both meets.
The indoor season was another good one for Benner, as she captured All-American First Team honors with an eighth place finish in the 3,000-meter run (9:09.66). At the MPSF Championships, she placed third in the 3k (9:09.75).
Saarel, a Salt Lake City, Utah native, has recorded an impressive 3.96 grade point average as an engineering physics and computer science major while competing on both the cross country and track and field teams. Saarel redshirted the 2016 indoor and outdoor track season, but he had a very successful 2015 cross country campaign.
Only competing in two cross country meets for the Buffs, Saarel made both count. He helped CU win the NCAA Mountain Region Title, placing 21st overall to earn his third straight all-region honor. Two weeks later, Saarel recorded his third consecutive All-American honor, placing 31st as the Buffs placed second in the team race.
Although Saarel has not raced in a CU uniform this track season, he has raced unattached. Most recently, he ran at the prestigious HOKA ONE ONE Middle Distance Classic against some of the top runners, collegiate and professional, in the country. Saarel recorded an impressive time of 3:39.67 in the 1,500-meter run. That time beat CU's record (3:39.77) that was set by Alan Culpepper in 1996.
