Colorado University Athletics
Photo by: Ken Moreland
Women's Cross Country 2017 In Review
December 31, 2017 | Cross Country
BOULDER - Colorado's women's cross country team is no stranger to conference championships. The Buffs made that clear in October by winning their third straight Pac-12 title and fourth since joining the conference in 2011, racing to the crown at the Springfield Golf Club in Springfield, Ore.Â
But for the first time in CU's Pac-12 history, the Mark Wetmore's CU women also crowned an individual conference champion. Junior Dani Jones held off Oregon's Katie Rainsberger (the course record holder) down the stretch to finish the 6K race in 18:57.3, one second ahead of Rainsberger. Jones also beat the 2016 conference champ, Washington's Amy-Eloise Neale.
Jones became the first CU woman to win a conference crown since Jenny (Barringer) Simpson won the Big 12 championship in 2009.
In addition to Jones, the Buffs had two more runners in the top 10 to help the Buffs knock off No. 1 ranked Oregon. Senior Kaitlyn Benner was eighth and sophomore Sage Hurta ninth while junior Makena Morley (15th) and sophomore Tabor Scholl (20th) rounded out Colorado's scoring.
The CU women then went on to win their fifth straight NCAA Mountain Region championship, with Morley paving the way in seventh place.
The Buffs capped their season by finishing third in the NCAA Championships, their third straight top-three finish (2nd in 2015 and 3rd in 2016) in the national meet. Jones again led the Buffs in the NCAAs with a 10th-place finish.
Women's Cross Country Notes
"It was an interesting season. We had a lot of expectations and had a national spotlight on us all year long with the women.  We knew it would be tough.  I got to go to Louisville, to experience that and see the elements. The meet itself was interesting.  Following the storm that was supposed to come through, they moved up the time.  The soccer team playing in North Carolina was awesome, we had some administration that were able to come up and support the runners. Â
"The highlight was clearly having Dani Jones win the conference as the first person since Jenny Simpson to win.  That was a three-peat for them.  The men ended their streak at five but having Joe Klecker finish second which was our highest since moving to the Pac-12. I thought the regional piece was lost a little bit, we had more dominance at the regional level, that's not to be taken lightly. The women finishing third in the NCAAs, I know a letdown for them, I saw something that's the 10th time in the top three since 1976 and it was the highest fifth-place point scorer that we've ever had.  From a team perspective, it shows our team growth and involvement to Heather and Mark and what they're doing to develop the depth.  It's just unfortunate that individually we didn't have a few score a little higher. Â
"Eduardo Herrera was a shining light on the men's side finishing as an All-American and someone that as a freshman, worked through the season and surprise d a lot of people. I t was neat to see him do that.  The cross country piece was a combination of the light during the course of the year and the elements that we fought through at NCAAs."
But for the first time in CU's Pac-12 history, the Mark Wetmore's CU women also crowned an individual conference champion. Junior Dani Jones held off Oregon's Katie Rainsberger (the course record holder) down the stretch to finish the 6K race in 18:57.3, one second ahead of Rainsberger. Jones also beat the 2016 conference champ, Washington's Amy-Eloise Neale.
Jones became the first CU woman to win a conference crown since Jenny (Barringer) Simpson won the Big 12 championship in 2009.
In addition to Jones, the Buffs had two more runners in the top 10 to help the Buffs knock off No. 1 ranked Oregon. Senior Kaitlyn Benner was eighth and sophomore Sage Hurta ninth while junior Makena Morley (15th) and sophomore Tabor Scholl (20th) rounded out Colorado's scoring.
The CU women then went on to win their fifth straight NCAA Mountain Region championship, with Morley paving the way in seventh place.
The Buffs capped their season by finishing third in the NCAA Championships, their third straight top-three finish (2nd in 2015 and 3rd in 2016) in the national meet. Jones again led the Buffs in the NCAAs with a 10th-place finish.
Women's Cross Country Notes
- CU's women recorded their third straight Pac-12 title and their fourth overall since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.
- Dani Jones won the Pac-12 title, becoming the first Buff to win an individual Pac-12 XC title. She is the first Buff since Jenny Barringer Simpson to win an individual conference title (2009).
- Jones, along with Kaitlyn Benner and Sage Hurta were named to the All-Pac-12 teams.
- Mark Wetmore was named the Pac-12 Women's XC Coach of the Year.
- The Buffs also won the region title for the fifth straight year.
- CU finished third overall at the NCAA Championships.
- Three Buffs earned All-American honors
- Dani Jones led CU with a 10th place finish
- Sage Hurta was 35th and Kaitlyn Benner was 35th overall
"It was an interesting season. We had a lot of expectations and had a national spotlight on us all year long with the women.  We knew it would be tough.  I got to go to Louisville, to experience that and see the elements. The meet itself was interesting.  Following the storm that was supposed to come through, they moved up the time.  The soccer team playing in North Carolina was awesome, we had some administration that were able to come up and support the runners. Â
"The highlight was clearly having Dani Jones win the conference as the first person since Jenny Simpson to win.  That was a three-peat for them.  The men ended their streak at five but having Joe Klecker finish second which was our highest since moving to the Pac-12. I thought the regional piece was lost a little bit, we had more dominance at the regional level, that's not to be taken lightly. The women finishing third in the NCAAs, I know a letdown for them, I saw something that's the 10th time in the top three since 1976 and it was the highest fifth-place point scorer that we've ever had.  From a team perspective, it shows our team growth and involvement to Heather and Mark and what they're doing to develop the depth.  It's just unfortunate that individually we didn't have a few score a little higher. Â
"Eduardo Herrera was a shining light on the men's side finishing as an All-American and someone that as a freshman, worked through the season and surprise d a lot of people. I t was neat to see him do that.  The cross country piece was a combination of the light during the course of the year and the elements that we fought through at NCAAs."
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
1500-Meters
/ OlympiansThursday, May 21
Monday, August 12
Monday, August 12
Tuesday, December 12