Colorado University Athletics
Friday, March 30
Stanford, CA
All Day
Colorado
vs
Stanford Invitational
Kaitlyn Benner recorded a PR on Friday night in the 5k.
Photo by: Gary Breedlove
Buffs Record NCAA Qualifying Times At Stanford Invite
March 31, 2018 | Track and Field
STANFORD, Calif. – Kaitlyn Benner and Erin Clark got their outdoor track seasons off to a great start on Friday night with solid performances at the Stanford Invitational as both recorded NCAA regional qualifying times in their respective events.
WHAT HAPPENED:
Benner, who was racing in her first outdoor meet since the 2016 NCAA Championship, had a spectacular showing in the 5,000-meter run as she clocked a personal best of 15 minutes, 47.23 seconds, improving on her previous PR of 15:56.52. Her time placed third overall in the invitational section of the race as Benner was just five seconds behind the winner, Oregon's Lillie Burdon (15:42.65).
She also moved up to fifth on CU's all-time performer list with what is currently the third fastest in the NCAA this spring.
Benner was very happy with her race. "I mostly just wanted to race and not worry about time. It was fun!"
Clark started her final season for the Buffs with a great performance in the 10,000-meter run, which was the second to last event of the night. She had a very solid performance to earn a ninth-place finish in the second section of the event, coming away with a time of 33:56.01, which was the third fastest 10k time in her career.
Clark was not far off the pace of the winner, SMU's Hannah Miller, who crossed the finish in 33:45.35. The top three in the race finished under 33:50, while the following six had times under 33:57.
UP NEXT: Members of the CU track and field team will be at the Tom Benich Invitational on Saturday, March 31, in Greeley, Colo.
QUOTES
Assistant Coach Heather Burroughs
This was Kaitlyn's first outdoor track race in almost two years. It was a big PR, a NCAA Regional qualifying mark and moved her to fifth on CU's all-time 5K list. It was everything we hoped for and she can be even fitter by the conference meet.
Erin ran two races at the NCAA Indoor Championship a few weeks ago. Ideally, she would be back to a big block of training now, so our only goal tonight was to get an NCAA Regional qualifying time with minimal interruption to her training.
2018 Stanford Invitational
Cobb Track and Angell Field (Stanford, Calif.)
Track Events (CU Athletes)
5,000-meter run – Invitational section: (1. Lillie Burdon, Oregon, 15:42.65) 3. Kaitlyn Benner, 15:47.23
10,000-meter run – Section 2: (1. Hannah Miller, SMU, 33:43.35) 9. Erin Clark, 33:56.01
WHAT HAPPENED:
Benner, who was racing in her first outdoor meet since the 2016 NCAA Championship, had a spectacular showing in the 5,000-meter run as she clocked a personal best of 15 minutes, 47.23 seconds, improving on her previous PR of 15:56.52. Her time placed third overall in the invitational section of the race as Benner was just five seconds behind the winner, Oregon's Lillie Burdon (15:42.65).
She also moved up to fifth on CU's all-time performer list with what is currently the third fastest in the NCAA this spring.
Benner was very happy with her race. "I mostly just wanted to race and not worry about time. It was fun!"
Clark started her final season for the Buffs with a great performance in the 10,000-meter run, which was the second to last event of the night. She had a very solid performance to earn a ninth-place finish in the second section of the event, coming away with a time of 33:56.01, which was the third fastest 10k time in her career.
Clark was not far off the pace of the winner, SMU's Hannah Miller, who crossed the finish in 33:45.35. The top three in the race finished under 33:50, while the following six had times under 33:57.
UP NEXT: Members of the CU track and field team will be at the Tom Benich Invitational on Saturday, March 31, in Greeley, Colo.
QUOTES
Assistant Coach Heather Burroughs
This was Kaitlyn's first outdoor track race in almost two years. It was a big PR, a NCAA Regional qualifying mark and moved her to fifth on CU's all-time 5K list. It was everything we hoped for and she can be even fitter by the conference meet.
Erin ran two races at the NCAA Indoor Championship a few weeks ago. Ideally, she would be back to a big block of training now, so our only goal tonight was to get an NCAA Regional qualifying time with minimal interruption to her training.
2018 Stanford Invitational
Cobb Track and Angell Field (Stanford, Calif.)
Track Events (CU Athletes)
5,000-meter run – Invitational section: (1. Lillie Burdon, Oregon, 15:42.65) 3. Kaitlyn Benner, 15:47.23
10,000-meter run – Section 2: (1. Hannah Miller, SMU, 33:43.35) 9. Erin Clark, 33:56.01
Players Mentioned
Distance
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