Colorado Sends Group to Air Force Invitational

BOULDER – The University of Colorado track and field program will take a small group of about 20 student-athletes to compete this Friday and Saturday in the Air Force Invitational.

Events will begin Friday at 1:00 p.m. with CU competing five throwers in the weight throw. For the men, Caleb Penner, Brock Knechtel and Tyler Sconce will all open the meet for the Buffaloes. Knechtel is coming off a personal best performance of 15.03 meters (49-3.75) at the Potts Invitational, more than a full meter than he threw in December. Penner will be searching to break into the 16-meter range after throwing 15.70m (51-6.25) to open the season, while Sconce will be in his second collegiate meet after throwing 13.54m (44-5.25) at the Potts Invitational. Sconce will be the lone male thrower to also throw the shot put.

After the men the women will take the ring with Mariah Walker and Elisa Grandemange. Walker is looking to break into the 15-meter range again after throwing 14.90m (48-10.75) at the Potts Invitational. Grandemange has been on pace to hit her personal best of 16.70m (54-9.5) this season after throwing 16.61m (54-6) and 16.53m (54-2.75) in her last two outings. Walker will be doubling up in the throws event and will look at the 15-meter mark in the shot as well after throwing 14.73m (48-4) last meet.

The rest of Friday will be owned by the track events except for in the women's long jump where hurdlers Valerie Welch and Eriana Henderson are entered to compete after they run the qualifying round of the 60-meter hurdles. Welch is entered in the meet at 5.74m (18-10.25) while Henderson is the highest-entered mark at 6.14m (20-1.75). Both women will most-likely hurdle before jumping in the second flight.

Joining the duo in the women's hurdles is Kylie Davis and Dani Johnson. All four women will race in different heats of qualifying with Henderson in the first, Johnson in the second, Welch in the third and Davis in the fourth heat. The first three heats will have the Buffs in lane four with the three fastest times entered in the meet, while Davis will be in lane six in the fourth heat.

On the men's side of the hurdles, Kellen Monestime will compete in the third heat out of lane six. He will be the lone hurdler but both Duane McClurkin Jr. and Jon Maas will be in the men's 60-meter prelims following the hurdle races. McClurkin Jr. will race in the first heat with an entered time of 6.89, while Maas will be in the second heat of six with a time of 6.98 seconds. McClurkin Jr. is entered just a hundredth of a second slower than George Brown of Air Force in his heat.

Next on the track for Colorado will be Sam Crosmer in the women's 400. Crosmer will be the lone 400 racer this weekend and is the third-fastest entered time in her heat at 58.10. She will have the best competition in the qualifying round as she is next to Wichita State's Daysha Bullocks who has the fastest entered time of 55.11.

Following Crosmer, Johnson will jump on the track again after the hurdles to compete in the women's 200. Johnson is entered at 25.05, the second fastest-time in her heat. She will be followed on the men's side by a quartet of Buffaloes. Kendal Smith (22.46), Monestime (22.41), Hoy (NT) and Maas (21.08) will all be in separate heats as there are 10 in the qualifying rounds. Maas is tied for the second-best mark in the meet at 21.08. Only Colorado State's Ronald Sayles has a faster entered time of 20.96.

Probably the most exciting competition this weekend will be the Buffaloes in the men's seeded high jump on Saturday. McClurkin Jr. will be joining freshman Jeremy Cody in the competition. McClurkin has a personal best of 2.08 meters (6-9.75) and is entered in the meet at 2.03m. His personal best was done in 2016 and he hasn't been over 2.05 since then. Cody on the other hand is entered a centimeter better at 2.09 meters and has hit a personal best every meet this season. Most recently he cleared 2.07 meters (6-9.5) at the MLK Invitational for fourth. He has three individuals ahead of him with entered heights, one of which being Air Force's Sam Hinegardner who he beat head-to-head at the Potts Invitational.

The final event of competition is the triple jump where three CU athletes will be competing. Sarah Hopkins and Cheyenne Cheshier are entered in the women's with the first and third-best marks in the event. Gunner Rigsby is also entered at 14.72 meters (48-3.5).

The whole track team will be in action next weekend at home in the Colorado Invitational which begins Thursday with the men's heptathlon and the women's pentathlon.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY:
1:00 p.m.: Men's Weight Throw/Women's Weight Throw
1:00 p.m.: Women's Pole Vault (unseeded)/Men's Pole Vault (unseeded)
1:00 p.m.: Men's High Jump (unseeded)/Women's High Jump (unseeded)
1:00 p.m.: 5000-Meter Run
                  60-Meter Hurdles (qualifying)
                  60-Meter Dash (qualifying)
                  400-Meter Dash (qualifying)
                  200-Meter Dash (qualifying)
1:30 p.m.: Women's Long Jump
1:30 p.m.: Men's Long Jump

SATURDAY:
11:30 a.m.: Men's Shot Put/Women's Shot Put
11:30 a.m.: Women's Pole Vault/Men's Pole Vault
11:30 a.m.: Men's High Jump/Women's High Jump
12:00 p.m.: Women's Triple Jump
12:00 p.m.: Men's Triple Jump
1:00 p.m.: 60-Meter Hurdles (semifinal)
                  60-Meter Dash (semifinal)
                  Mile Run
                  60-Meter Hurdles
                  400-Meter Dash
                  60-Meter Dash
                  800-Meter Run
                  200-Meter Dash
                  3000-Meter Run
                  Mile Relay (women compete first in all running events)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cheyenne Cheshier

Jeremy Cody

Sam Crosmer

Kylie Davis

Elisa Grandemange

Eriana Henderson

Sarah Hopkins

Dani Johnson

Brock Knechtel

Jon Maas

Duane McClurkin Jr.

Kellen Monestime

Caleb Penner

Gunner Rigsby

Tyler Sconce

Kendal Smith

Mariah Walker

Valerie Welch