Friday, February 22
Seattle, Wash.
All Day
Colorado
at
MPSF Indoor Championships
Photo by: Tim Benko, Benko Photographics
Buffaloes Tuned Up for MPSF Championships
February 20, 2019 | Track and Field
BOULDER – The University of Colorado track and field program is tuned up and ready for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Track and Field Championship that begins this Friday in Seattle, Wash.
The Buffaloes will travel 17 women and 15 men to the championships with many prepped to post huge personal bests, go after school records and NCAA qualifying marks.
One of the most exciting events this weekend will come in the men's mile when Joe Klecker will line up to run 1609 meters at sea level for the first time. Klecker, who is fourth in the nation in the 3,000 and fifth in the 5,000, will run the mile against some of the best competition in the nation. There are 11 marks in the MPSF under the 4-minute mile mark, only one of which was not run on the Dempsey track. The MPSF has four individuals on the bubble with rankings between 14 and 20 in the nation, with the fastest time in the conference from Carlos Villareal from Arizona at 3:57.27.
Klecker has never run a mile all out at sea level but is the seventh-fastest miler in school history at 4:01.72, a mark run in Boulder two years ago. That mark converts to 3:55.76 which is nearly three seconds faster than the school record of 3:58.13 which was set by Jake Hurysz in 2015. The top four miles in school history and the only marks under the 4-minute barrier all came on the Dempsey track.
The other huge events this weekend all have NCAA implications. There are seven marks that Colorado has individuals on the bubble for qualifying for nationals or has a chance to move into qualifying this weekend. The largest event with implications to NCAA qualifying is the 3,000 on both the men and women's side. Makena Morley is ranked 13th in the 3,000 and should be safe but will be trying to better that mark for certainty. She will also be helping Kaitlyn Benner who is 19th in the rankings try and move into qualifying. The 16th-best mark in the nation is owned by Tabor Scholl at 9:07.07. For the men, John Dressel is already in the top-10 in the 5,000 but will try his luck at the 3,000 this weekend.
The other bubble events are the women's pentathlon, women's 400 and women's 4x400 meter relay. Scholl is ranked 12th in the mile but will run this weekend with hopes to improve on that mark. Gabby Scott is 18th in the nation in the women's 400 at 53.22 seconds. The 16th-best mark right now is 53.12, but with all the conference championships the senior will be looking to break 53-seconds and move into qualifying. She is fourth in the event in the MPSF. Scott will also be a part of the second-ranked MPSF 4x400 women's team. Scott, Valerie Welch, Dani Johnson and Eriana Henderson are 16th in the nation right now but will need to improve on their school record once again if they hope to qualify.
The final mark to watch will come in the women's pentathlon. Maja Wichhart-Donzo and Michaela Wenning are ranked 1-2 in the MPSF with Wichhart-Donzo ranked 15th in the nation currently. The senior will be aiming to break not only the 4,000-point barrier but also the school record of 4,071 points in hopes to stay in qualifying position.
There are numerous Buffaloes with chances to take home a MPSF title this weekend. Morley in the 3,000 is ranked fourth but hasn't run at sea level. Scholl is second in the mile and is likely going to be the fastest in the race if Oregon's Jessica Hull decided not to run. Wichhart-Donzo and Wenning will be working together to keep themselves 1-2 in the event, while Scott is fourth in the 400.
Other opportunities to score at the meet and make moves in school records include Jeremy Cody in the men's high jump and Davis Butte and Josh Farmer in the heptathlon. Cody is ninth in the high jump and is coming off a big three-centimeter personal best last weekend. Butte and Farmer are ranked third and fourth in the heptathlon in the MPSF, respectfully. They will be chasing Stanford senior Harrison Williams who is the top-ranked individual at 5,961 points.
On the track, Duane McClurkin Jr. is the only athlete ranked in the top-10 in the MPSF in the 60, 200 and 400. The senior will run the 200 where he is fourth and the 400 which is fifth. Jon Maas will also run the 400 and is ranked eighth in the event. On the women's side, the Mann sisters in Elissa Mann and Karina Mann are ranked eighth and ninth in the 800, respectfully.
Action begins for Colorado on Friday at 1 p.m. (MT) with Elisa Grandemange and Mariah Walker throwing the weight throw. Fans with a FloTrack subscription can watch all the events with live results available here. Results will be updated throughout the competition on this page.
The Buffaloes will travel 17 women and 15 men to the championships with many prepped to post huge personal bests, go after school records and NCAA qualifying marks.
One of the most exciting events this weekend will come in the men's mile when Joe Klecker will line up to run 1609 meters at sea level for the first time. Klecker, who is fourth in the nation in the 3,000 and fifth in the 5,000, will run the mile against some of the best competition in the nation. There are 11 marks in the MPSF under the 4-minute mile mark, only one of which was not run on the Dempsey track. The MPSF has four individuals on the bubble with rankings between 14 and 20 in the nation, with the fastest time in the conference from Carlos Villareal from Arizona at 3:57.27.
Klecker has never run a mile all out at sea level but is the seventh-fastest miler in school history at 4:01.72, a mark run in Boulder two years ago. That mark converts to 3:55.76 which is nearly three seconds faster than the school record of 3:58.13 which was set by Jake Hurysz in 2015. The top four miles in school history and the only marks under the 4-minute barrier all came on the Dempsey track.
The other huge events this weekend all have NCAA implications. There are seven marks that Colorado has individuals on the bubble for qualifying for nationals or has a chance to move into qualifying this weekend. The largest event with implications to NCAA qualifying is the 3,000 on both the men and women's side. Makena Morley is ranked 13th in the 3,000 and should be safe but will be trying to better that mark for certainty. She will also be helping Kaitlyn Benner who is 19th in the rankings try and move into qualifying. The 16th-best mark in the nation is owned by Tabor Scholl at 9:07.07. For the men, John Dressel is already in the top-10 in the 5,000 but will try his luck at the 3,000 this weekend.
The other bubble events are the women's pentathlon, women's 400 and women's 4x400 meter relay. Scholl is ranked 12th in the mile but will run this weekend with hopes to improve on that mark. Gabby Scott is 18th in the nation in the women's 400 at 53.22 seconds. The 16th-best mark right now is 53.12, but with all the conference championships the senior will be looking to break 53-seconds and move into qualifying. She is fourth in the event in the MPSF. Scott will also be a part of the second-ranked MPSF 4x400 women's team. Scott, Valerie Welch, Dani Johnson and Eriana Henderson are 16th in the nation right now but will need to improve on their school record once again if they hope to qualify.
The final mark to watch will come in the women's pentathlon. Maja Wichhart-Donzo and Michaela Wenning are ranked 1-2 in the MPSF with Wichhart-Donzo ranked 15th in the nation currently. The senior will be aiming to break not only the 4,000-point barrier but also the school record of 4,071 points in hopes to stay in qualifying position.
There are numerous Buffaloes with chances to take home a MPSF title this weekend. Morley in the 3,000 is ranked fourth but hasn't run at sea level. Scholl is second in the mile and is likely going to be the fastest in the race if Oregon's Jessica Hull decided not to run. Wichhart-Donzo and Wenning will be working together to keep themselves 1-2 in the event, while Scott is fourth in the 400.
Other opportunities to score at the meet and make moves in school records include Jeremy Cody in the men's high jump and Davis Butte and Josh Farmer in the heptathlon. Cody is ninth in the high jump and is coming off a big three-centimeter personal best last weekend. Butte and Farmer are ranked third and fourth in the heptathlon in the MPSF, respectfully. They will be chasing Stanford senior Harrison Williams who is the top-ranked individual at 5,961 points.
On the track, Duane McClurkin Jr. is the only athlete ranked in the top-10 in the MPSF in the 60, 200 and 400. The senior will run the 200 where he is fourth and the 400 which is fifth. Jon Maas will also run the 400 and is ranked eighth in the event. On the women's side, the Mann sisters in Elissa Mann and Karina Mann are ranked eighth and ninth in the 800, respectfully.
Action begins for Colorado on Friday at 1 p.m. (MT) with Elisa Grandemange and Mariah Walker throwing the weight throw. Fans with a FloTrack subscription can watch all the events with live results available here. Results will be updated throughout the competition on this page.
| Time (MT) | Event | Athlete | Result | Place |
| Friday | ||||
| 1:00 PM | Women's Weight Throw | Elisa Grandemange | 16.47m (54-0.5) | 13th |
| Mariah Walker | 14.97m (49-1.5) | 21st | ||
| 1:15 PM | Women's Pentathlon | Drianna Mustin | 3,596 | 11th |
| Maja Wichhart-Donzo | 3,793 | 3rd | ||
| Michaela Wenning | 3,733 | 5th | ||
| 3:00 PM | Men's Heptathlon | Josh Farmer | Day 1-2,934 | Day 1-4th |
| Davis Butte | DNF | DNF | ||
| 5:30 PM | Women's 60 Hurdle Prelims | Dani Johnson | 8.54 | 13th |
| Eriana Henderson | 8.58 | 14th | ||
| Valerie Welch | 8.61 | 15th | ||
| 6:15 PM | Women's Long Jump | Eriana Henderson | 5.55m (18-2.5) | T12th |
| Valerie Welch | 5.55m (18-2.5) | T12th | ||
| 6:15 PM | Men's Long Jump | Gunner Rigsby | 6.63m (21-9) | 17th |
| 6:15 PM | Men's Weight Throw | Brock Knechtel | 15.94m (52-3.75) | 23rd |
| Caleb Penner | 16.25m (53-3.75) | 24th | ||
| 6:40 PM | Women's 5,000 | Mackenzie Caldwell | 16:49.08 | 4th |
| Tayler Tuttle | 16:29.60 | 1st | ||
| 7:00 PM | Men's 5,000 | Ethan Gonzales | 14:11.21 | 14th |
| 7:45 PM | Men's 200 | Jon Maas | 21.84 | 13th |
| Duane McClurkin Jr. | 21.09 | 1st | ||
| 8:10 PM | Women's Distance Medley Relay | Karina Mann, Dani Johnson, Elissa Mann, Tabor Scholl |
11:22.76 | 5th |
| Saturday | ||||
| 11:00 AM | Women's High Jump | Michaela Wenning | ||
| 11:30 AM | Women's Shot Put | Mariah Walker | ||
| 11:30 AM | Men's Heptathlon | Josh Farmer | ||
| Davis Butte | ||||
| 12:10 PM | Women's Mile | Tabor Scholl | ||
| 12:35 PM | Men's Mile | Joe Klecker | ||
| 12:50 PM | Women's 400 | Gabby Scott | ||
| 1:00 PM | Men's High Jump | Jeremy Cody | ||
| 1:20 PM | Men's 400 | Jon Maas | ||
| Duane McClurkin Jr. | ||||
| Nathan Hoy | ||||
| Kendal Smith | ||||
| 1:50 PM | Women's 800 | Karina Mann | ||
| Elissa Mann | ||||
| 2:10 PM | Men's 800 | Josh Ramos | ||
| 2:20 PM | Women's 3000 | Makena Morley | ||
| Kaitlyn Benner | ||||
| 2:30 PM | Men's Triple Jump | Gunner Rigsby | ||
| 2:55 PM | Men's 3000 | John Dressel | ||
| 3:30 PM | Women's 4x400 Relay | Valerie Welch, Dani Johnson, Eriana Henderson, Gabby Scott |
||
| 3:55 PM | Men's 4x400 Relay | Aaron McCoy, Kendal Smith, Jon Maas, Duane McClurkin Jr. |
Players Mentioned
Distance
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Combined Events
/ Track and Field
Distance
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Jumps
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Hurdles/Jumps
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Sprint/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Combined Events
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Combined Events
/ Track and Field
Combined Events
/ Track and FieldColorado T&F/XC: 2016 HOF Sara Gorton Slattery
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