Photo by: Dan Madden
Colorado Qualifies Five for NCAA National Championships
February 27, 2019 | Track and Field
BOULDER – Five University of Colorado track and field student-athletes have been accepted into the NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships that will take place March 8-9 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Three women and a pair of men will represent the Buffaloes at the championships. For the women, Gabby Scott will compete in the 400-meter dash, while Tabor Scholl will compete in the mile and Makena Morley with race in the 3,000 and 5,000. The men attending will be Joe Klecker in the 3,000 and 5,000 and John Dressel in the 5,000.
Colorado enters the national championships with three marks in the top-eight in the nation. Scott dropped her personal best by nearly another second in the 400 to move from 18th to sixth in the nation. She will be the first athlete on the track for CU when she runs in the semifinals of the 400 at 5:27 p.m. (MT). The other marks inside the top-eight in the nation belong to Klecker who ran the fastest indoor 3,000 in the state at 8:01 to put himself fourth on the list after altitude conversion. He is also fifth in the 5,000 after setting a school record at 13;35.
Following the 400 prelims, Morley will begin her first event with the women's 5,000 finals at 7:07 p.m. (MT). Right after that at 7:27 p.m. (MT) both Klecker and Dressel will compete in the men's 5,000 finals to conclude the first day of competition.
Starting Saturday at 3:10 p.m. (MT), Scholl will be in the women's mile final. She will be followed by Scott in the finals of the 400 at 3:50 p.m. (MT), then the meet will conclude with Klecker and Morley in the 3,000 Saturday evening. Morley's race begins at 5:10 p.m., followed immediately by the men's race at 5:25 p.m.
Scholl comes into the race ranked ninth in the mile. This is in her second track national championship as she ran on the national championship distance medley relay in 2017. Her time of 4:34.98 is an altitude converted mark when she ran 4:41 in Boulder earlier this season. The nation's best time comes from Hannah Meier of the University of Michigan at 4:32.46. There are three women under 4:33, three more under 4:34 and the final three are separated by two-tenths of a second.
In the women's 3,000, Morley enters the race ranked 14th with a time of 9:02.47 that she ran last week at the MPSF Championships. The field is led by Alicia Monson of Wisconsin who ran 8:45.97, the third-fastest time in NCAA history. Also in the race was Jessica Hull of Oregon who ran 8:53.91 at the Husky Classic. The field has nine women under the nine-minute barrier.
Moving to the 5,000, Morley is again ranked 14th at 15:37.23. New Mexico's Ednah Kurgat and Weini Kelati are the top-two women in the race at 15:14.78 and 15:15.24.
Scott enters the meet sixth at 52.34. She trails Lynna Irby of Georgia who reclaimed the national lead at the SEC Championships in a time of 52.02. Scott was in the same race at the MPSF Championships as Kyra Constantine of USC who is second in the nation at 52.07.
For the men, Klecker and Dressel enter the 5,000 ranked fifth and 15th. Both men ran their times at the Husky Classic at 13:35.97 and 13:41.00. Tyler Day of Northern Arizona has the national lead at 13:31.36.
Colorado's best mark is Klecker's 3,000 when converted to 7:48.32. Stanford's Grant Fisher has the nation's best time in that event at 7:42.62, trailed closely by Wisconsin's Morgan McDonald at 7:42.76. There are five men under 7:50 in the race with the rest of the field close between 7:50.17 and 7:51.91.
The Championships will be live on ESPN 3 at 4:30 p.m. (MT) on Friday and at 3 p.m. (MT) on Saturday.
Three women and a pair of men will represent the Buffaloes at the championships. For the women, Gabby Scott will compete in the 400-meter dash, while Tabor Scholl will compete in the mile and Makena Morley with race in the 3,000 and 5,000. The men attending will be Joe Klecker in the 3,000 and 5,000 and John Dressel in the 5,000.
Colorado enters the national championships with three marks in the top-eight in the nation. Scott dropped her personal best by nearly another second in the 400 to move from 18th to sixth in the nation. She will be the first athlete on the track for CU when she runs in the semifinals of the 400 at 5:27 p.m. (MT). The other marks inside the top-eight in the nation belong to Klecker who ran the fastest indoor 3,000 in the state at 8:01 to put himself fourth on the list after altitude conversion. He is also fifth in the 5,000 after setting a school record at 13;35.
Following the 400 prelims, Morley will begin her first event with the women's 5,000 finals at 7:07 p.m. (MT). Right after that at 7:27 p.m. (MT) both Klecker and Dressel will compete in the men's 5,000 finals to conclude the first day of competition.
Starting Saturday at 3:10 p.m. (MT), Scholl will be in the women's mile final. She will be followed by Scott in the finals of the 400 at 3:50 p.m. (MT), then the meet will conclude with Klecker and Morley in the 3,000 Saturday evening. Morley's race begins at 5:10 p.m., followed immediately by the men's race at 5:25 p.m.
Scholl comes into the race ranked ninth in the mile. This is in her second track national championship as she ran on the national championship distance medley relay in 2017. Her time of 4:34.98 is an altitude converted mark when she ran 4:41 in Boulder earlier this season. The nation's best time comes from Hannah Meier of the University of Michigan at 4:32.46. There are three women under 4:33, three more under 4:34 and the final three are separated by two-tenths of a second.
In the women's 3,000, Morley enters the race ranked 14th with a time of 9:02.47 that she ran last week at the MPSF Championships. The field is led by Alicia Monson of Wisconsin who ran 8:45.97, the third-fastest time in NCAA history. Also in the race was Jessica Hull of Oregon who ran 8:53.91 at the Husky Classic. The field has nine women under the nine-minute barrier.
Moving to the 5,000, Morley is again ranked 14th at 15:37.23. New Mexico's Ednah Kurgat and Weini Kelati are the top-two women in the race at 15:14.78 and 15:15.24.
Scott enters the meet sixth at 52.34. She trails Lynna Irby of Georgia who reclaimed the national lead at the SEC Championships in a time of 52.02. Scott was in the same race at the MPSF Championships as Kyra Constantine of USC who is second in the nation at 52.07.
For the men, Klecker and Dressel enter the 5,000 ranked fifth and 15th. Both men ran their times at the Husky Classic at 13:35.97 and 13:41.00. Tyler Day of Northern Arizona has the national lead at 13:31.36.
Colorado's best mark is Klecker's 3,000 when converted to 7:48.32. Stanford's Grant Fisher has the nation's best time in that event at 7:42.62, trailed closely by Wisconsin's Morgan McDonald at 7:42.76. There are five men under 7:50 in the race with the rest of the field close between 7:50.17 and 7:51.91.
The Championships will be live on ESPN 3 at 4:30 p.m. (MT) on Friday and at 3 p.m. (MT) on Saturday.
| TIME (MT) | INDIVIDUAL | EVENT | RANKING | ENTERED TIME | RESULT | PLACE |
| Friday | ||||||
| 5:27 PM | Gabby Scott | 400-meter dash Prelim | 6th | 52.32 | ||
| 7:07 PM | Makena Morley | 5,000-meter run Final | 14th | 15:37.23 | ||
| 7:27 PM | Joe Klecker | 5,000-meter run Final | 5th | 13:35.97 | ||
| John Dressel | 5,000-meter run Final | 15th | 13:41.00 | |||
| Saturday | ||||||
| 3:10 PM | Tabor Scholl | Mile Final | 9th | 4:34.98 | ||
| 3:50 PM | Gabby Scott | 400-meter dash Final | ||||
| 5:10 PM | Makena Morley | 3,000-meter run Final | 14th | 9:02.47 | ||
| 5:25 PM | Joe Klecker | 3,000-meter run Final | 4th | 7:48.32 |
Players Mentioned
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