Wednesday, June 5
Austin, Texas
All Day
Colorado
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Chris Hook
Colorado Set for NCAA National Championships
June 03, 2019 | Track and Field
BOULDER – The University of Colorado track and field program is prepped and off to Austin, Texas, for the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships that begin Wednesday and run through Saturday.
13 Buffaloes will take to the track this week with eight making their outdoor nationals debut. Dani Jones, Val Constien and Kaitlyn Benner are all making their third appearance at the championships for CU, while John Dressel and Makena Morley are making their second. Eduardo Herrera, Ryan Forsyth, Maja Wichhart-Donzo, Michaela Wenning, Gabby Scott, Valerie Welch, Dani Johnson and Eriana Henderson are all in their first championships.
The men begin the meet and will compete Wednesday and Friday with the exception of the decathlon athletes. The women compete Thursday and Saturday except for the heptathletes which begin on Friday. CU will have an athlete competing every day of the competition.
Herrera kicks things off for the Buffaloes Wednesday afternoon with the men's 1,500 prelims. The sophomore had a two-second personal best to qualify for nationals with a time of 3:41.35 two weeks ago in Sacramento. Another personal best may be what it takes to put himself into the final as the top-five in the two heats and the next two fastest times qualify for the Friday finale. Herrera, who had the second-fastest time two weeks ago in his heat, is pair up with three men in the top-10 in the nation this season in times. Wisconsin's Oliver Hoare is the top-seeded individual having run 3:37.20 earlier this season. Notre Dame's Yared Nuguse is also in the heat with the third-best time in the nation at 3:38.32. Two more individuals have broken 3:40 in Herrera's heat, then the battle for the final autotransfer spot may come down between Herrera at 3:41.35 (18th in the nation) and Mick Stanovsek of Washington at 3:41.20 (17th in the nation).
The first final on the track for the men is the 10,000 Wednesday night. Dressel and Forsyth both qualified through with personal best marks of 29:00.98 and 29:03.07, respectfully. Much like the West Preliminaries, the CU men will have to deal with a hoard of BYU Cougars as they make up a quarter of the field with six entries, including the top-four fastest times in the nation. Eight of the nine fastest individuals this season will be in the race, but with Texas heat and weather it can remain anyone's race. Of the 24 qualifiers, 15 seconds separates the top time run at regionals to the 23rd-best time.
Constien will make her third appearance in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase prelims to open things for the Colorado women Thursday. The senior ran a relaxed personal best of 9:44.51 in the Prelims heat that featured three of the top-four times in the nation. Constien comes in ranked fourth in the nation and will be chasing Allie Ostrander of Boise State, the defending national champion. The two will be the top pair in the second heat of the prelims.
The 400 hurdle specialist Scott takes to the track next in the third and final heat of the women's 400 hurdle prelims. The senior has the fifth-fastest time in the nation after dropping her school record to 56.51 two weeks ago. Scott, who will take lane six, will line up next to LSU's Milan Young who has a season-best of 56.42. The two are the only in the heat that have broken 57-seconds this season, an important figure as the top-two in each heat qualify for finals along with the next two best times. 10 total women qualified for nationals while running under 57 seconds, led by Kansas State's Ranae Mackenzie's 56.11. Scott, an indoor All-American at 400 meters, will have her work cut out by not only having one of the top times in her qualifying heat but also by having the added advantage of running in the last heat and having an exact time to beat for a sure in to the finals on Saturday.
The women's 10,000 runners Benner and Morley jump on the track for the first final for the women. Morley, the school record holder at 32:28.58, and Benner (third school history 32:45.05) are returning to the finals after Benner was an All-American last year with a seventh-place finish and Morley placed 11th. Both women will need to put up their best races for a chance at another All-American honor as there are seven women that have run faster than 32:45 this season and five that have run faster than 32:28. The top-ranked Ostrander of BSU is out of the race, but the next seven-fastest women in the nation are all up and ready for their first race. New Mexico's Weini Kelati is a strong favorite, having run the third-best time of 32:09.10, but Syracuse's Paige Stoner ran 32:07.36 this season and is only qualified in the one race.
After the 10,000 the women's 4x400-meter relay prelims will compete with Scott joining up with Valerie Welch, Eriana Henderson and Dani Johnson. The quartet is the first women's relay to nationals for CU in the past 23 years and will be in lane eight in the first heat. The team will have to deal Alabama who has the second-fastest time from two weeks ago at 3:28.93, as well as Oregon and Arkansas that both ran 3:30. The top-two teams from each heat along with the next two fastest-times qualifying, and with four total teams running under 3:30 at the prelims and four teams at 3:30, the Buffs will have to put together their best relay of the year to qualify.
Friday afternoon marks the first time in CU history that two multis will compete at the national championships at the same time. Wichhart-Donzo and Wenning become the fifth and sixth women to compete for a national title in the heptathlon for the Buffs and kick things off at 1:30 p.m. (MT) with the 100-meter hurdles. The pair will be chasing Texas' Ashtin Zamzow, the only athlete over 6,000 points this season at 6,148. Colorado joins Iowa and Kansas State as the only schools with more than one athlete in the competition.
Friday night Dressel lines up in the 5,000 after he dove to a qualifying spot in prelims for the double. The 5,000 will be interesting with Dressel and numerous others having competed in the 10,000 two days before. Dressel, who was an All-American in the event in 2017, will be dealing with nine of the top-13 times this season in the finals, all having run their times in California. Stanford's Grant Fisher has the top-time coming in at 13:29.52 but will have to deal with the indoor 5,000 champion Morgan McDonald of Wisconsin once again, both with fresh legs. Dressel ran a personal best of 13:41 this indoor season and will be fighting for a podium spot with everything on the line like he did two weeks ago.
The women's 5,000 becomes a much larger mix of fresh legs, 10,000 runners and steeplechase runners than the men's race. Jones and Morley will both be in the race with Morley out of the 10,000 and Jones with fresh legs. The top-three women with qualifying times all will double up in either the steeplechase or the 10,000, with the steeple final coming just hours before the race. Stanford's Fiona O'Keefe has the ninth fastest time in the nation this season at 15:38.88 and is the fastest qualifier focusing only on the 5,000. Jones will wear the No.1 bib on the rail in a double waterfall start, while Morley is the 18th bib with Kelati on her inside and O'Keefe on her outside.
All four days of coverage will be on ESPN with running events on ESPN 2 Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Friday's coverage will be ESPN, while all field events are available to stream on ESPN 3. For a complete schedule of coverage, click here.
13 Buffaloes will take to the track this week with eight making their outdoor nationals debut. Dani Jones, Val Constien and Kaitlyn Benner are all making their third appearance at the championships for CU, while John Dressel and Makena Morley are making their second. Eduardo Herrera, Ryan Forsyth, Maja Wichhart-Donzo, Michaela Wenning, Gabby Scott, Valerie Welch, Dani Johnson and Eriana Henderson are all in their first championships.
The men begin the meet and will compete Wednesday and Friday with the exception of the decathlon athletes. The women compete Thursday and Saturday except for the heptathletes which begin on Friday. CU will have an athlete competing every day of the competition.
Herrera kicks things off for the Buffaloes Wednesday afternoon with the men's 1,500 prelims. The sophomore had a two-second personal best to qualify for nationals with a time of 3:41.35 two weeks ago in Sacramento. Another personal best may be what it takes to put himself into the final as the top-five in the two heats and the next two fastest times qualify for the Friday finale. Herrera, who had the second-fastest time two weeks ago in his heat, is pair up with three men in the top-10 in the nation this season in times. Wisconsin's Oliver Hoare is the top-seeded individual having run 3:37.20 earlier this season. Notre Dame's Yared Nuguse is also in the heat with the third-best time in the nation at 3:38.32. Two more individuals have broken 3:40 in Herrera's heat, then the battle for the final autotransfer spot may come down between Herrera at 3:41.35 (18th in the nation) and Mick Stanovsek of Washington at 3:41.20 (17th in the nation).
The first final on the track for the men is the 10,000 Wednesday night. Dressel and Forsyth both qualified through with personal best marks of 29:00.98 and 29:03.07, respectfully. Much like the West Preliminaries, the CU men will have to deal with a hoard of BYU Cougars as they make up a quarter of the field with six entries, including the top-four fastest times in the nation. Eight of the nine fastest individuals this season will be in the race, but with Texas heat and weather it can remain anyone's race. Of the 24 qualifiers, 15 seconds separates the top time run at regionals to the 23rd-best time.
Constien will make her third appearance in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase prelims to open things for the Colorado women Thursday. The senior ran a relaxed personal best of 9:44.51 in the Prelims heat that featured three of the top-four times in the nation. Constien comes in ranked fourth in the nation and will be chasing Allie Ostrander of Boise State, the defending national champion. The two will be the top pair in the second heat of the prelims.
The 400 hurdle specialist Scott takes to the track next in the third and final heat of the women's 400 hurdle prelims. The senior has the fifth-fastest time in the nation after dropping her school record to 56.51 two weeks ago. Scott, who will take lane six, will line up next to LSU's Milan Young who has a season-best of 56.42. The two are the only in the heat that have broken 57-seconds this season, an important figure as the top-two in each heat qualify for finals along with the next two best times. 10 total women qualified for nationals while running under 57 seconds, led by Kansas State's Ranae Mackenzie's 56.11. Scott, an indoor All-American at 400 meters, will have her work cut out by not only having one of the top times in her qualifying heat but also by having the added advantage of running in the last heat and having an exact time to beat for a sure in to the finals on Saturday.
The women's 10,000 runners Benner and Morley jump on the track for the first final for the women. Morley, the school record holder at 32:28.58, and Benner (third school history 32:45.05) are returning to the finals after Benner was an All-American last year with a seventh-place finish and Morley placed 11th. Both women will need to put up their best races for a chance at another All-American honor as there are seven women that have run faster than 32:45 this season and five that have run faster than 32:28. The top-ranked Ostrander of BSU is out of the race, but the next seven-fastest women in the nation are all up and ready for their first race. New Mexico's Weini Kelati is a strong favorite, having run the third-best time of 32:09.10, but Syracuse's Paige Stoner ran 32:07.36 this season and is only qualified in the one race.
After the 10,000 the women's 4x400-meter relay prelims will compete with Scott joining up with Valerie Welch, Eriana Henderson and Dani Johnson. The quartet is the first women's relay to nationals for CU in the past 23 years and will be in lane eight in the first heat. The team will have to deal Alabama who has the second-fastest time from two weeks ago at 3:28.93, as well as Oregon and Arkansas that both ran 3:30. The top-two teams from each heat along with the next two fastest-times qualifying, and with four total teams running under 3:30 at the prelims and four teams at 3:30, the Buffs will have to put together their best relay of the year to qualify.
Friday afternoon marks the first time in CU history that two multis will compete at the national championships at the same time. Wichhart-Donzo and Wenning become the fifth and sixth women to compete for a national title in the heptathlon for the Buffs and kick things off at 1:30 p.m. (MT) with the 100-meter hurdles. The pair will be chasing Texas' Ashtin Zamzow, the only athlete over 6,000 points this season at 6,148. Colorado joins Iowa and Kansas State as the only schools with more than one athlete in the competition.
Friday night Dressel lines up in the 5,000 after he dove to a qualifying spot in prelims for the double. The 5,000 will be interesting with Dressel and numerous others having competed in the 10,000 two days before. Dressel, who was an All-American in the event in 2017, will be dealing with nine of the top-13 times this season in the finals, all having run their times in California. Stanford's Grant Fisher has the top-time coming in at 13:29.52 but will have to deal with the indoor 5,000 champion Morgan McDonald of Wisconsin once again, both with fresh legs. Dressel ran a personal best of 13:41 this indoor season and will be fighting for a podium spot with everything on the line like he did two weeks ago.
The women's 5,000 becomes a much larger mix of fresh legs, 10,000 runners and steeplechase runners than the men's race. Jones and Morley will both be in the race with Morley out of the 10,000 and Jones with fresh legs. The top-three women with qualifying times all will double up in either the steeplechase or the 10,000, with the steeple final coming just hours before the race. Stanford's Fiona O'Keefe has the ninth fastest time in the nation this season at 15:38.88 and is the fastest qualifier focusing only on the 5,000. Jones will wear the No.1 bib on the rail in a double waterfall start, while Morley is the 18th bib with Kelati on her inside and O'Keefe on her outside.
All four days of coverage will be on ESPN with running events on ESPN 2 Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Friday's coverage will be ESPN, while all field events are available to stream on ESPN 3. For a complete schedule of coverage, click here.
| 2019 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS | |||||
| WEDNESDAY | ESPN 2 | RESULT | PLACE | ||
| 5:46 PM | Men's 1,500 Prelims | Eduardo Herrera | Heat 2 | ||
| 8:08 PM | Men's 10,000 Finals | John Dressel | Finals | ||
| Men's 10,000 Finals | Ryan Forsyth | Finals | |||
| THURSDAY | ESPN 2 | RESULT | PLACE | ||
| 6:36 PM | Women's Steeplechase Prelims | Val Constien | Heat 2 | ||
| 8:00 PM | Women's 400 Hurdle Prelims | Gabby Scott | Heat 3 | ||
| 8:38 PM | Women's 10,000 Finals | Makena Morley | Finals | ||
| Women's 10,000 Finals | Kaitlyn Benner | Finals | |||
| 9:18 PM | Women's 4x400 Prelim | Welch, Henderson, Johnson, Scott | Heat 1 | ||
| FRIDAY | ESPN | RESULT | PLACE | ||
| 6:41 PM | Men's 1,500 Finals | Eduardo Herrera | Finals | ||
| 8:25 PM | Men's 5,000 Finals | John Dressel | Finals | ||
| SATURDAY | ESPN 2 | RESULT | PLACE | ||
| 4:54 PM | Women's Steeplechase Finals | Val Constien | Finals | ||
| 5:57 PM | Women's 400 Hurdles Finals | Gabby Scott | Finals | ||
| 6:25 PM | Women's 5,000 Finals | Dani Jones | Finals | ||
| Women's 5,000 Finals | Makena Morley | Finals | |||
| 6:51 PM | Women's 4x400 Finals | Welch, Henderson, Johnson, Scott | Finals | ||
| HEPTATHLON RESULTS | |||||
| Maja Wichhart-Donzo | Michaela Wenning | ||||
| FRIDAY | ESPN 3 | RESULTS (SCORE) | PLACE | RESULTS (SCORE) | PLACE |
| 1:30 PM | 100m Hurdles | ||||
| 2:30 PM | High Jump | ||||
| 4:30 PM | Shot Put | ||||
| 8:13 PM | 200m Dash | ||||
| SATURDAY | ESPN 3 | RESULTS (SCORE) | PLACE | RESULTS (SCORE) | PLACE |
| 12:30 PM | Long Jump | ||||
| 1:45 PM | Javelin Throw | ||||
| 6:13 PM | 800m Run | ||||
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Distance
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Distance
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Distance
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Sprints
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Distance
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Sprint/Hurdles
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Distance
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Distance
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Sprints
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Sprints/Hurdles
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Combined Events
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Combined Events
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