Top Competitions Countdown: No. 3, Men's Cross Country Wins Pac-12 Title
April 01, 2020 | Cross Country
BOULDER - Heading into his senior year, Buffs cross country standout Joe Klecker had "win the Pac-12 championship" at the top of his goals. Consider that checked off.
Klecker and the Buffs won the race his freshman season, but had come up short the past two years. On Nov. 1 in Monmouth, Ore., Klecker led CU to a 16-point win over second-place Oregon with a team score of 41. This performance earns No. 3 in CU's top competitions countdown from 2019-20.
Additionally, and perhaps more impressively, Klecker became the first CU athlete to win the Pac-12 men's cross country individual championship, and the first CU male to win a conference title since 2007 when Brent Vaughn won the Big 12 title.
Just behind Klecker, two other Buffs finished in the top 10 as freshman Kashon Harrison placed seventh and senior John Dressel was eighth. Alec Hornecker (12th) and Eduardo Herrera (13th) rounded out the team's scoring.
It was the seventh team title for CU's men's cross country team since joining the Pac-12 as the Buffs had won the first six championships since joining the conference in 2011. After losing out to Stanford the past two years, Colorado reigned supreme once again.
Beyond the Pac-12 title, it was a huge year for CU's men's team. The Buffs went on to finish third in the nation at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23. Klecker came in second individually, five seconds behind the winner. Dressel was seventh, making CU the only team with two top-10 finishers.
Dressel and women's runner Sage Hurta joined elite company by earning their fourth All-America awards in their cross country careers. Dressel is the fourth men's runner to earn four All-America honors, while Hurta is just the second women's runner in school history to achieve that. Klecker finished with three.
Â
Klecker and the Buffs won the race his freshman season, but had come up short the past two years. On Nov. 1 in Monmouth, Ore., Klecker led CU to a 16-point win over second-place Oregon with a team score of 41. This performance earns No. 3 in CU's top competitions countdown from 2019-20.
Additionally, and perhaps more impressively, Klecker became the first CU athlete to win the Pac-12 men's cross country individual championship, and the first CU male to win a conference title since 2007 when Brent Vaughn won the Big 12 title.
Just behind Klecker, two other Buffs finished in the top 10 as freshman Kashon Harrison placed seventh and senior John Dressel was eighth. Alec Hornecker (12th) and Eduardo Herrera (13th) rounded out the team's scoring.
It was the seventh team title for CU's men's cross country team since joining the Pac-12 as the Buffs had won the first six championships since joining the conference in 2011. After losing out to Stanford the past two years, Colorado reigned supreme once again.
Beyond the Pac-12 title, it was a huge year for CU's men's team. The Buffs went on to finish third in the nation at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 23. Klecker came in second individually, five seconds behind the winner. Dressel was seventh, making CU the only team with two top-10 finishers.
Dressel and women's runner Sage Hurta joined elite company by earning their fourth All-America awards in their cross country careers. Dressel is the fourth men's runner to earn four All-America honors, while Hurta is just the second women's runner in school history to achieve that. Klecker finished with three.
Â
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
Colorado Football 2024 Fall Sports Media Day
Monday, August 12
Colorado T&F/XC: 2016 HOF Sara Gorton Slattery
Monday, August 12
Buffalo Stampede 12 13 23
Tuesday, December 12
Buffalo Stampede Week 16 MARK WETMORE
Tuesday, December 12