Photo by: CUBuffs.com
Wetmore-Wednesday Top Races: Barringer’s Steeplechase Legacy Begins, Men’s XC Wins Second NCAA Titles In Three Years
June 17, 2020 | Cross Country, Track and Field
BOULDER – The Colorado track and field and cross country program has a special history, one that began to hit full-stride under head coach Mark Wetmore.
CU track and field and cross country will take a look back at every year under Wetmore and recap the best races and teams of every calendar year.
Jenny Barringer (now Simpson) was a freshman (2005-06) who wanted to race the 5k in college, but little did she know that by doing what the team needed and running in an event to pick up points at conference, would lead to a school record and an NCAA Title in the final race of her first campaign with the Buffs. In the fall of 2006, the men's cross country team was poised to add another NCAA title to their collection and with the help of three juniors and two seniors, recorded their third title in six seasons.
BARRINGERS UNEXPECTED NCAA VICTORY
Life doesn't always turn out the way you expect. Just ask Jenny Simpson, formerly Barringer. When the Oviedo, Fla., native stepped onto CU's campus in the fall of 2005, she expected to focus on the 5k for the Buffs. She even hung up former Buff Sara Slattery's 5k record on the bulletin board in her dorm room.
She had a good 2005 cross country season, finishing second at the Big 12 Championships behind teammate Christine Bolf to earn the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year award. Simpson finished the season eighth at regionals and was 43rd at nationals as the Buffs placed second as a team.
Facing a small injury, Simpson redshirted the 2006 indoor season. But soon it was time to start training for the outdoor season. While Simpson had her sights set on racing in the 5k, she remembers it was typical for head coach Mark Wetmore to have the freshmen at least try to go over the hurdles. Why? Most high schools don't have the steeplechase, or at least did not back then, so this was a good way for him and associate head coach Heather Burroughs to judge whether the 3,000-meter steeplechase could be an option for someone. So in the spring of 2006, Simpson went over some hurdles in Balch Fieldhouse.
"I wasn't terrible enough to completely exclude the steeplechase as an option, but I don't remember being particularly good either," she said.
That spring CU had several distance runners who could score in the 10k, 5k and the 1,500, but the steeplechase had a hole. Since Simpson had managed the hurdles okay, the decision was made for her to run the event and hopefully pick up a few points. But first, she needed to watch an actual race, so she drove herself up to Fort Collins, Colo. to watch one of her teammates run the event. It was the first time she had seen the event run in person.
Before her first race, she said Wetmore and her made an agreement. According to her, Wetmore said, "You should do it once to see if you like it or hate it and if you hate it, you never have to do it again."
Then just one week later, she debuted at the Cardinal Invitational on April 30, 2006. She ran well, finishing in 10 minutes, 19.08 seconds. But it was not love, or even like for Simpson. After the race, Simpson remembers telling Wetmore, "I hate it. I never want to do it again."
But Wetmore saw something and wasn't going to let her give up. According to her, he said, "Well too bad, because what you just did would have scored at conference. So you are going to run it at least one more time."
That 10:19 was after a couple of weeks of training. Her coaches were proud and happy. And honestly, no one, not Simpson, Wetmore or Burroughs, was looking beyond conference.
When you have talent though, it's hard to hide. Simpson didn't just score for the Buffs at the Big 12 Championships, she placed second, this time running 10:21.90. She finished 12 seconds behind Mary Davies (Oklahoma State) and was 16 seconds in front of the third-place finisher, Baylor's Monique Ortega, who had been racing on her home track in Waco, Texas. A short time later, she got to race her beloved 5k, but since the steeplechase is such a taxing event, she played it smart. Simpson placed eighth in 16:59.79.
"I remember sitting on the shoulder of the woman who was eighth in the 5k because I knew the top eight scored," Simpson recalled. "I just sat on her the whole way and outkicked her to score the one point because I was so tired from the steeplechase."
After a successful conference championship where Simpson admits she did not appreciate how special it was to be a freshman taking second, she sat down with Wetmore and Burroughs to look over her plan for the rest of the season.
"Mark sat me down and showed me the projections of what regionals and nationals were going to look like and it was very clear that what I had shown in my ability in the 5k and 1,500 weren't really going to get me anywhere at the NCAA Championships," she recalled. "But what I was running in the steeplechase, I might be able to make the final."
Simpson decided to follow the advice of her coaches and focus on the steeplechase. At the Midwest Region Championship, she didn't just qualify for NCAAs, she won her first steeplechase race in just the third race of her career. Then it was off to nationals in Sacramento, Calif., Simpson placed second (10:12.38) in the first heat on Wednesday, June 7, to earn an automatic qualifying time for the finals two days later.
"I remember Mark and Heather both being really happy," Simpson said. "It's a big deal for a freshman to have a chance to run in a final."
Heading into the final on Friday, June 9, Simpson said she felt really good and got really competitive. Entering the final lap, it was down to two: Simpson and Illinois' Cassie Hunt. Simpson was right on Hunt's shoulder, but she knew she was going to win.
"I knew I was going to win because she wasn't that far away," Simpson said. "I just thought if she is just that far away now and isn't saving anything for the finish, I can win."
And win she did. The two rounded the final turn with one barrier left. As the two approached the final hurdle, Barringer took the lead and then used the kick she has become known for to win her first of three NCAA Steeplechase titles. She finished with a CU record of 9:53.04 as she clocked her first time under 10 minutes.
"One of my biggest memories from leaving that championship was that I was so pleasantly surprised by how proud my teammates were," Simpson said. "When you are in college for two/three years and are working really hard to be All-American in cross country or make a final in NCAAs, to watch a young person come in and do that their first year can be tough. I hope they saw I was working hard. It did catch me off guard. My teammates were so complimentary, both male and female."
And just think, if Wetmore and Burroughs had not shown Simpson a different event, her story could have been much different. But instead, 2006 was the start of Simpson's and the CU women's dominance in the steeplechase.
(NOTE: A 3,000-meter steeplechase is defined as having 28 barriers and seven water jumps. Since the water jump is never on the track oval, a steeplechase "course" is never a perfect 400 meter lap. Instead the water jump is placed inside the turn, shortening the lap, or outside the turn, lengthening the lap. The start line moves from conventional starting areas in order to compensate for the different length of lap. When the water jump is inside, the 3,000 meter start line is on the backstretch (relative to the steeplechase finish). When the water jump is outside, the 3,000 meter start line is on the home stretch.)
MEN'S XC WIN SECOND NCAA TITLE IN THREE YEARS
The second-ranked Colorado men headed into the 2006 NCAA Championship knowing the race was theirs to lose. They had already had a successful season. The men had won their 11th straight Big 12 Cross Country title earlier that October in Lawrence, Kansas. But they did not just win. They dominated. The Buffs defeated Texas 36-80 and were led by Brent Vaughn's third-place finish.
Perhaps the most noteworthy performance from that day came from sixth-year senior Eric Heinonen. During the first kilometer of the 8k race, Heinonen got into a scuffle with Oklahoma State's David Jankowski, who in turn punched Heinonen, breaking his nose in the process. The broken nose did not slow him down the remaining 7k as he finished ninth overall to earn All-Big 12 honors, the first of his career. Jankowski was disqualified following the race.
After the conference win, CU defeated BYU 59-67 to take the NCAA Mountain Region Championship and earn an automatic qualifying berth for nationals.
For the third straight year, Terre Haute, Ind., was the host of the NCAA Championships. The muddy course conditions on November 20, were just like those two years before when the Buffs captured their second title; giving Colorado extra confidence as the race approached.
"The mud makes it more of a strength race," Vaughn explained as he looked back at the race. "It changes how the race is run and it definitely helped us."
The Buffs were confident heading into the race. Before the race began, Vaughn and Billy Nelson, were up to their usual antics, and Heinonen was nervous. Vaughn vividly remembers this moment and recalls Heinonen telling the two, "You guys need to stop screwing around. My entire life has led to this moment." Vaughn said at first he was concerned Heinonen might be putting too much pressure on himself, but then reminded himself that this was the guy who ran 7k at Big 12s with a broken nose to finish ninth, so there was no way Heinonen would have a bad race.
The field got out to a quicker start than CU normally likes and the Buffs were led most of the way by Vaughn. He finished 12th overall (31:13.0), earning his second straight top-15 finish at nationals and the second straight time he was CU's first harrier across the finish.
While Vaughn ran a steady race, the men's win can be traced to junior Stephen Pifer's performance over the second 5,000-meters. At the 5k split, he had 52 runners ahead of him but cruised past 32 of them to nab the 20th spot overall (31:24.2) in the individual standings and his second All-American title.
And then there was Heinonen. Just like Vaughn had thought, he had proven to be tough as nails. He was the third Buff to cross the line, recording a personal-best 28th-place finish (31:34.7) to earn his first All-American honor in cross country.
James Strang, another junior, took 47th (31:54.5). A team is only as strong as its fifth runner and in 2006 that Nelson. He passed over 15 harriers in the final kilometer and took 56th (32:02.7).
Bradley Harkrader came in 152nd (33:05.3) and Pete Janson was 213th (33:56.5) as Colorado's non-scorers.
CU's five scorers all finished in the top 56 overall, and in the top 34 of those attached to full teams. CU and Wisconsin were the only schools to have three place in the top 15 in the scoring column.
The Buffaloes recorded 94 points, soundly defeating defending champion and overwhelming favorite Wisconsin by 48 points. Iona (172), Stanford (195) and Oregon (196) rounded out the top five.
"I think the race was very fast for us," Wetmore said following the race. "Every coach has to know their team and how fast they can go. If other teams ran our way, it would certainly hurt them, like if we would if we ran another team's plan. We don't talk a lot about expectations, its aspirations for us. We equaled our aspirations today."
Wetmore understood people expected the team to do well because of the conditions and the comparison, but also noted those are not normal conditions for CU's training.
"We did well here a couple of years ago too and everyone was telling me that the mud was perfect for us, but Boulder is like a desert and isn't very muddy," he said.
Making that win so special was also coupled with the factor so many members of CU's athletic staff had traveled to Indiana to watch the team race, including their strength coach Vernon Stephens.
Winning their second title in three years, four Buffs, Vaughn, Harkrader, Pifer and Strang joined Jon Severy as the only Buff men to win two national titles as those four were on the team in 2004. Severy was on the 2004 team with them, as well as the 2001 squad.
PAST TOP RACES:
2005: Metivier Wins Indoor 3k; Slattery Takes 10k Titles
2004: BUFFS WIN MEN'S AND WOMEN'S NCAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
2003: RITZENHEIN RACES TO THE TITLE (FINISH VIDEO)
2002: TORRES CEMENTS LEGACY (VIDEO)
2001: CU MEN CAPTURE FIRST TITLE (VIDEO)
2000: KARA GRGAS-WHEELER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
1999: JAMES DAVIS 1999 4x400-METER RELAY ALL-AMERICAN
1998: ADAM GOUCHER 1998 CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (VIDEO) (5,000) (3,000)
1997: ADAM GOUCHER INDOOR 3,000 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
1996: ALAN CULPEPPER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 5,000/ WOMEN'S BIG EIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
(VIDEO)
CU track and field and cross country will take a look back at every year under Wetmore and recap the best races and teams of every calendar year.
Jenny Barringer (now Simpson) was a freshman (2005-06) who wanted to race the 5k in college, but little did she know that by doing what the team needed and running in an event to pick up points at conference, would lead to a school record and an NCAA Title in the final race of her first campaign with the Buffs. In the fall of 2006, the men's cross country team was poised to add another NCAA title to their collection and with the help of three juniors and two seniors, recorded their third title in six seasons.
BARRINGERS UNEXPECTED NCAA VICTORY
Life doesn't always turn out the way you expect. Just ask Jenny Simpson, formerly Barringer. When the Oviedo, Fla., native stepped onto CU's campus in the fall of 2005, she expected to focus on the 5k for the Buffs. She even hung up former Buff Sara Slattery's 5k record on the bulletin board in her dorm room.
She had a good 2005 cross country season, finishing second at the Big 12 Championships behind teammate Christine Bolf to earn the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year award. Simpson finished the season eighth at regionals and was 43rd at nationals as the Buffs placed second as a team.
Facing a small injury, Simpson redshirted the 2006 indoor season. But soon it was time to start training for the outdoor season. While Simpson had her sights set on racing in the 5k, she remembers it was typical for head coach Mark Wetmore to have the freshmen at least try to go over the hurdles. Why? Most high schools don't have the steeplechase, or at least did not back then, so this was a good way for him and associate head coach Heather Burroughs to judge whether the 3,000-meter steeplechase could be an option for someone. So in the spring of 2006, Simpson went over some hurdles in Balch Fieldhouse.
"I wasn't terrible enough to completely exclude the steeplechase as an option, but I don't remember being particularly good either," she said.
That spring CU had several distance runners who could score in the 10k, 5k and the 1,500, but the steeplechase had a hole. Since Simpson had managed the hurdles okay, the decision was made for her to run the event and hopefully pick up a few points. But first, she needed to watch an actual race, so she drove herself up to Fort Collins, Colo. to watch one of her teammates run the event. It was the first time she had seen the event run in person.
Before her first race, she said Wetmore and her made an agreement. According to her, Wetmore said, "You should do it once to see if you like it or hate it and if you hate it, you never have to do it again."
Then just one week later, she debuted at the Cardinal Invitational on April 30, 2006. She ran well, finishing in 10 minutes, 19.08 seconds. But it was not love, or even like for Simpson. After the race, Simpson remembers telling Wetmore, "I hate it. I never want to do it again."
But Wetmore saw something and wasn't going to let her give up. According to her, he said, "Well too bad, because what you just did would have scored at conference. So you are going to run it at least one more time."
That 10:19 was after a couple of weeks of training. Her coaches were proud and happy. And honestly, no one, not Simpson, Wetmore or Burroughs, was looking beyond conference.
When you have talent though, it's hard to hide. Simpson didn't just score for the Buffs at the Big 12 Championships, she placed second, this time running 10:21.90. She finished 12 seconds behind Mary Davies (Oklahoma State) and was 16 seconds in front of the third-place finisher, Baylor's Monique Ortega, who had been racing on her home track in Waco, Texas. A short time later, she got to race her beloved 5k, but since the steeplechase is such a taxing event, she played it smart. Simpson placed eighth in 16:59.79.
"I remember sitting on the shoulder of the woman who was eighth in the 5k because I knew the top eight scored," Simpson recalled. "I just sat on her the whole way and outkicked her to score the one point because I was so tired from the steeplechase."
After a successful conference championship where Simpson admits she did not appreciate how special it was to be a freshman taking second, she sat down with Wetmore and Burroughs to look over her plan for the rest of the season.
"Mark sat me down and showed me the projections of what regionals and nationals were going to look like and it was very clear that what I had shown in my ability in the 5k and 1,500 weren't really going to get me anywhere at the NCAA Championships," she recalled. "But what I was running in the steeplechase, I might be able to make the final."
Simpson decided to follow the advice of her coaches and focus on the steeplechase. At the Midwest Region Championship, she didn't just qualify for NCAAs, she won her first steeplechase race in just the third race of her career. Then it was off to nationals in Sacramento, Calif., Simpson placed second (10:12.38) in the first heat on Wednesday, June 7, to earn an automatic qualifying time for the finals two days later.
"I remember Mark and Heather both being really happy," Simpson said. "It's a big deal for a freshman to have a chance to run in a final."
Heading into the final on Friday, June 9, Simpson said she felt really good and got really competitive. Entering the final lap, it was down to two: Simpson and Illinois' Cassie Hunt. Simpson was right on Hunt's shoulder, but she knew she was going to win.
"I knew I was going to win because she wasn't that far away," Simpson said. "I just thought if she is just that far away now and isn't saving anything for the finish, I can win."
And win she did. The two rounded the final turn with one barrier left. As the two approached the final hurdle, Barringer took the lead and then used the kick she has become known for to win her first of three NCAA Steeplechase titles. She finished with a CU record of 9:53.04 as she clocked her first time under 10 minutes.
"One of my biggest memories from leaving that championship was that I was so pleasantly surprised by how proud my teammates were," Simpson said. "When you are in college for two/three years and are working really hard to be All-American in cross country or make a final in NCAAs, to watch a young person come in and do that their first year can be tough. I hope they saw I was working hard. It did catch me off guard. My teammates were so complimentary, both male and female."
And just think, if Wetmore and Burroughs had not shown Simpson a different event, her story could have been much different. But instead, 2006 was the start of Simpson's and the CU women's dominance in the steeplechase.
(NOTE: A 3,000-meter steeplechase is defined as having 28 barriers and seven water jumps. Since the water jump is never on the track oval, a steeplechase "course" is never a perfect 400 meter lap. Instead the water jump is placed inside the turn, shortening the lap, or outside the turn, lengthening the lap. The start line moves from conventional starting areas in order to compensate for the different length of lap. When the water jump is inside, the 3,000 meter start line is on the backstretch (relative to the steeplechase finish). When the water jump is outside, the 3,000 meter start line is on the home stretch.)
MEN'S XC WIN SECOND NCAA TITLE IN THREE YEARS
The second-ranked Colorado men headed into the 2006 NCAA Championship knowing the race was theirs to lose. They had already had a successful season. The men had won their 11th straight Big 12 Cross Country title earlier that October in Lawrence, Kansas. But they did not just win. They dominated. The Buffs defeated Texas 36-80 and were led by Brent Vaughn's third-place finish.
Perhaps the most noteworthy performance from that day came from sixth-year senior Eric Heinonen. During the first kilometer of the 8k race, Heinonen got into a scuffle with Oklahoma State's David Jankowski, who in turn punched Heinonen, breaking his nose in the process. The broken nose did not slow him down the remaining 7k as he finished ninth overall to earn All-Big 12 honors, the first of his career. Jankowski was disqualified following the race.
After the conference win, CU defeated BYU 59-67 to take the NCAA Mountain Region Championship and earn an automatic qualifying berth for nationals.
For the third straight year, Terre Haute, Ind., was the host of the NCAA Championships. The muddy course conditions on November 20, were just like those two years before when the Buffs captured their second title; giving Colorado extra confidence as the race approached.
"The mud makes it more of a strength race," Vaughn explained as he looked back at the race. "It changes how the race is run and it definitely helped us."
The Buffs were confident heading into the race. Before the race began, Vaughn and Billy Nelson, were up to their usual antics, and Heinonen was nervous. Vaughn vividly remembers this moment and recalls Heinonen telling the two, "You guys need to stop screwing around. My entire life has led to this moment." Vaughn said at first he was concerned Heinonen might be putting too much pressure on himself, but then reminded himself that this was the guy who ran 7k at Big 12s with a broken nose to finish ninth, so there was no way Heinonen would have a bad race.
The field got out to a quicker start than CU normally likes and the Buffs were led most of the way by Vaughn. He finished 12th overall (31:13.0), earning his second straight top-15 finish at nationals and the second straight time he was CU's first harrier across the finish.
While Vaughn ran a steady race, the men's win can be traced to junior Stephen Pifer's performance over the second 5,000-meters. At the 5k split, he had 52 runners ahead of him but cruised past 32 of them to nab the 20th spot overall (31:24.2) in the individual standings and his second All-American title.
And then there was Heinonen. Just like Vaughn had thought, he had proven to be tough as nails. He was the third Buff to cross the line, recording a personal-best 28th-place finish (31:34.7) to earn his first All-American honor in cross country.
James Strang, another junior, took 47th (31:54.5). A team is only as strong as its fifth runner and in 2006 that Nelson. He passed over 15 harriers in the final kilometer and took 56th (32:02.7).
Bradley Harkrader came in 152nd (33:05.3) and Pete Janson was 213th (33:56.5) as Colorado's non-scorers.
CU's five scorers all finished in the top 56 overall, and in the top 34 of those attached to full teams. CU and Wisconsin were the only schools to have three place in the top 15 in the scoring column.
The Buffaloes recorded 94 points, soundly defeating defending champion and overwhelming favorite Wisconsin by 48 points. Iona (172), Stanford (195) and Oregon (196) rounded out the top five.
"I think the race was very fast for us," Wetmore said following the race. "Every coach has to know their team and how fast they can go. If other teams ran our way, it would certainly hurt them, like if we would if we ran another team's plan. We don't talk a lot about expectations, its aspirations for us. We equaled our aspirations today."
Wetmore understood people expected the team to do well because of the conditions and the comparison, but also noted those are not normal conditions for CU's training.
"We did well here a couple of years ago too and everyone was telling me that the mud was perfect for us, but Boulder is like a desert and isn't very muddy," he said.
Making that win so special was also coupled with the factor so many members of CU's athletic staff had traveled to Indiana to watch the team race, including their strength coach Vernon Stephens.
Winning their second title in three years, four Buffs, Vaughn, Harkrader, Pifer and Strang joined Jon Severy as the only Buff men to win two national titles as those four were on the team in 2004. Severy was on the 2004 team with them, as well as the 2001 squad.
PAST TOP RACES:
2005: Metivier Wins Indoor 3k; Slattery Takes 10k Titles
2004: BUFFS WIN MEN'S AND WOMEN'S NCAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
2003: RITZENHEIN RACES TO THE TITLE (FINISH VIDEO)
2002: TORRES CEMENTS LEGACY (VIDEO)
2001: CU MEN CAPTURE FIRST TITLE (VIDEO)
2000: KARA GRGAS-WHEELER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
1999: JAMES DAVIS 1999 4x400-METER RELAY ALL-AMERICAN
1998: ADAM GOUCHER 1998 CROSS COUNTRY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (VIDEO) (5,000) (3,000)
1997: ADAM GOUCHER INDOOR 3,000 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
1996: ALAN CULPEPPER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 5,000/ WOMEN'S BIG EIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
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