Colorado University Athletics
Buff Throwers Shine at Mt. SAC Relays
WALNUT, Calif. ? University of Colorado throwers Chase Dukes and Brandin Williams each earned regional marks in their respective events on Friday at the 51st Annual Mt. SAC Relays.
“It was a good day,” assistant coach Casey Malone said. “I was extremely proud how they all did.”
Dukes earned his first collegiate regional mark and a personal best in the hammer throw after launching a toss of 188-04 (57.44m). He topped his previous best by almost four feet. The throw earned Dukes a fifth-place finish in the section. He just edged out CSU-Bakersfield’s Steve Trojanowski who also had a mark of 188-04, but was 57.43 in meters, giving Dukes the slight advantage.
Williams continued his hot streak as he bettered his season best throw of 202-3 by more than a foot. He recorded a toss of 203-8 and took 11th overall in the invitational section.
“Brandin has been getting better and better each meet and it was exciting to see him continue on that path today,” Malone said.
Williams had the fifth best throw by a collegiate athlete. Sean Furey (HPC Elite) won the event with a throw of 247-2. The top collegiate mark was thrown by USC’s Corey White (241-9).
Patrick Bachmann also recorded a PR in the discus, although it was not a regional mark. His best throw was 164-10 and was six inches further than his previous season and career best of 164-4. Bachmann was seventh overall.
“They all competed exceptionally well at this prestigious meet,” Malone said. “Chase and Pat made the finals of their events. Both did well in that sense and it’s good to see them competing so consistently.
“To top it all off, having Chase and Brandin get regional marks was very exciting. Brandin already has a regional mark, but he improved on that and it was great to see. Pat is getting closer and closer on that mark in the discus. It was fun to see them compete so well today.”
In the middle distance events, Steve Kasica raced to a 22nd overall finish in the 800-meter run with a PR of 1 minute, 53.05 seconds. He finished second in the third heat, crossing the finish just .26 after Southern Utah’s Cameron Levins. Katie Cumming took 24th in the 1,500 with a time of 4:34.32, which was her PR. She finished 11th in the second section.
Once again, several of CU’s assistant coaches got into the action. Volunteer assistant coach Emily Pearson took fourth overall in the Mt. SAC Relays Heptathlon with 5,294 points. Pearson had been in second place behind Olympian Sharon Day after the first day with 3,168 points. In the track events, she recorded times of 14.32 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, 25.47 in the 200 and 2:30.60 in the 800. Pearson’s marks in the field were 5-3 in the high jump, 39 ? in the shot put, 18-3 in the long jump and 140-10 in the javelin. Combined events and jumps coach Lindsey Malone recorded a height of 5-8 3/4 in the high jump.
Jordan Kyle and Andy Wacker are set to run in the 5,000-meter run at 11:15 p.m.
The Mt. SAC Relays will continue on Saturday. CU throws coach and two-time Olympian Casey Malone will compete in the invitational of the discus throw. He recorded a throw of 205-1 last weekend at the CU Invitational and in doing so qualified for the 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. June 25-28.
51st Annual Mt. SAC RELAYS
Walnut, Calif. (Hilmer Lodge Stadium)
Track Events
Men’s 800 (open section): 22. Steve Kasica, 1:53,05 (1. Irek Sekretarski, USC, 1:48.68)
Women’s 1,500 (open section: 24. Katie Cumming, 4:34.32 (1. Asia Diaz, Texas Tech, 4:23.88)
Field Events
Men’s Hammer (open section): 5. Chase Dukes, 188-5 RQ/PR (Mike Curiel, USC, 196-9)
Men’s Javelin (invitational section): 11. Brandin Williams, 203-8 RQ (1. Sean Furey, HPC Elite, 247-2)
Men’s Discus (open section ): 7. Patrick Bachmann, 164-10 (1. Greg Pilling, Central Michigan, 183-09)
Women’s High Jump (open section): t3. Lindsey Malone, 5-8 ? (1. Mireya Beltran, unattached, 5-10 ?)
--COLORADO?