Robert Thayer

Height:
6-1
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Hotchkiss, Colo.
High School:
Hotchkiss

ROBERT THAYER

Middle Distance

Senior, VR

Hotchkiss, Colo. (Hotchkiss/Western State)

PERSONAL BESTS

Indoors

Mile: 4:09.12 (2007)

3,000-Meter: 8:24.26 (2007)

Outdoors

800-Meter: 1:53.57 (2006)

1,500-Meter: 3:46.56 (2007)

BIG 12 SCORING

2007 (O) 1,500-Meter, 6^th (3:50.41)

2008 OUTLOOK: Having placed sixth at the 2007 Big 12 outdoor meet, Rob will hope to not only improve on his PR, but also place higher on his home track at the Big 12 Outdoor Meet.

2007: Thayer showed huge improvements during the 2007 season. He recorded a mark of 4:22.49 in the mile at the Air Force Invite and a week later he race 4:09.37 at the Husky Classic. At the indoor conference championship, he finished just off the podium in the mile (ninth) and ran a pr of 4:09.12. Thayer also ran the 3,000 at the meet and placed 17^th with a time of 8:24.26. He really found his niche in the 1,500 during the outdoor season. Thayer earned top honors at the Wyoming Invite when he clocked a time of 3:58.16. He earned a regional qualifying mark of 3:47.72 during the prelims at the Big 12 meet (third). In the finals, he raced to a sixth-place finish behind teammates Stephen Pifer and Brent Vaughn and earned his first all-conference honor of his career. Thayer finished in 3:50.41. He ran his best time at regionals, crossing the finish in 3:46.56 and placed 10^th.

2006: Thayer ran the mile and 3k during the indoor season. He ran a personal best in the mile at 4:15.77 at the Husky Classic. He ran the 3k once, at the Big 12 championship. Thayer recorded a mark of 8:39.52 and placed 40^th. In the outdoor season, he ran the 800 and 1,500-meters. He notched two third-place finishes in the 800, once at the Tom Benich Classic (1:55.75) and at the Potts Invite (1:56.46). Thayer ran to a first-place finish in the 1,500 at the Ris Western/Air Force Twilight (4:02.33). He recorded a personal best at Mt. Sac with a mark of 3:51.73. At league championship, he placed 25^th (4:13.66) in the prelims.

2005 (at Western State): Thayer ran cross county and track at Western State as a freshman. His best time at WSC was 26:40 in the 8k loop. He ran middle distance on the track and participated in the 800, 1,300 and 1,600m. He was an NCAA Division II All-American in the indoor distance medley relay in 2004 and qualified for nationals in the 1,600m the same year.

CROSS COUNTRY: Thayer participated in three races during his first season at CU. He picked up an eighth-place finish at the Air Force Open, and finished third on the team. Thayer also placed fifth for CU at the Pre-Nationals Open race and was 105^th overall. His best race was at the Fort Hays Invite when he ran the 8k look in 26:39.59. In 2006, Thayer ran in three races. His best finish was at the Air Force Invite where he placed fifth. Thayer also earned an eighth-place finish in the Fort Hays Invite. At the Rocky Mountain Shootout, he took 29^th overall. Thayer moved up to the varsity team in 2007. He started by placing 11^th overall at the Rocky Mountain Shootout (seventh racer for CU). He was also the seventh racer for the Buffs at pre-nats when he finished 122^nd. Thayer ended his season with a 64^th-place finish at the conference championships.

HIGH SCHOOL: Thayer earned three letters in cross country and four in track. During his senior year, he finished as the runner-up in the 2002 3A State Cross Country Championship, was the 2003 3A State Champion in the mile and was the runner-up in the 3,200 and 800m. As a junior, Thayer was fourth in the state in the mile and finished fifth in the 800. His personal records are .51 in the 400, 1:53.57 in the 800, 4:11.68 in the 1,600 and 9:51 in the 3,200. Thayer was a member of the honor roll all hour years

ACADEMICS: Thayer is a geography major at Colorado. CU’s geography program and the opportunities available to those graduates were central to Thayer’s decision to transfer.

PERSONAL: Robert William Thayer was born on March 9, 1984 in Carry, Ill. His parents are Robert Thayer and Jeanne Gatto. His father is a CU alumnus. Thayer has two sisters, Jamie and Erin. He enjoys the great outdoors.