TRACK & FIELD IN FIRST AND FIFTH AT BIG 12 INDOORS
LINCOLN, Neb. - The University of Colorado men's and women's track and field team competed in day one of the Big 12 Indoor Championships here Friday night, with the men finishing in first place with one day to go and the women in fifth.
Dathan Ritzenhein improved on last year's second place finish in the Big 12 Indoor Championship to finish first in the men's 5,000 meter run with a time of 13:55.50. The Rockford, Mich., native's mark is the second-fastest collegiate indoor 5k in the country this year behind Ian Dobson of Stanford and his mark of 13:49.17 set earlier in the year. His time was also the seventh best indoor 5K time in school history and a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Championships on March 12. Teammate Brent Vaughn finished third with a time of 14:18.27, just three seconds behind Texas A&M's Andrew Cook.
The men's distance medley relay team of Daniel Kenney, Brandon Johnson, Jason Zichterman and Pete Janson placed fifth with a time of 9:57.55. Bret Schoolmeester and Stephen Pifer finished in fifth place and seventh place to advance to tomorrow's finals in mile run action.
Two women's athletes placed second in their respective events and one will have a chance to claim a Big 12 Title tomorrow as junior Renee Metivier took second (4:48.16) in the mile in her Big 12 track debut and sophomore Christine Bolf placed second (16:33.27) in the women's 5,000 meter run. Bolf's mark is the 16th fastest in the country in the 5K event this year and is her highest individual finish in a Big 12 track meet in her short career after taking ninth indoors and sixth outdoors in the 5k a year ago. Kalin Toedebusch, who took third in the 5,000 meter run, joined Metivier and Bolf in provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Championship in their respective events.
Two men's throwers also scored for the Buffaloes today, as Matt Carr and Zach Hazen took 7th and 8th, respectively, in the men's weight throw. Carr's toss of 57-10.50 inches is the seventh best in CU history and a new personal best, while Hazen's toss of 57-4.25 is also a personal records and ranks ninth on the CU best list.
After today's events the Colorado men are three points ahead of Baylor for first place. Tomorrow's final field events will start at 1:30 p.m. with the women's triple jump, followed by track events beginning at 3 p.m.