Buffs Open Outdoor Season At Potts Invite
BOULDER - The University of Colorado track & field team is set to start its outdoor season on Saturday, March 20 at the Potts Invitational.
The field events will kick off the action at 10 a.m. with the men's hammer throw and women's javelin. The running events are set to start at 2 p.m. with the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The outdoor season brings a lot of excitement as the Buffaloes are looking forward to the return of seniors Jeremy Dodson and Kenyon Neuman. Both did not compete during the indoor season as they had exhausted their indoor eligibility, but they each have one final outdoor season of eligibility remaining.
Dodson has been a force to reckon with since transferring to CU in 2007. He has earned nine all-Big 12 honors and has set two individual school records (indoor and outdoor 200-meter dash) and was the anchor of the school record setting 4x100-meter relay team in 2008. When the Buffs won the 2008 Big 12 Outdoor Championship, Dodson scored in four events, the 100 (third), 200 (second), 4x100 (third) and 4x400 (sixth).
Neuman has focused on the 5,000-meter run during most of his career. He recorded many points for CU at the '08 conference championship, winning the 10,000-meter run and placing second in the 5k just two days later. Neuman is a two-time All-American and a five-time All-Big 12 honoree.
Also returning to the CU line-up after using medical hardship years are Richard Medina and Kevin Fasing. Medina played a huge part in the '08 championship by scoring in the 5k (fourth) and the 10k (fifth). He ranks 11th on the CU top performers list in the 5k. Fasing is the sixth best performer in the javelin at CU and scored for the Buffs in the 2007 championship with a fifth-place finish.
There are several other Buffs to keep an eye on this season, including returning Big 12 scorers Patrick Bachmann (hammer throw), Jordan Kyle (5k), Matt Tebo (5k, 10k) and Christian Thompson (steeplechase).
The women's team returns four of five letterwinners from their 2009 outdoor season. Brianne Beemer, Emma Coburn, Emily Hanenburg and Laura Thweatt look to once again pick up points for the Buffs.
Beemer scored for the Buffs in the 400-meter hurdles, but was close to picking up some points for CU in the heptathlon with a 10th-place finish as a freshman. Coburn, also competing as a freshman in 2009, took fourth in the steeplechase. She set the American junior record at the NCAA Outdoor Championship when she ran a time of 10:06.21 (placing 11th). Hanenburg was sixth at the conference meet in the steeplechase. Thweatt scored for the Buffs during the indoor season in the 5k.
Colorado will compete against several Front Range schools this weekend. Colorado College, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State, Metro State, Northern Colorado, UC-Colorado Springs and Wyoming will make up the field along with several unattached athletes. The invitational is a non-team scoring meet.
The Potts Invite will be the first of two meets CU will host this spring. The Buffs will also host the CU Invite on April 10. Both take place at Potts Field on 30th and Colorado. Admission and parking for the meet are free. Results will be updated online throughout the meet at CUBuffs.com.
The forecast for Saturday's meet is a high of 36 degrees, morning snow showers and a 30 percent chance of precipitation (as of Thursday afternoon). Should inclement weather force a cancellation of the meet, such notice will be posted on CUBuffs.com as well as a message left on the track and field office voice mail at 303/492-5227.
For the complete schedule, click here.
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