Holland Races To School Record

GREELEY, Colo. – Redshirt freshman Ana Holland didn't wait long to put her name at the top of the University of Colorado 200-meter list as she broke the CU record at the Tom Benich Invitational on Saturday.

Holland crossed the finish in 23.54 seconds to race past the former record of 23.80, which was set in 2013 by her current teammate, redshirt junior Eileen Gehring. Holland beat the rest of the field by almost half a second as Colorado State's Leah Fair was second in 24.00.

“I'm very excited about Ana and her school record,” assistant coach Drew Morano said. “It was a very good race today. It was nice to see her putting things together really well. Usually she is very strong early in the race and today she was just a touch off, but once she got up on the straight away, she really switched gears and pulled away from the crowd. I'm very excited about her and how she is progressing and think we are going to see a lot more from her as the season goes on.”

Holland also did well in the 100, earning a season-best time of 11.84 and another first place finish in some very strong head winds which moved her up to sixth on CU's all-time performers list.

Gehring didn't race in the 200 on Saturday, but she did run in the 400 and finished second overall in 54.65, which is a season best for her. CSU's Abby Simpson won in 54.52.

“I think the wind hindered some of our short sprints today,” Morano said. “Running into a head wind is never ideal, but that's how it goes sometimes. It was good to Eileen get back on track today into the 54s. I would have liked to see a victory for her today but she is still cleaning up some things.”

Austin Mitsch also had a very strong showing in the short sprints, winning the 200 in 21.54 and placing second in the 100 in 11.00. Jaron Thomas was the runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 14.57.

The field events also had good performances. Abrianna Torres earned a season-best jump of 19-6.75 for the win, while Mark Jones cleared 6-10.75 to win the high jump. Michael Egotanda placed second in the long jump at 23-6.25 (7.17 meters), which is just one centimeter off the qualifying mark for USA Junior Nationals.

Alex Kizirian led the Buffs in the throws, winning the hammer throw with a mark of 201-6, just a few inches off his personal best. On the women's side, Mariah Walker placed third in the shot put with a toss of 45-00.25.

The Buffs return home to Potts Field April 10-11 to host the CU Invitational, their final home meet of the season.

2015 Tom Benich Invitational

Women's Events

100-Meter Hurdles: (1. Lorenda Holston, CSU, 13.65) 5. Abrianna Torres, 14.36; 17. Michaela Wenning, 16.19; 19. Mariah Slack, 16.44; 20. Claire Kazen, 19.68; 21. Taila Howe, 19.82
400-Meters: (1. Abby Simpson, CSU, 54.52) 2. Eileen Gehring, 54.65
100-Meters: 1. Ana Holland, 11.84; 7. Mia Holland, 12.71; 8. Abrianna Torres, 12.75; 9. Rajon O'Quinn, 12.82; 13. Mariah Slack, 13.40; 15. Ewelina Pena, 13.83; 16. Michaela Wenning, 13.97; 17. Taila Howe, 14.03; 18. Claire Kazen, 14.54
400-Meter Hurdles: (1. Susan Meinders, UNC, 58.40) 10. Brittany Hanrahan, 1:08.04
200-Meters: 1. Ana Holland, 23.54; 6. Rajon O'Quinn, 25.43; 10. Abrianna Torres, 25.75; 12. Mia Holland, 25.86; 18. Mariah Slack, 27.34; 19. Ewelina Pena, 27.62; 20. Michaela Wenning, 27.84; 22. Claire Kazen, 29.76
Long Jump: 1. Abrianna Torres, 19-6.75/5.96; 9. Michaela Wenning, 16-11.50/5.17; 11. Taila Howe, 16-7.25/5.06; 12. Mariah Slack, 16-6.50/5.04; 13. Ewelina Pena, 16-5/5.00; 15. Claire Kazen, 15-2.25/4.63
Triple Jump:
Shot Put: (1. Kiah Hicks, CSU, 48-11.50) 3. Mariah Walker, 45-00.25/13.72
Discus: (1. Kiah Hicks, CSU, 159-6) 8. Mariah Walker, 131-4/40.03; 9. Sophie Hallam-Eames, 129-4/39.43; 10. Makenzie Kline, 118-1/35.99; 11. Madison Colletto, 103-2/31.44
Javelin: (1. Jessi Macedo, CSU, 143-9) 6. Makenzie Kline, 99-8/30.38
Hammer Throw: (1. Kaih Hicks, CSU, 200-3) 8. Kellie Lind, 161-3/49.16; 12. Mariah Walker, 122-2/37.25; 14. Madison Colletto, 103-2/31.46; 15. Makenzie Kline; 98-7/30.04

Men's Events

110-Meter Hurdles: (1. Jordan Charles, UW, 14.46) 2. Jaron Thomas, 14.57; 8. Mark Jones, 15.40; 16. Andrew Ghizzone, 16.95; 18. Matt Walker, 21.15
400-Meters: (1. Alex Wesley, UNC, 47.14) 4. Darrin Haynes, 48.18; 8. Erik Gaytan, 49.12; 9. Jaron Thomas, 49.75; 11. Jaylyn Mars, 50.25
100-Meters: (1. Tony Osheku Jr., WSU, 10.95) 2. Austin Mitsch, 11.00; 5. Jay Skrine, 11.13; 11. Matt Walker, 11.67; 12. Andrew Ghizzone, 11.95
400-Meter Hurdles: (1. Dustin Durfee, WSU, 53.11) 5. Garrett Losty, 54.27; 8. Isaiah Kaiser, 54.87; 11. Andrew Ghizzone, 56.94
200-Meters: 1. Austin Mitsch, 21.53; 6. Jay Skrine, 23.39
Long Jump: (1. Jonathan Edmunds, CSU, 23-9.50) 2. Michael Egotanda, 23-6.25/7.17; 9. Andrew Ghizzone, 21-11.75/6.70
Triple Jump: (1. Jonathan Edmunds, CSU, 50-10/15.49) 7. Michael Egotanda, 43-9.25/13.34
High Jump: 1. Mark Jones, 6-10.75/2.10; 5. Mason Chronowski, 6-2.75/1.90
Shot Put: (1. Tyler Schultz, CSU, 56-11.25/17.35) 10. Matt Walker, 40-00.75/12.21; 11. Andrew Ghizzone, 31-2.50/9.51
Discus: (1. Casey Malone, 178-00/54.26) 4. Brady Rutt, 161-0/49.07; 7. Paden Gatlin, 143-6/43.75; 14. Matthew Denton, 110-6/33.68; 16. Matt Walker, 106-7/32.49
Hammer Throw: 1. Alex Kizirian, 201-6/61.42; 5. Brady Rutt, 193-00/58.84; 10. Matthew Denton, 153-10/46.90