Colorado Prepped For Pac-12 Championships

BOULDER – The Colorado track and field program is set to compete in the 2021 Pac-12 Championships Friday through Sunday at the Katherine B. Loker Stadium hosted by USC.
 
The Colorado men have a number of athletes ranked in the top-10 in the Pac-12 this season and will look to get on the board early with Paxton Smith, Ethan Powell and Ryan Robinson all ranked in the top-10 in the 10,000 final Friday night as they lead a group of seven CU men around the track 25 times.
 
The first Buffs on the track will be the decathletes as Wyatt Rhoads, Davis Butte and Nick Bianco are all ranked in the top-10 in the conference and will start their first five events Friday.
 
Other prelims to watch for Friday include Aaron McCoy who is fourth in the conference in the 400 hurdles, Garrett Nelson and Kellen Monestime as they try to advance to finals. The hammer and javelin will also kick off Friday with Dominique Williams ranked 10th in the conference in the hammer.
 
Moving to Saturday, Ronald Sayles is ranked sixth in the 400 in the conference and leads a quartet of men in the prelims while Mark Perry competes in the 100 meter dash prelims. The final major scoring opportunities for Colorado come Sunday with Eduardo Herrera (3rd) and John Dressel (5th) leading a posse of eight Buffs in the 5,000-meter final Friday evening along with the two relays that are ranked in the top-six in the conference.
 
Turning to the women, there are two women leading the conference in their respected events, Sage Hurta in the 800 and Madie Boreman in the steeplechase. Both women are former Pac-12 Champions at the steeplechase and Boreman will look to keep the CU women's conference streak going as the Buffs have not lost a conference steeplechase since Jenny Barringer's final conference title in 2009.
 
Hurta will lead Micaela Degenero around the track in the 800 as the senior looks to lower her own school record as she eyes the 2-minute barrier. Degenero also leads a strong group of women entered in the 1,500 as her, Boreman and Rachel McArthur are ranked two, four, seven in the conference, respectfully.
                   
The early 10,000 final has Emily Covert in the top-10 leading the group of four that included Abby Nichols who is the lone Buff in the top-10 in the 5,000 Sunday evening.
                   
Along with the two relays, Eriana Henderson, Abbey Glynn and Tamia Badal are all ranked in the top-10 in the 400 hurdles and could score some serious points for the Buffs.
                   
Also for Colorado, Avery McMullen and Jada Green will start things off in the heptathlon and are in the top-10 looking to score points at a Pac-12 Championships for the first time.
                   
The field events finals will all be live streamed while the two running finals Friday and Saturday will be aired along with the live events Sunday on the Pac-12 Network. For more information on heat sheets, schedules and viewing, visit pac-12.com/track-field/championships.