August 29, 2002 By Michael Sandrock ---------------------------- For the Boulder Daily Camera
The University of Colorado cross country team scaled the heights last season, with the men winning their first national championship and the women placing eighth. This summer, the Buff runners scaled another height when they ran up Mt. Elbert, at 14,431 feet the highest peak in Colorado. The run, after a night of camping, was a way to end the summer training and solidify team spirit, said senior Jorge Torres, CU's top runner who will be going for his first NCAA individual championship this fall. Both the CU men and women open the season Saturday with the annual alumni/open/time trial on the team's Buffalo Ranch home course in South Boulder. The women's 5.8K race starts at 8:45 a.m., followed by the men's 8K at 9:30 a.m. Both races are free and open to the public. "We return two of the strongest teams ever and two of the best recruiting classes," head coach Mark Wetmore said at CU's media day earlier this summer. "Both teams will be contending (for NCAA titles) and we have individuals who will be contending on both sides. We have a lot to look forward to." Indeed, with some top recruits on both the men's and women's sides, CU looks to be solidly entrenched among the top teams in the nation. Torres, second in the 2001 NCAA championships, will be joined by sophomore teammate, Dathan Ritzenhein, fourth at NCAAs. All-Americans Ed Torres and Steve Slattery are also back, along with redshirt sophomore Jon Severy and sophomore Jared Scott. The top newcomers are Foot Locker finalists Brett Schoolmeester and Billy Nelson. "Winning last year took a lot of pressure off our backs," said Torres. "Winning the first one was the hardest, and defending our title will be just as hard. But with our recruiting class and the people we have returning we will do well. I definitely think we have a good shot at the national title if we stay healthy." The nation's coaches agree, as Colorado men are ranked No. 1 in the country in the preseason coaches poll released Wednesday. Stanford, which CU edged by one point in last year's championships, was pegged second, followed by Arkansas, Wisconsin and Northern Arizona. Colorado State is tied for 16th. The Colorado women are led by fifth-year senior Molly Austin, eighth at last year's NCAA championships, and redshirt sophomore Sara Gorton, eighth in 2000. The Buffs added several top recruits, including three who placed among the top eight at the Foot Locker national prep cross country championships. However, one of those, Illinois state champion Erica Odlaug, suffered and injury this summer and might redshirt. She will not run at the time trial. Looking back on the 2001 national championship, Wetmore said, "Honestly, a one-point win is not satisfying. Some of the runners did not do the summer training and turned a strong victory into a perilous victory. We are hoping they all have done the work over the summer and we have seven good races that day." Wetmore said CU could have two of its best teams ever and still not win the national championships, set for Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 25. That is because Stanford returns all of its top seven and Arkansas will have another strong team with most of its runners back. "Both of those teams are better than a year ago," Wetmore said. Defending national champion BYU is the favorite on the women's side. =========== "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Ralph Waldo Emerson _____________________________________________________________ Sign up for a 6mb FREE email from http://www.spl.at Join the buzz, chat with us! http://chat.spl.at _____________________________________________________________ Promote your group and strengthen ties to your members with [EMAIL PROTECTED] by Everyone.net http://www.everyone.net/?btn=tag
