http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/cu_cross_country/article/0,1713,BDC_2450_1545186,00.html
CU focused on Nov. 25 national finals By Michael Sandrock, For the Camera November 14, 2002 Molly Austin, Jorge Torres and the Colorado cross country teams will be taking a track runner's mentality into Saturday's NCAA Mountain Region Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. They will view it as a preliminary, qualifying round, meaning that rather than trying to race as hard or as fast as they can at the meet, the Buffs will simply try and get through the race with the least effort possible, thereby saving themselves for the only race that matters this season — the Nov. 25 NCAA championships. The CU men and women, both ranked No. 3 in the nation, are likely to advance from regionals, barring any great disaster. The men are favored to take the regional title, while defending NCAA champion and No. 1 BYU is favored in the women's race. "The important one is Nov. 25, not regionals," said Torres, who at regionals and the NCAA's will face a new, fast Kenyan now enrolled at BYU. "It would be too much to run a hard 10K (at regionals) and then another one a week and two days later." Austin, a fifth-year senior majoring in advertising, added: "Mark likes us to run a structured race and not kill ourselves at regionals. We will keep it conservative and save ourselves for NCAAs." Both Colorado teams are coming off excellent races at the Big 12 Championships. Torres and Austin won the conference titles in course-record fashion, while the men and women both won the team championships. Best of all for Wetmore is the fact that all 16 runners he took to Missouri raced well. "Across the board we had good performances," Wetmore said. Torres heads into regionals with three Big 12 titles in a row, while Austin has two consecutive conference wins to her credit. The only other CU woman to win the conference title twice was former NCAA champion Kara Grgas-Wheeler. "I was really, really pleased with my (Big 12) race," Austin said. "I am very excited because I did not feel great going in. I tried to get out well in the first kilometer, and once I was in the lead I pushed it." Austin said Wetmore has given the CU women a different approach to their season this year after some of the Buffs felt a bit fatigued at the 2001 NCAA championships. "Mark started us out a little later with our speed work, and so I was not as sharp as I could have been at (the Oct. 19) pre-nationals," said Austin, who placed third in that race behind two of the top women in the country. "Now that we are doing more speedwork, my legs are feeling more of a kick. Every race we get in helps. I am encouraged by conference because we thought Missouri would be very tough." Austin, who clocked 20:26 for the hilly 6K at Missouri, and teammates Sara Gorton (20:37) and Natalie Florence (20:40) swept the top three spots at the conference meet. "Our team finish was the most exciting part of it all," Austin said. "It was very encouraging with everything we have been through. ... We thought coming into the season that we had the best team ever at Colorado, but we had some injuries. Big 12's shows we're going to be tough. Each meet has been more impressive for our team." Colorado received a boost at Big 12's from senior Tera Moody, who placed 11th, and freshmen Christine Bolf (17th) and Jackie Zeigle (34th). Austin was a state champion in the 800 meters for Mullen High School in Littleton but did not run great in cross country as a prep. However, she has blossomed under Wetmore, said Austin's mother, Cindy. "I feel like Molly has a lot of talent, and I think she was very fortunate to hook up with Mark," Cindy said. "He is a great coach and perfect for her. She has been very happy up there." Said Wetmore, "Molly's hard work and patience has paid off." Now, Austin hopes that all her hard work and long miles pay off with an NCAA title. Austin said her eighth-place finish at the 2001 NCAA championships was not entirely satisfactory, and she believes that if she can peak on Nov. 25, she will be able to run with anyone in the country. "I think I can be a contender for the title and that our team can be in the top three," Austin said. "That is the beauty of running; it is so unpredictable and depends on what you do on the day. What is important to me is to run the best race I can." -ENDS- =========== "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 _____________________________________________________________ Select your own custom email address for FREE! Get [EMAIL PROTECTED] w/No Ads, 6MB, POP & more! http://www.everyone.net/selectmail?campaign=tag
