Colorado finishes third for second straight year
LOUISVILLE, KY. » A year ago, the University of Colorado women’s team came into the NCAA cross country championships a heavy favorite to win the team title. But a slow start to the race combined with a poor performance from its top runner doomed the squad to a disappointing third place.
This year, the story was much the same. Colorado’s women were again the favorite, but perhaps not so definitively. Privately, CU coach Mark Wetmore suspected two other teams — New Mexico and San Francisco — were ranked too low in the coaches poll.
When the gun went off for the 6-kilometer race under cloudy skies here, CU went out hard, determined not to let the race get away from them as it had in 2016. But it wasn’t enough. New Mexico — led by individual winner Ednah Kurgat — took the team title with 90 points, followed by San Francisco with 105 and CU with 139.
“I’m happy that we went for it this year, even if it didn’t end the way we wanted it to,” said junior Dani Jones, CU’S top finisher in 10th place. “I’m glad that we put ourselves in it. And I think it was really hard for a lot of the girls, but I’d rather it be that way than how it was last year. At least we started up front and dialed back, rather than started slow and trying to make our way up.”
For Jones, the challenge was compounded by a head cold she caught Monday, an ill-timed setback for a runner who burst onto the national collegiate running scene during the 2016 indoor season with two NCAA titles and had been eyeing this race all season. But even if Jones had been healthy and finished a few spots higher, it wouldn’t have made a difference in the team placing.
“It went out pretty hard, probably because I wasn’t feeling my best after getting sick this week,” Jones said. “It was hard and it kept going. But you could also tell the last mile that girls were coming back because of how hard it went out.”
Jones received encouragement from a former CU runner and Olympic medalist.
“Jenny Simpson told me, ‘No team is going to get to the line perfect.’ And I tried to not let it be a factor, and I’m not going to let it be an excuse.”
New Mexico’s primary weakness coming into the meet was its fifth runner (the first five of seven runners are scored). The team stacked a staggering four runners in the top 11, and its fifth runner finished 63rd — enough to hold on.
San Francisco put three runners in the top 12, with its fourth and fifth finishing 33rd and 52nd. Thirty-eight seconds separated CU’S first and fifth runners, better than both teams, but it didn’t have as many runners place high.
“It wasn’t a perfect day, but I’m still happy with them,” Wetmore said. “They beat some really good teams, if you look who’s behind them and the rosters, those teams are hard to beat.”