Buffs struggle, finish 8th; CSU comes in 9th place
When LOUISVILLE,
Colorado cross country coach Mark Wetmore made the decision in September to sit out John Dressel because of injury, he knew it would be a huge blow to the team’s hopes for contending for a podium spot at the NCAA championships.
Nevertheless, the Buffs forged ahead and managed to qualify for nationals with an at-large bid. But on Saturday here at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park, CU’S top runner this season, Joe Klecker, struggled over the 10-kilometer course, and the Buffs’ hopes for a top-five finish were dashed with eighth place (294 points), just a handful of points ahead of a resurgent Colorado State team, which finished ninth (318 points).
“It wasn’t a great day for the men,” Wetmore said, bluntly.
Aside from last year’s sixth place, the Buffs haven’t finished worse than third as a team since 2010, when they were 15th. CU was running in the NCAA championships for the 26th consecutive year, the longest active streak in the NCAA.
“It’s always an honor being here. We work really hard. We never take this for granted. That being said, when we come here, we always expect to be in contention,” said junior Ryan Forsyth, who finished as Colorado’s No. 2 runner. “We train for that, we race for that put ourselves in a position to do that. I’m proud of myself and my teammates, the way we fought. There’s always more to be desired, but I’m proud of today, and we’re going to come back next year.”
The lone bright spot in an otherwise forgettable day was freshman Eduardo Herrera, a freshman from California more known for being a miler than a long distance runner. He finished 33rd overall and was the fourth-best freshman.
“This whole season, we really miss John,” said junior Ethan Gonzalez. “He’s typically our first or second guy. And so it’s strange not having him here. I know we all miss his presence. Everyone ran hard today, but at the end of the day, it is what it is. We’ll come back next year working really hard.”
Klecker struggled to finish 67th overall — third on the team — eight days after winning the regional championship title. He had finished ninth here during Pre-nationals and then second at the Pac-12 conference meet.
“This team with a good day and John (Dressel) could have been third,” Wetmore said. “The good news is that he’s back for two more years. Joe will have a better day next time. Eduardo’s back. Ryan’s (Forsyth) back.”
Colorado State’s effort was one of its best performances in program history. CSU was running in fourth place with a little over a mile to go before its top runner, Jerrell Mock, faltered and fell from his top10 position to 169th place.
“It was bittersweet,” coach Art Siemers said outside the team tent afterward. “We had a dream season this year. We won out first Mountain West title in school history. We just had a really consistent year. … This year was really special. And the guys showed it today. We want to be a top 10 program in the country year-in and year-out. We really felt we could podium. … At the end of the day we were still top 10, even without our No. 1 guy.”
Added Mock: “I’ve never really experienced that in a race before. I wanted to be in good position off the start and just kind of ran out of gas.”