CU Olympic Sports

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CU Olympic Sports

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June 26th

… Citius, Altius, Fortius … 

Emma Coburn wins the 3,000-meter steeplechase national championship

From CUBuffs.com … University of Colorado alum Emma Coburn used a powerful surge over the final lap Sunday to win her 10th USA Track and Field outdoor championship, clocking a 9:10.63 to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase at Hayward Field and earn a berth on the Team USA world championships squad.

Colorado alums Val Constien (9:42.96) and Madie Boreman (9:46.71) finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in the steeplechase.

Also Sunday, CU alum Eduardo Herrera finished 13th in the men’s 5,000, finishing in 13:27.05. In the women’s 5,000, Abby Nichols came on strong over the final few laps to move from 22nd to 15th at the finish, clocking a 16:10.72.

In the women’s 800 final, Sage Hurta finished seventh against a loaded field, crossing the line in 1:59.43.

Coburn spent the spring getting in some extra speedwork with former Buff and current training teammate Dani Jones and the results showed Sunday.

Coburn ran with the lead group for virtually the entire race and moved into the front with roughly 1.5 laps to go. Then she put the hammer down, pulling away from what had been a tightly grouped lead pack of three to win going away for her 10th overall U.S. outdoors steeplechase title and eighth in a row.

Also earning berths alongside Coburn on the Team USA’s world championships squad were Courtney Wayment (9:12.10) and Courtney Frerichs (9:16.18).

Coburn also owns an Olympic bronze medal (2016) as well as a gold (2017) and silver (2019) in the world championships. She will have a chance to add to that total in July when the world championships are held at Hayward Field, the first time the worlds have been contested on American soil.

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Taylor Kornieck scores in her debut with the U.S. women’s national soccer team

From the Daily Camera …  It was a moment Taylor Kornieck had been striving toward since childhood.

And she wasted little time creating a memory that will last a lifetime.

Returning to Colorado for the first time since she became the third overall pick in the 2020 NWSL draft, the former CU Buffs star made the most of her debut with the U.S. women’s national team on Saturday night, coming off the bench to cap the scoring for the U.S. with a late header goal in a 3-0 victory against Colombia.

It was a festive, Colorado-themed atmosphere at sold out Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, as Windsor native Sophia Smith ended a scoreless stalemate with a pair of second half goals before Kornieck put the finishing touches on the victory.

The USWNT will have a rematch against Colombia in another friendly on Tuesday in Utah before departing for Mexico to compete in the CONCACAF W Championship.

“I think the first thing I said was ‘I can’t feel my legs,’” Kornieck said of her big moment. “It just means everything to me. It’s been my dream ever since I was a little girl. Scoring obviously wasn’t part of the plan, but it was a good perk.

“It was an amazing ball and I’m just so fortunate to play with such great players.”

Kornieck said she was informed earlier in the day by USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski that she would play at some point, allowing Kornieck to prepare mentally for the inevitable wave of jitters and nerves. CU’s all-time points leader and a three-time first team All-Pac-12 selection, Kornieck entered the match in the 73rd minute but didn’t immediately see much action, as a few Colombia players dealt with apparent cramping issues.

However, in the waning moments of the 90th minute, Kornieck took advantage of her height — at 6-foot-1, she is the tallest field player in USWNT history — to record her indelible moment.  The goal also may have provided a sort of passing-of-the-torch moment for the USWNT. Working off a free kick, USWNT veteran Megan Rapinoe delivered the pass that Kornieck was able to convert.

… Continue reading story here …

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June 12th 

… Citius, Altius, Fortius … 

CU women finish 9th in NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

Press release from CUBuffs.com … The University of Colorado women’s track and field team put up 16 points here Saturday at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, finishing with 21 points and tied for ninth in the team standings.

The team matches the second-best finish by the 2019 team that finished ninth and trail only the 2000 squad that finished tied for eighth with 26 points for the best finish in CU history. The combined 11th-place finish at indoors and ninth-place finish outdoors is the second-best combination in CU history, second only to 2017 when the women were seventh indoors and 12th outdoors.

The Buffs were led by First Team All-American finishes from Micaela DeGenero in the 1,500-meter run, Madie Boreman in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Abby Nichols in the 5,000-meter run.

DeGenero was the top points getter for the Buffaloes, finishing as the NCAA runner-up with a second-place finish at 4:09.62. The NCAA Indoor Mile National Champion duplicated CU alum Sage Hurta’s accomplishments from last year, taking the mile title and finishing as the runner-up in the 1,500.

Off the start, DeGenero fell into 11th at the back of the pack. She bounced out to the top four on the homestretch at the first 300-meter mark. She began to drop off in the race as the women came around through 700 meters. With 800 left she was around 10th, then with 650 to go she began to move up again. With 500 remaining, DeGenero sat ninth holding onto the back of the pack when the bell hit at 3:07. DeGenero held to the back of the pack around the curve then moved outside on the backstretch and blasted to the front with 200 meters remaining. Ole Miss’s Sintayehu Vissa, the NCAA mile runner-up, kept the lead after the move as DeGenero worked to pass her on the homestretch, but was unable to catch her in the last few meters, giving CU back-to-back runner-up finishes. DeGenero’s 4:09.62 was just a few tenths of a second off her personal best set at the NCAA 1,500 semifinals last year.

The next race on the track saw Boreman back in the steeplechase final for the second time in her career. The 2017 NCAA runner-up went straight to the front off the gun, sitting fifth behind BYU’s Courtney Wayment. Boreman held the inside position in third, following safely behind Wayment and Auburn’s Joyce Kimeli as the race formed up. She fell to sixth with four laps to go as Wayment put on a 20-meter lead. Boreman moved up a spot with three laps remaining, then moved up to fourth as she helped lead the chase pack, then took the lead in the chase pack, running third with 900 meters left. Boreman finished the race fourth overall in 9:33.02, dropping a huge personal best and earning a fourth-place finish. Her mark moves her past NCAA Champ and Olympian Shalaya Kipp to third in CU history.

Following the steeplechase, the Buffs were tied for second in the team standings with 18 points.

Heptathlete Avery McMullen continued her second day of competition in the morning, starting out the day in the long jump, placing fourth on her final jump at 5.98 meters (19-7.5). She followed that up with a 15th place in the javelin at 35.67 meters (117-0). She remained in eighth heading into the final event, the 800-meter run.

In the 800, McMullen started out conservatively in the back, running around 35 seconds in her first 200. She went through the first quarter in 72 seconds before closing in 73 seconds for a 2:26.06 finish, good for 17th and 743 points. She finished the event with 5600 points even, dropping her to 12th for a Second Team All-American finish.

The final race for the Buffs was the women’s 5,000 with Nichols along with Emily Covert and India Johnson doubling up from the 10,000-meter run. Off the gun, Nichols, Covert and Johnson all grouped up as NC Stat’s Katelyn Tuohy took the lead. Nichols moved up to fifth through the first 800, with Covert around 12th and Johnson at the back of the pack. Nichols quickly got on the 10K champ, Alabama’s Mercy Chelangat’s shoulder in fourth as the pack formed.

Nichols sat fourth through nine and a half minutes with Covert in 14th in the middle of the pack that broke out following the leaders. A pack of five with all the top contenders including Nichols as Florida’s Parker Valby took the lead followed by Tuohy, Nichols, Chelangat and Oklahoma State’s Taylor Roe. Nichols was passed by Roe with three laps remaining as Valby began stretching out the race. With 1000 left, Nichols was fifth as Chelangat went by her as she began to get pushed by the leaders and lose contact with the pack. Nichols was about 10 meters back from the top four with 800 meters remaining. Valby and Tuohy broke out from the other two as Tuohy worked to take the lead with 600 left. Nichols hit the bell in fifth with Covert in 12th and Johnson in 23rd. Nichols fell one spot in the finish, placing sixth in 15:33.09. Covert finished 14th in 15:52.99 while Johnson finished 23rd in 16:16.09.

Colorado had the top-10 finish secured before the start of the 4×400-meter relay while NCAA National Champion Florida had the title wrapped up with 74 points. Texas finished as the runner-up with 64 points.

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June 8th

… Citius, Altius, Fortius … 

Seventeen Buffs, including a record-setting 12 women, competing in NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships 

Press release from CUBuffs.com … The University of Colorado track and field program sends 17 total Buffaloes to the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this Wednesday through Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene.

The women have a program record 12 entries and are sending a dozen women to the championships, tying the 1996 team for the most women attending. The men are sending a 4×400-meter relay for the first time in program history.

Action will begin Wednesday evening at 8:48 p.m. MT when the men’s relay of Aaron McCoy, Tyler Williams, Ian Gilmore, Garrett Nelson and Kellen Monestime take to the track. The four members of the relay will compete in the third heat of the semifinals seeking a top-two finish in the final heat or one of the next three fastest times. The men’s team will have the added bonus of knowing what the final qualifying time will be after the first two heats finish.

The Buffs ran a 3:05.50 time in the NCAA West Preliminaries, the second-best mark in school history and less than half a second from the school record of 3:05.16 set in 1994. Colorado has their work cut out for them with five relays in their heat with qualifying times under 3:05 led by Florida’s 3:01.22.

The women take to the track on Thursday with the semifinals in every event except the finals in the women’s 10,000-meter run. Micaela DeGenero and Rachel McArthur start things out in the women’s 1,500-meter run where the two women are split between the two heats. The women will need a top-five position in their heat or one of the top-two next best times. DeGenero, who finished sixth in the finals last year, will be in the first heat with McArthur in the second.

Shortly after the 1,500, the women’s steeplechase semifinals will begin with both Madie Boreman and Gabrielle Orie in the second heat seeking a top-five position or next two fastest times. There are seven women with qualifying times under 10 minutes in the heat.

Abbey Glynn will compete at 8:30 p.m. MT in the first of three heats in the women’s 400 hurdles where she is the third-fastest athlete based on qualifying times. She will be seeking a top-two finish in her heat or need one of the top-three next fastest times to make it to the finals. There are 10 women in the next two heats with faster qualifying times, including six in the second heat alone. Glynn will then have an hour and 18 minutes before she competes in the 4×400-meter relay semifinals along with Grace Jenkins, Jaida Drame and Emma Pollak. The quartet is in the first heat needing a top-two finish or next three fastest times. There are two teams under 3:30 in the first heat followed by a pair under 3:31.

The women’s 10,000-meter final is the first final for the women on the track. Emily Covert and India Johnson will both be in the 24-woman field. Covert has the top ran time in the NCAA this season for women in the final after teammate Abby Nichols decided to focus on the 5,000 and Oregon’s Alessia Zarbo failed to qualify. Covert, Arkansas’ Lauren Gregory and Washington’s Haley Herberg are all in the race will top-five times in the NCAA this season. Covert’s 32:30.82 from the Pac-12 Championships leads Gregory and Herberg’s times by four seconds, where Gregory ran her time back on April 1st at the Stanford Invite and Herberg ran her time in the same Pac-12 Championship race. Johnson is ranked 11th in the NCAA in the race but is ranked sixth in the final with five of the top-10 times in the NCAA not qualifying or racing the 10,000 this championship.

Friday turns to Avery McMullen in the women’s heptathlon where she comes in ranked 20th in the NCAA. The 5,663 points she earned at the Mt. SAC Relays is third in CU history in the event. The sophomore was an All-American this season in the indoor pentathlon where she finished eighth. She is exactly 200 points from the all-time CU heptathlon record set by Annette Tannander in 1983 prior to the currently heptathlon changes in the javelin. She trails the current format record by just 25 points set by Heather Sterlin in 1997. It may take a school record performance to earn another First Team All-American bid as the eighth-best mark in the NCAA is 5,834 points. The NCAA leader Anna Hall is also the USA Champion in the heptathlon with 6,458 points and is ranked second in the world in the event.

McMullen will compete in four events on Friday, the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200-meter run. She will finish up on Saturday with the long jump, javelin and 800-meter run. In addition to the heptathlon record, McMullen is closing in on the women’s long jump record held by Tannander of 20-8, and is approaching or has top-10 marks in the high jump, 100 hurdles and 200-meter run.

The last for sure race for the Buffs is the women’s 5,000-meter run Saturday afternoon. This is also one of the tightest finals around with Nichols,  Covert and Johnson all in the 24-woman final. Nichols held the NCAA lead in the 5,000 for most of the season after she ran 15:27.11 on the first of April at the Stanford Invitational. Oklahoma’s Taylor Roe took the lead at the Bryan Clay Invitational at 15:21.47 two weeks later, then Nichols reclaimed the lead less than 24 hours later when she led all college athletes in the elite portion of the Mt. SAC Relays at 15:15.95, the eighth-best time in NCAA history at the time. Alabama’s Mercy Chelangat was the next best collegiate in the race and ran the 10th-best time in NCAA history. That held until Katelyn Tuohy of NC State ran 15:14.61 a week later in Virginia to take the eighth-best mark in NCAA history and knock Nichols down to ninth. All four women are in the race, with only Chelangat doubling in the 10,000 along with Covert and Johnson. Tuohy was also the top-ranked 1,500-meter runner but decided to focus on the 5,000, similar to Nichols with the top time in the 10,000.

It could take a championship record to win the women’s 5,000-meter run with the current record held by Sally Kipyego at 15:15.08.

Both Wednesday and Thursday’s prelims and finals will be televised on ESPNU, while Friday will only feature the men’s finals on ESPN2. Saturday’s action will be televised on ESPN with only the track events live. All of the women’s heptathlon events along with all field events will be on ESPN3 all four days.

ALUMNI NOTE
Colorado’s Jenny (Barringer) Simpson was inducted in to the inaugural class of the USTFCCCA Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame last night in Eugene. She will be honor during the championships at Hayward Field this week.

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CU national title contenders at track and field championships include Madie Boreman, Abby Nichols, Emily Covert and Micaela DeGenero 

From the Daily Camera … At the very end, Madie Boreman and many of her Colorado Buffaloes teammates will get an opportunity to make a little history.

It has been nearly six full years since Boreman arrived on CU’s campus. Boreman has put her name alongside some of the most successful runners in the rich history of the Buffs’ track and field program, yet thanks to twists unique to the times — specifically, redshirt seasons combined with the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA for the 2020-21 pandemic year — Boreman’s collegiate career has stretched a lengthy five years and nine-plus months.

The final days of that career have finally arrived. Boreman and national title contenders like Abby Nichols, Emily Covert and Micaela DeGenero will lead a sizeable contingent of Buffs into the NCAA outdoor track and field championships, which begin Wednesday in Eugene, Oregon.

Overall, the Buffs are sending 11 individual entrants, as well as both the men’s and women’s 4×400 teams, to Oregon. The 12 overall women athletes for CU matches a program record, and the 12 events those athletes are set to compete in will mark a new program high. The 1996 team featured 12 women athletes competing in 11 events.

In Oregon, the Buffs will have a chance to add new entries to the program history book. DeGenero (1,500) won the NCAA indoor one mile championship three months, while Nichols will be one of the runners to watch in the 5K. Covert owns the top NCAA time this season in the 10K.

… Continue reading story here …

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March 12th

… Citius, Altius, Fortius … 

Buffs finish fourth at NCAA ski championships

From CUBuffs.com … The Colorado Buffaloes ski team closed out the 2022 season Saturday and finished the NCAA Ski Championships in fourth place after a rough day of skiing here at Soldier Hollow.

Entering the day in fourth, the Nordic teams swung for the fences, not looking to move up one or two spots but aiming for a national championship.  Sometimes when you swing for the fences, you miss, and that’s essentially what happened to the Buffs Saturday.

The men’s team of Magnus Boee, Will Koch and Fredrik Nilsen were among the best teams, and at the lap check points, Boee was fourth after the first lap, Koch was third after the second lap and Nilsen was in 11th at the midpoint of the race.  Boee was feeling ill (he tested negative for COVID) and Nilsen was involved in an unfortunate situation where a skier next to him broke his pole and was reaching for a new one from his coach and the two collided, and he took a knee to the head.

In the end, Boee finished 17th, Koch 23rd and Nilsen 35th and out of scoring position.  The Buffs as a team scored 22 points, but had they held their top positions would’ve scored 85 points and won the race.

The women’s team was led by freshman Hanna Abrahamsson who finished seventh and picked up her second All-America honor in as many days.  Junior Anna-Maria Dietze finished 20th and sophomore Weronika Kaleta 22nd for the Buffaloes.

“I’m disappointed by the overall placement, but absolutely encouraged ty the athletes and how they’ve gone about it, how they’ve grown and where the program is headed.” CU coach Andy LeRoy said. “For sure it stings a little bit to hoist the fourth-place trophy on our way out of town.”

Utah ended up winning the championship with 578 points, scoring 100 points in the women’s race on the strength of a 1-2 finish from Sophia Laukli and Novie McCabe.  Vermont finished second with 511.5 points and in the end, Denver edged the Buffs by just 1.5 points, 436.5-435.

“Having seen enough NCAA championships in my time you hope for good performances, you prepare the athletes for those performances, but when it turns out the way it did today, it’s just part of the sport,” LeRoy said. “We had some things happen this week, Louie Fausa’s ski falls off, the first time all season something like that happened, Fredrik collides with another skier, Magnus was sick.  Things like that happen and they’re part of our sport, unfortunately they do affect the results and as much as you prepare to try and shield your athletes from this type of thing, it happens.”

WHAT IT MEANS: The Buffs ski to win national championships, so anything less on some level is a disappointment.  But you can’t be disappointed with the effort the 2022 team put forth.  You have to take the chances when they come, and if you fall short giving 100 percent, that’s just something that happens in ski racing.  The bottom line is the Buffs showed improvement throughout the season and from all accounts, the program is going in the right direction.

… Continue reading story here …

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March 11th

… Citius, Altius, Fortius … 

Buffs fall out of contention for national championship in Day Three at NCAA championships

From the Daily Camera … In the first three years of her college career, Kaitlyn Harsch was one of the better alpine skiers for Colorado, but not quite to the point of being among the top three representing the Buffaloes at the NCAA championships.

This year, Harsch not only broke into CU’s top three but capped her career as one of the best in the nation.

On Friday at the NCAA ski championships at Park City Resort, Harsch posted an eighth-place finish in the women’s slalom, earning second-team All-American honors in the final race of her collegiate career.

“Honestly, I could not have asked for a better ending to my career,” said Harsch, who grew up in Vail. “I surprised myself honestly. I was not even expecting how well I did first run and then I did even better second run. I’m ecstatic. This day, it’s just sunny and beautiful out here and I couldn’t have asked for a better wrap up for my career, for sure.”

Overall, it was not a great day for the Buffs as a team, as they dropped from second to fourth in the standings. Two-time defending champion Utah is the leader, with 405 points, followed by Vermont (377.5), Denver (372.5) and Colorado (368). CU is still in contention for the title heading into Saturday’s Nordic freestyle races.

… Continue reading story here …

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March 10th

… Citius, Altius, Fortius … 

Two CU skiers claim individual national titles; Buffs in second at midway point of NCAA championships

From the Daily Camera … After four years and some close losses, Filip Forejtek finally got his national title.

Magdalena Luczak got hers on the first try, but it took a whirlwind journey to get there.

On Thursday, the Colorado ski team added two more individual champions to its remarkable history and put itself in a position to contend for the team title over the weekend.

CU is in second place at the mid-point of the NCAA championships. Two-time defending champion Utah has the lead, with 286.5 points, followed by CU (262) and Denver (249). The championships resume with slalom races on Friday and the Nordic freestyle races on Saturday.

The Buffs got the weekend off to a good start with Forejtek and Luczak winning titles in the giant slalom at Park City Resort. In its history, CU has had 100 individual NCAA championships – the first team to reach that mark.

A senior, Forejtek was runner-up in GS in 2020, losing by .02 of a second, and in slalom last year, losing by .06 of a second. This time, he completed his two runs in 1 minute, 57.41 seconds, winning by .73.

“I had a decent first run,” he said. “I know I still can go faster and just push much more and I was able to get it together for the second run. I can’t name a specific reason, but I just had a really good run.”

The only disappointment for Forejtek was in seeing sophomore Louis Fausa lose a ski on his second run, making him unable to finish and score points. Fausa had the fifth-best time through the first run.

… Continue reading story here …

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March 7th

… Citius, Altius, Fortius …

Jenny Simpson to be inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor

Press release from CUBuffs.com … The Pac-12 Conference today announced the 2022 class to be inducted into the Pac-12 Hall of Honor, the Conference’s most prestigious recognition of the greatest on and off-field contributors to Pac-12 athletics.

Colorado’s Jenny Simpson, formerly Barringer, is the Buffaloes’ representative in the 12-person class. A member of the cross country/track & field teams from 2005-09, Simpson is one of the most decorated athletes in CU history.

Simpson won four NCAA championships, three in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and one in the indoor 3,000, during her collegiate career. She broke six NCAA records and seven school records in 2009 alone, several of which still stand today, including the 5,000-meter record. Simpson is still the only woman to post under four minutes (3:59.89) in the 1,500 in NCAA history, which she ran at the prestigious Prefontaine Classic, finishing second to Ethiopia’s Gelete Burka by 0.01 seconds. She was the only collegiate athlete in the race.

While competing collegiately, she also enjoyed success on the international stage, mostly in the steeplechase, making two world teams and competing at the Olympic Games in 2008. Following graduation, she was named the inaugural winner of the Bowerman Award and was later named the recipient of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Award.

She won the 2011 World Championship in the 1,500 and was the silver medalist in 2013 and 2017. Simpson captured an Olympic medal in 2016 when she won the bronze medal in the 1,500 in Rio. Simpson has won a total of nine USA track championships.

The other members of the 2022 Pac-12 Hall of Honor class are: Tanya Hughes (Arizona), Curley Culp (Arizona State), Layshia Clarendon (California), English Gardner (Oregon), Steven Jackson (Oregon State), Tony Azevedo (Stanford), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (UCLA), John Naber (USC), Tom Chambers (Utah), Tina Frimpong Ellertson (Washington) and Drew Bledsoe (Washington State).

Formal induction to the Pac-12 Hall of Honor will take place on Friday, March 11 during a private ceremony prior to the semifinals of the 2022 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament, presented by New York Life. Following induction, the class will be honored during a special halftime ceremony of the day’s first semifinal matchup at T-Mobile Arena.

Tickets for the 2022 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament are available at Pac-12.com/tickets.

The 2022 Hall of Honor class will be the 20th since its creation in 2002, and the fourth to feature legendary figures from an array of sports after the Pac-12 expanded the field to be inclusive of the broad-based athletics success across the Conference of Champions® history. Following a hiatus in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 class returns the annual recognition as a new inductee from each Pac-12 university is welcome into the Hall of Honor.

“The Pac-12 is honored to recognize the accomplishments of 12 incredible women and men who represent the very best of the Conference of Champions, on and off the fields of play,” said Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff.  “From Olympic gold medalists to Super Bowl champions to NBA All-Stars to WNBA veterans to, of course, collegiate champions, our honorees continue a showcase of our league’s rich tradition of champions.”

Since Colorado joined the Pac-12 Conference, the following former Buffs have been added to the Pac-12 Hall of Honor:
Burdette Haldorson, 2012 (basketball)
Cliff Meely, 2013 (basketball)
Ken Charlton, 2014 (basketball)
Jim Davis, 2015 (basketball)
Scott Wedman, 2016 (basketball)
Chauncey Billups, 2017 (basketball)
Bill Toomey, 2018 (track & field)
Lisa Van Goor, 2019 (basketball)
Bill Marolt, 2020 (skiing; administrator)

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Undefeated CU women’s lacrosse team breaks into both national polls

Press release from CUBuffs.com … For the first time this season, the Colorado lacrosse team has found itself ranked in both lacrosse polls. The Buffaloes are 23rd in the IL Women/IWLCA Division I and 19th in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Polls.

The Buffs have received votes in both polls for the last three weeks but finally broke into the rankings after upsetting then-No. 16 Vanderbilt, 18-11, on March 4 in Boulder. CU finished the weekend sweep and improved to 5-0 with a win against UC Davis (17-13) on March 6. This is the second-best start in program history for the Buffs. The best start was in 2017 when CU started 11-0.

Boston College is the top team in both polls this week and North Carolina is second in both as well. Both have recorded 6-0 starts this year.

Colorado is one of two Pac-12 teams in the IL Women/IWLCA Poll this week as Southern California (3-0) is ranked 17th while Stanford (1-4) is receiving votes. The Trojans are also 17th in the USA Lacrosse Magazine Poll.

IWLCA Division I Coaches Poll

Receiving Votes: UConn, Penn, Stanford, Yale, Harvard

USA Lacrosse Magazine Poll

Also considered (alphabetical order): Drexel (3-2), James Madison (3-2), Navy (5-1), Temple (5-1), UConn (4-1), Vanderbilt (3-2)
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February 11th

… Citius, Altius, Fortius … 

Friday Olympic results for three more Buffs

From CUBuffs.com … Three former Buffs were in competition Friday in Beijing at the XIV Winter Olympic Games and all had impressive showings. Taylor Gold competed in the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe Final, Alvar Alev raced in the Men’s 15km Classic in Cross Country Skiing and Joanne Reid was on display in the Women’s 7.5km Sprint in Biathlon.

Gold threw down his best run on his first attempt in the Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe Final, boasting a score of 81.75, which ended up being his final score as he finished in fifth place. His score of 81.75 was the best among the competitors after the first round, however, on his two ensuing runs, Gold recorded scores of 25 and 20 after slipping on a pair of landings.

The Steamboat Springs, Colo. local is in his second Olympic Games representing Team USA. In his first Olympic outing in 2014 in Sochi, Gold failed to qualify for the Men’s Halfpipe Final, finishing in 14th in qualifying. His sister, Arielle Gold, is also a two-time Olympian and former CU student and won the bronze medal in 2018 in the Snowboard Halfpipe, the same discipline Taylor competed in.

With his solid fifth place finish in the Men’s Halfpipe Final, Gold has concluded his time at the XIV Winter Games and will not compete in any more events.

Alev was the second former Buff to compete as he represented Estonia in the Men’s 15km Classic in Cross Country Skiing. The 28-year-old finished in 35th place with a time of 41:12.5 and was the top Estonian finisher in the race. Alev got off to a hot start and was 17th at the 3 km mark at 8:34.4 before faltering down to 35th by the end of the race.

The 35th place finish is the highest for Alev in Olympic or World Cup competition. Competing in his first Olympic Games, Alev has finished as high as 41st in the 15 km Classic in World Cup racing when he did so on Dec. 12, 2021 in Davos, Switzerland.

The Estonian skied for Colorado from 2018-19 and was a three-time All-American, including two first-team honors, and was named All-RMISA twice, as well. He won three races in his two years. He placed second in the freestyle race at the 2018 NCAA Championships and fourth in the classic at the 2019 NCAA Championships.

Alev is next expected to compete in the Men’s 4x10k Relay event in Cross Country Skiing on Sunday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m. local China time which is 12 a.m. MT. on Sunday Feb. 13 in Boulder.

The final Buff to compete Friday in Beijing was Joanne Reid. Competing in her second event at the XIV Winter Olympic Games for Team USA, Reid took part in the Women’s 7.5 km Sprint in Biathlon Friday and finished in 34th place in a field of 89 with a time of 22:54.9. Reid nailed all five of her shots at the first shooting portion of the race and jumped all the way into the top 30. Going into the second shooting spot, Reid was in 27th, but two misses caused her to conduct two 150m penalty laps, and she dropped to 38th coming out of the shots before moving back up to 34th where she finished.

The 29-year-old competed in this event at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, finishing in 86th.

Reid skied for the Buffs from 2010-13 and earned seven All-America honors and four All-RMISA accolades. She was an Individual NCAA Champion in 2013 in the freestyle discipline and helped the Buffs to two team NCAA Championships in her four years at CU. After completing her master’s degree at CU, she turned her attention to Biathlon and has competed in the Biathlon World Cup since 2015.

Reid will next race in the Women’s 10K Pursuit on Sunday Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. local China time (2 a.m. MT. on Sunday Feb. 13), where she will be in bib 34 for Team USA.

Petra Hyncicova will compete for the Czech Republic and Weronika Kaleta will represent Poland in the Women’s 4x5K Relay in Cross Country Skiing on Saturday, Feb 12 at 3:30 p.m. Beijing time (12:30 a.m. MT. on Saturday Feb. 12).  Kaleta will be the third leg off the Poland team in bib 12-3 and Hyncicova will be the fourth and final leg for the Czech Republic team wearing bib 8-4.

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February 10th

… Citius, Altius, Fortius … 

Three more Buffs see action in Winter Olympics 

From CUBuffs.com … On Wednesday morning in Beijing former Buff, Taylor Gold, and current Buff, Stacy Gaskill, kicked off their Olympic Games in Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe and Women’s Snowboard Cross, respectively. CU Freshman Magdalena Luczak also took part in her second event at Beijing 2022 in Women’s Slalom here at the XIV Winter Games.

Gold has successfully qualified for the Olympic Men’s Halfpipe Finals, after finishing only 2 spots short in the 2014 qualifiers. His first score of 81.25 was the fourth best amongst the field for run 1. On his second run he scored an 83.50, which was the sixth best score in the field. Gold will begin the Finals in 7th place, with a total qualifying score of 83.50.

Gaskill impressively advanced all the way to the semifinal round in the Women’s Snowboard Cross. Her seeding run earned her a top 4 spot in the finals bracket with a time of 1:23.14. In the 1/8 Final she placed first in her heat. Then in the Quarterfinal she placed second, advancing her to the Semifinals. She finished the Semifinal race fourth in her heat, meaning she would not go on to the Finals.  She then finished second in the Small Final. As the only non-medal winner in her semifinal, overall it was a very impressive Olympic debut for Stacy Gaskill.

Luczak unfortunately did not finish her first run of the Woman’s Slalom.

Gold is making his second Olympic appearance for Team USA, the first coming in 2014.  His sister, Arielle Gold, is also a two-time Olympian, former CU student, and won the bronze medal in 2018 for the Snowboard Halfpipe, the same discipline Taylor competes in. Gold finished 14th in Snowboard Half Pipe in 2014 at the Olympics and he has been competing internationally since 2011.

Gaskill is a current CU Student and has been competing in Snowboard Cross since she was 8 years old. She finished 11th in last season’s Snowboard Cross World Cup and 6th in the Snowboard Cross World Championships last February. She is also a member of the U.S. National Ultimate Frisbee team.

A native of Lodz, Poland, Luczak is a freshman at CU in the Leeds School of Business.  She has spent most of this ski season in Europe competing on the World Cup and Europa Cup circuits.  She finished 20th in the World Cup GS race in Courchevel in December and at the 2021 World Championships last spring, she finished 19th in the GS race.

Gold advances to the Halfpipe Finals on Friday and Gaskill is slated to compete in the Mixed Team Cross Saturday.

The next #OlympicBuffs to compete in Beijing will be Petra Hyncicova Thursday in the Women’s 10K Classic race.  Action will begin at 3 p.m. Beijing time, which is midnight Wednesday night/Thursday morning Mountain Time.

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February 6th

… Citius, Altius, Fortius … 

Alvar Alev makes his Olympic debut in 15K Skiathon

From CUBuffs.com … Alvar Alev has officially competed in the Olympics.  The former Colorado Buffaloes Ski Team member finished an impressive 33rd place finish in the men’s 15K/15K Skiathlon here Sunday at the XIV Winter Olympic Games.

Alev started in 56th place and finished 33rd, moving up some 23 spots.  After things settled out of the gates, he had his strongest push early in the race, moving up to 51st by the first intermediate time check at 1.3K, then the next 2.5K he really made his move, going into 40th at the 2.5K mark and then into 33rd at the 3.8K mark.  At that point, he was essentially in the lead pack just 7.5 seconds behind the race leader.  He moved down to 41st at the 5.1K mark and then back to 36th by the 6.3K mark.  From that point on, he found his rhythm and stayed between 33rd and 37th the rest of the 30K race.

Alev was the top Estonian finisher in the race, and it’s his best finish at the world’s top level.  He skied one skiathlon race last season on the World Cup level, finishing 54th, and also finished 50th in a World Cup skiathlon in 2017.  He finished in the top five in two Estonia National Championship skiathlon races, taking fifth in 2016 and finishing as the runner-up in 2018.

Alev skied for Colorado from 2018-19 and was a three-time All-American, including two first-team honors, and was named All-RMISA twice, as well.  He won three races in his two years.  He placed second in the freestyle race at the 2018 NCAA Championships and fourth in the classic at the 2019 NCAA Championships.

He isn’t expected to compete in the Classic sprint races this week and is next expected to race in the Men’s 15K Classic race on Friday (Feb. 11).

Three Buffs are scheduled to open their Olympic games Monday within alpine and biathlon action.  The women’s GS race will feature CU freshman Magdalena Luczak and Cass Gray, who was a freshman last season and took this season off to make her Olympic push.  In biathlon, former Buff Joanne Reid will open her second Olympic games in the women’s 15K individual race.

With Sunday’s men’s Downhill postponed until Monday, that will affect the starting times a bit for the women’s GS, which is now slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. Beijing time, which is Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. MT.  The second run of women’s GS will start at 2:30 p.m. Beijing time/11:30 p.m. MT on Sunday night.  The Biathlon will begin at 5 p.m. Beijing Time Monday which is 2 a.m. early Monday morning MT.

In the women’s GS, Luczak will be starting in bib 39 and Gray in bib 46. Reid will wear bib 83 and in the interval start race is scheduled to start her race at 2:41:30 a.m. MT.

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February 5th

… Citius, Altius, Fortius … 

Petra Hyncicova the first Buff to compete in the Beijing Olympics

From CUBuffs.com … Petra Hyncicova was the first CU athlete to compete in Beijing for the XIV Winter Olympic Games, taking part in the women’s 7.5k/7.5k skiathlon just hours after the Opening Ceremonies took place.

Hyncicova finished 26th in the race after having a starting bib of 49, essentially moving up 23 spots in an impressive showing.  Skiathlon is essentially two races back to back, a 15K race the first half, or 7.5K of which is in the classical discipline and the second half of which is the freestyle discipline.

Hyncicova started strong, immediately moving up to 39th place by the first split at the 1.3K mark.  She was especially impressive the between the 2.5K and 3.8K of each loop, twice having the 18th fastest mark in that sector.  She had moved has high as 22nd place at one point in the Classical portion of the race and at the split between classical and freestyle, she was in 27th.   She essentially held that position the second half of the race.

Hyncicova’s 26th place finish is 21 spots better than she finished in 2018, taking 47th in the Skiathlon in PeyongChange.  Those are the only two world-level finishes in Skiathlon for Hyncicova.  She took 22nd in the U23 World Championships in 2017, and 25th in the World Junior Championships in 2014.

Hyncicova skied for Colorado from 2015-18, sweeping the two individual NCAA Championship races in 2017 and picking up seven All-America honors out of a possible eight such honors.

Hyncicova is next expected to participate in the classic sprint races on Tuesday, Feb. 8.  Those races will take place 4-8 p.m. locally in China and in the early AM hours of Feb. 8, 1-4 a.m. MT.

The next CU skier participating in Bejing is Alvar Alev, who will participate in the men’s 15k/15k skiathlon Sunday.  His race begins at 3 p.m. in China, or midnight tonight mountain time.

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January 27th 

… Citius, Altius, Fortius … 

CU will have seven present and former Buffs competing in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics

From CUBuffs.com … Seven athletes connected with the University of Colorado Boulder, including six that are or were members of the Colorado Buffaloes Ski Team, will head to Beijing to represent five countries in the XXIV Olympic Winter Games from February 4-20, 2022.

Current Buffs Weonika Kaleta (Poland, Cross Country Skiing) and Magdalena Luczak (Poland, Alpine Skiing), along with Cass Gray (Canada, Alpine Skiing), who is taking a year off from CU to make her Olympic push, represent the ninth, 10th and 11th skiers in CU history to go to the Olympics as active members of the CU ski team or taking that season off to compete in the Olympics before returning to CU.

Another one of those 11 is Petra Hyncicova, who is returning to the Olympics in 2022 after representing the Czech Republic in Cross Country Skiing in 2018 in Beijing, her senior season at CU.  Hyncicova is one of three former Buffs competing in their second Winter Olympics along with Joanne Reid (USA, Biathlon), who also competed in 2018 in PeyongChang, and Taylor Gold (USA, Snowboard Half Pipe), a non-varsity athlete that also competed in 2014 in Sochi.

Joining the list of first-time Olympic Buffs alongside Gray, Kaleta and Luczak is Alvar Alev, who will compete in Cross Country Skiing for Estonia.

With six of the seven having competed for the CU Ski Team, that brings the number of Olympians for the program to 36 athletes that have competed in 49 Olympic games.  Overall, CU Boulder now has 109 Olympic athletes making 162 appearances overall and 63 Olympic athletes making 96 appearances in the Winter Olympics.

Brief Bios

Alvar Alev is making his first Olympic appearance for Estonia and will compete in Cross Country Skiing in Beijing.  A native of Parnu, Estonia, he graduated from CU with a degree in Ethnic Studies.  He skied for the Buffs for two seasons in 2018-19 and was a three-time All-American and two-time All-RMISA selection and won the team’s Lucie Hanusova Award his first season.  He was a finalist for CU Male Career Athletic Achievement for the 2019 CUSPYs despite only competing for two seasons with the Buffs.

Taylor Gold is making his second Olympic appearance for Team USA, the first coming in 2014.  His sister, Arielle Gold, is also a two-time Olympian, former CU student and won the bronze medal in 2018 in the Snowboard Halfpipe, the same discipline Taylor will be competing in in Beijing.  Gold finished 14th in Snowboard Half Pipe in 2014 at the Olympics and he has been competing internationally since 2011.

Cass Gray is making her first Olympic appearance for Canada and will compete in Alpine Skiing in Beijing.  A native of Panorama, British Columbia, she is studying Integrative Physiology at Colorado. She is taking the season off for her Olympic push.  A freshman on last year’s team, she split her time between Team Canada and the Buffs, but nonetheless made a big impact winning the Individual National Championship and picking up first-team All-America honors in the process.  She was named the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame Collegiate Skier of the Year and won CU’s CUSPY for Female Freshman of the Year.

Petra Hyncicova is making her second Olympic appearance for the Czech Republic in Cross Country Skiing in Beijing.  A native of Liberec, Czech Republic, she graduated from CU with both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Integrative Physiology.  She skied for the Buffs form 2015-18 and won two Individual National Championships, sweeping the races at the 2017 NCAA Championships.  A seven-time All-American, she won seven races at CU, was named the 2017 RMISA Skier of the Year and won CUSPY’s both for Female Athlete of the Year and Female Career Athletic Achievement.  Her 2018 Olympic appearance came her senior season at CU.  Since leaving CU, she has made more than 50 starts on the World Cup and competed in two other World Championship events.

Weronika Kaleta will make her first Olympic appearance for Poland in Cross Country Skiing in Beijing.  A native of Kasina Weilka, Poland, she is earning degrees in both Mathematics and Psychology at Colorado.  She is in her sophomore season with the Buffs and as a freshman, she earned All-America honors and won CU’s Outstanding Nordic Woman award.  This season she has competed in four races for the Buffs before heading to the Olympics with two top five finishes and one podium appearance.   Between semesters, she was in Europe competing on the World Cup qualifying for the Olympics.

Magdalena Luczak will make her first Olympic appearance for Poland in Alpine Skiing in Beijing.  A native of Lodz, Poland, she is a freshman at CU in the Leeds School of Business.  She has spent a majority of this ski season in Europe competing on the World Cup and Europa Cup circuits.  She finished 20th in the World Cup GS race in Courchevel in December and at the 2021 World Championships last spring, she finished 19th in the GS race.

Joanne Reid will make her second Olympic appearance for the United States in Biathlon in Beijing.  Born in Madison, Wis., she grew up in Palo Alto, Calif., and now resides in Grand Junction, Colo., and she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a Master’s degree in Engineering – Technology, Media and Society at Colorado.  She skied for the Buffs from 2010-13 and earned seven All-America honors and four all-RMISA accolades.  She was an Individual NCAA Champion in 2013 in the freestyle discipline and helped the Buffs to two team NCAA Championships in her four years.  After getting her Master’s at CU, she turned her attention to Biathlon and has competed on the Biathlon World Cup since 2015.  She and Team USA are coming into the Olympics strong, fresh off a fifth place finish on the World Cup in the women’s relay, one of the first top five finishes for Team USA in a World Level competition in a long time.

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Olympic Schedule … 

• Opening Ceremonies – Feb. 4
• Alpine Skiing – Feb. 6-11, 13, 15-17, 19
• Nordic Skiing – Feb. 5-6, 8, 10-13, 16, 19-20
• Biathlon – Feb. 5, 7-8, 11-13, 15-16, 18-19
• Snowboard – Feb. 5-12, 14-15
• Closing Ceremonies – Feb. 20

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CU Winter Olympic Notes … 

• The addition of Alev, Gray, Kaleta and Luczak all competing in their first Olympics brings CU Olympics count to:
  • 36 Winter Olympians that were members of the CU Ski Team
  • 63 Winter Olympians by current CU students or alumni
  • 109 Olympians by current CU students or alumni
• With Gold, Hyncicova and Reid all competing in their second Olympics, along with the four above, that brings CU Olympics count to:
  • 49 Olympic appearances by members of the CU Ski Team
  • 12 members of the CU Ski Team with multiple Olympic appearances
  • 96 Winter Olympic appearances by current CU students or alumni
  • 25 current CU students or alumni who have made multiple Olympic appearances
  • 162 Olympic appearances by current CU students or alumni
• The Beijing 2022 Olympics will be just the second time three “current” Buffs will go to the Winter Olympics since 1964 when Bill Marolt and Jimmie Heuga for alpine and Mike Gallagher for Nordic all competed.  All three took the 1964 season off, but competed for the Buffs in both 1963 and ’65.
• Other active members of the CU Ski Team to compete in the Olympics alongside Gray, Kaleta, Luczak from 2022 and Gallagher, Heuga and Marolt from 1964 were John Dendahl, Nordic skiing in 1960, Ron Yeager, Nordic skiing in 1972, Ondrej Valenta, Nordic skiing in 1998 and Tahir Bisic, alpine skiing in 2002.
• CU has had current student or alumni representation at every Winter Olympics since 1988, or 10 straight Winter Games, and dating back to 1960, representation in 16 of the past 17 Winter Olympics.
• Gray (Canada), Kaleta and Luczak (Poland), and Alev (Estonia) are the first current or former Buffs to represent their countries at the Olympics, brining the CU total to 22 countries represented by Olympians.
• Gold and Reid will bring the total to 128 Olympic appearances for the Buffs for Team USA.
• Hyncicova representing the Czech Republic will bring the total to seven Olympic appearances for Buffs, the second most behind Team USA. ti

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This post, about the Spring/Summer game, from the 2022 Season, is filed under Article.
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