In a sport where each millisecond or centimeter of improvement makes a world of difference, CSU track and field made bounds toward a brighter future this weekend. The men took second place at the Mountain West Indoor Championships, and the women placed fourth.
At this time last year, the men were third and the women, seventh, so each squad performed significantly higher as a team. But the individual achievements are even more indicative of the direction the program is headed.
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Junior Kiah Hicks stole the competition in the weight throw, and placed sixth in the shot put, where her teammates, Jessica Sharbono reigned as champion. The men performed well in the throwing events as well, with Alec Pott taking first place in the weight throw, followed by Ken Harriman.
On the track, senior trailblazer Trevor Brown won his fourth-consecutive conference title in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.77 seconds; tied for his personal best.
In the heptathlon, Justin Green finished first by winning the pole vault and the 60-meter hurdles. He was followed by teammate, Josh Cogdill, who took second.
The distance team proved their worth with the medley relay team of Andrew Goodman, Zach Browning, Alex Balsiger and Jefferson Abbey taking first place.
If the performance of the team continues to improve at the rate it is now, head coach Brian Bedard is confident that the MWC Champions will soon be clad in green and gold.
“I’m really proud of how the ream competed throughout the meet,” said Bedard. “We were ‘Ram tough’ from start to finish. We had highlights in several events today, and our freshmen stepped up, having a huge impact on our team during the meet. Our women are way ahead where they were last year, placing higher in a much tougher Mountain West. The men are very close to winning a title.”
The Rams will take a rest until they head to New Mexico for the NCAA Championships over the weekend of March 14-15.
Collegian Reporter Cali Rastrelli can be reached at sports@collegian.com.
