Head coach Mike MacIntyre’s first Rocky Mountain Showdown leading the CU football team ended on a high note on Sunday as the Buffaloes ran away with a 41-27 victory over the CSU Rams under junior quarterback Connor Wood.

MacIntyre considered the game a great success for the team.

“They just kept fighting and playing through it,” he said. “I was really impressed with what they did and their resilience. They fought tremendously.”

After CSU punted from its own 49-yard line at the 13:26 mark in the first quarter, CU monopolized quickly on offense. 45 seconds and two plays later, the Buffs scored with an 82-yard pass by Wood to junior wide receiver Paul Richardson, bringing the score to 7-0. The play was recorded as the second longest pass in the season opener and the sixth longest overall in Colorado football history.

CSU’s offense continued to struggle against the Buff’s defense throughout the majority of the first half, only getting within 21 yards of a touchdown during the next two possessions.

The Buffs got the ball back with seven minutes left in the half and used the next 6:24 to move the ball to the Colorado State five-yard line.

The Buffs moved the ball well, rushing and passing as Wood spread the field with plenty of throwing options. They were forced to resort to a field goal on a fourth down at the five-yard line with just over 30 seconds left in the quarter. Junior kicker Will Oliver completed the 22-yard field goal to bring the score to 10-0, Colorado.

Colorado State was only able to fit two more plays in the first quarter, but their quarterback, Garrett Grayson, managed to get them to Colorado’s 27-yard line before time expired with a 40-yard pass to Joe Hansley.

The Rams opened up the second quarter close to the end zone, but CU’s defense held them off and forced them to a field goal. Jared Roberts completed the 39-yard field goal to get the Rams on the board and bring the score to 10-3.

The Buffs ended a four-possession dry spell for both teams with an 18-yard pass to junior wide receiver D.D. Goodson for a touchdown. CU led 17-3 with just under three minutes left in the half.

CSU wouldn’t back down, scoring on their next possession with a seven-yard Kapri Bibbs rush. They closed the gap to 17-10.

CU managed to move the ball to the 24-yard line in the last minute of the half, giving Oliver the chance to try a 41-yard field goal. He made it, bringing the score 20-10.

The Rams worked quickly at the start of the second half with a 74-yard touchdown by Hansley on their first possession. This pivotal play brought the score to 20-17, CU still leading.

CU had the next opportunity to score when Oliver completed a 44-yard field goal with five minutes left in the quarter; 23-17, Buffs.

CSU responded two plays later with a touchdown following an 84-yard punt return, giving CSU its first and only lead of the game, 24-23. The quarter ended two possessions later.

The Buffs regained possession at the start of the fourth, which ended with a career-high 52-yard field goal by Oliver to bring the score to 26-24.

On CSU’s next possession, Hansley committed a fatal error by fumbling a pass, which was recovered for a touchdown by junior Greg Henderson, giving CU a 33-24 edge over the Rams.

The Rams attempted to close the gap with a 30-yard field goal by Roberts with just under four minutes left, but they could not overcome CU’s lead as it grew larger.

In the first play of the next possession, Wood completed a 75-yard pass to Richardson for another touchdown. Wood and Goodson combined to complete the two-point conversion, bringing the final score to 41-27.

“We were preparing all week and hearing things, and to finally come through with a victory is a great feeling,” freshman offensive linebacker Addison Gillam said.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.

With last season’s starting quarterback, Jordan Webb, benched for the 2013 season with a torn ACL, CU announced Monday morning that  Connor Wood will start against rival CSU on Sunday.

Junior quarterback Connor Wood throws a pass during the homecoming game against Stanford on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. (Kai Casey/CU Independent File)

Although Wood played in only seven games in the 2012 season, when he threw one touchdown and four interceptions, he stands as the only quarterback on the roster with a notable amount of college playing time.  Most of his time on the field last season resulted as an attempt to clean up the mess left after the first few quarters.

In the 2013 offseason, however, Wood impressed CU’s new offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren and far surpassed expectations. CU’s coaches named him the recipient of the Eddie Crowder Award for his leadership in spring practice and his teammates made him one of their six captains.

Wood’s closest competition for the starting position ahead of the season opener on Sunday is freshman Sefo Liufau. Despite never playing at the collegiate level, Liufau is a true athlete who can catch and throw exceptionally well.

However, a true freshman has never started the season for a Colorado team, and this season won’t be the first. Wood will take the field against CSU on Sunday, but there’s no doubt Buffs fans will see Liufau later in the season. 

Contact Staff Writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.

Opinions herein do not represent the staff of CU Independent or any of its sponsors.

The Buffs will be just fine without Andre Roberson, but I’m not sure how he will be without the buffs.

Roberson announced Sunday he will forgo his senior year to declare for the NBA draft.

Since his freshman year at CU, Roberson has dominated defense as a top rebounder in not just Pac-12, but in the country. He was a key component to the team in that respect.

As a fan of Colorado basketball, I must admit that I was heartbroken by his decision. He will be leaving the Buffs and may also have ended his basketball career in doing so.

Sure, he was easily CU’s best defender and one of the better players in the Pac-12, but he hasn’t matured enough offensively. He only averaged 10.9 points per game at CU, which may seem like a lot until you compare to some of the other NBA hopefuls.

Michigan guard Trey Burke averaged 18.9 ppg, Duke guard Seth Curry averaged 17.5 and California guard Allen Crabbe averaged 18.4. Roberson would not be able to match up to these guys offensively if he went to the pros.

I will admit that we saw him pick up his offensive game near the end of the season this year, but I am not yet convinced it will it be enough for a team to draft him.

If he decided to stay another year, he would have had the chance to round out his offensive game and ultimately make himself a more sought-after draft candidate.

Out of several polls taken by top-notch sports sources, ESPN.com and CBSSports.com projected Roberson as the 54th pick overall. DraftExpress.com and HoopsWorld.com ranked him at 57. These projections are not the most satisfactory when you consider that only 60 college players are drafted into the NBA.

I believe that if he stayed one more year, he could have easily been a first-round pick in the 2014 draft.

As far as the Buffs go, I’m not worried about their performance without Roberson next year. They will still have Spencer Dinwiddie, Askia Booker and Josh Scott, not to mention the now active redshirt freshmen Chris Jenkins and Wesley Gordon.  From what I’ve heard from Head Coach Boyle and several of the players, Jenkins and Gordon two will add a lot to the team next year as defenders and shooters.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.

The track and field indoor season got off to a fast start at the University of Colorado during the team’s first meet at the Potts Indoor Invite. Sophomore Mark Jones, senior Matthew Biegner and senior Brianne Beemer all took first place in their respective competitions.

The Buffs performance picked up even more a week later at the Air Force Academy Invitational as sophomore Eileen Gehring took home two crowns along with victories from senior Aric Vanhalen, junior Jana Stolting and Jones.

Then freshman sprinter Eileen Gehring crosses the finish line in the women’s 100-meter dash in this file photo from Saturday, March 17, 2012 at Potts Field in Boulder, Colo. (Robert R. Denton/CU Independent File)

At the Tyson Invitational on February 8, senior Joe Morris tied the NCAA 60-meter dash record with a time of 6.57 seconds.

“The 6.57 was the highlight for me.” Morris said. “It just happened, and when it happened I thought that goal was a checkmark.”

Morris defined this achievement as the shining moment of his senior season at CU in an interview with the CU Independent.

The Buffs continued dominating the races as Gehring, sophomore Lindsy Mattson, Beemer and sophomore Bridget Sweeney powered past their competition at the Air Force Team Challenge to break the CU school record in the 4 x 400-meter relay with a time of 3:43.42.

The Buffs didn’t stop there;  Morris won four races in the next two meets and redshirt freshman Abrianna Torres broke two school records in the women’s pentathlon at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships. She threw 41 feet 7 inches shot put and jumped 19 feet 08.25 inches. in the long jump to break the records.

The outdoor season started off with a bang at the Jerry Quiller Classic as Jones won the men’s high jump, Beemer won the women’s 400-meter hurdle, the women won their 4 x 100-meter relay, and senior Emily Hunsucker won the women’s hammer throw.

In addition to these victories, the women completed a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200-meter dash with Gehring in first, Mattson in second and Sweeney in third.

After the first week of the outdoor season, Hunsucker earned the Pac-12 Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week award after her 195 feet 10 inches hammer throw set a personal record and put her in second in CU school history.

Two weeks later, Hunsucker outdid herself by setting the new school hammer throw record with a 197 feet 8 inches throw at the Fum McGraw Quadrangular.  By doing so, she earned her second Pac-12 Conference Female Field Athlete of the Week honor after winning the competition by nearly 17 feet.

Sophomore Kelsey English, Torres, Gehring and the women’s relay all won in their respective events to add to CU’s victories at the Quadrangular.

At the Jim Click meet, Torres became a part of CU history when she broke the shot put record with a 42 feet 7 inches throw.

The Buffs dominated the Colorado Invitational two weeks later thanks to standup performances by junior Shaw Gifford, junior Tyler Baker, sophomore Blake Theroux, junior Brian Owens, Hunsucker and the women’s 4 x 100-meter relay, who all won in their individual competitions. On top of the numerous first place finishes, Colorado athletes placed in the top three in 15 events.

After competing well in the Colorado Invitational on April 16, Morris received the Pac-12 Men’s Track Athlete of the Week honor. Although he finished second in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes, both times were recorded in the top five finishes in Pac-12 conference history.

At the Mt. SAC relays just two days later, the Buffs continued to dominated the races and made school history in the process.  Morris took first in the men’s 100-meter dash with a 10.33-second time and freshman Carrie Verndon joined him with a women’s 5000-meter run victory (16:14.58).  Hunsucker added to these victories with another school record in the hammer with a 200 feet 3 inches throw.

Gehring made Colorado track and field history after breaking school records in the 200-meter (23.80 seconds) and the 400-meter dashes (53.23).

“That 200 record has seemed so close for a long time so I was really happy to get that one,” Gehring said.  ”The 400 is exciting because that race is really coming around for me so I’m excited to see if I can get 52 (seconds) this year.”

Not only did Gehring break records in the 200 and 400, but she also won the 4 x 400 meter relay with teammates Mattson, Beemer and Sweeney.  The women broke their previous record from earlier in the season with 3:38.17.

Gehring believes that her team’s performance in this race will be the highlight of the season.

“I  think individually, if our 4 x 400 made it to nationals this year, that would be my biggest accomplishment,” said Gehring.

Colorado’s domination continued at the Jack Christiansen Invite near the end of the season as Hunsucker, Gifford and English each won their individual events.  The hammer throw victory was Hunsucker’s fifth of the season.

English believes that setting a new personal record was more rewarding than her first-place finish in the women’s high jump.

“It was exciting to win, but I don’t mind coming in second place or so on as long as I am improving from my previous jumps throughout the year,” she said.  ”I think I compete with myself more than I do with the other competitors, and that seems to work for me.  My previous PR was 5-10.”

Morris set new records in the Pac-12 after finishing second in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes with 10:19 and 20:45 times respectively.

The Buffs will return to the track on Friday, May 3 for the Air Force Twilight at the Air Force Academy.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.

After his first three seasons at Colorado, men’s basketball Head Coach Tad Boyle has led the Buffaloes through three consecutive winning seasons with a 69-38 overall record and a 29-23 record in conference play.

Head coach Tad Boyle looks up at the scoreboard during the second half of the Saturday, March 9, 2013 game against the Oregon State Beavers. Boyle has had a very successful career at CU. (Robert R. Denton/CU Independent File)

In his first season in the Big-12 conference, he led the team to the NIT in the postseason. The year after, the Buffaloes moved to the Pac-12 conference, and won the conference championship before making the second rounc of the NCAA tournament. During this past season, he led the Buffs to yet another appearance at the Big Dance.

Boyle’s basketball career began in the early ’80s when he played for the Kansas Jayhawks, where he graduated with a business administration degree in 1985. After college he immediately went to work for a private company, Coke Industries, in Wichita, Kan. He was with them for a year before deciding that he wanted to be a stockbroker and investment adviser.

He returned to his hometown in Greeley, Colo., to pursue this career. Dain Bosworth hired him as a broker, and he worked there for nine years while coaching basketball at Longmont High School on the side.

When Boyle realized that coaching basketball was his true passion, he said he decided that it was time for another career change.

“At the end of the day, when my head hit the pillow at night, I would be thinking about the team I was coaching and the young men that I was coaching,” Boyle said. “I wasn’t thinking about what the stock market was going to do the next day or about where interest rates were headed or the world economy, I was thinking about the young men I was coaching. Boyle said that he realized That gave me the indication that that’s where my heart was, where my passion was:  helping young men.

His college coaching career began at the University of Oregon, where he was an assistant coach for three years.  From there, he spent one year at Tennessee, two years at Jacksonville State University in Alabama and six years at Wichita State.

After Wichita, the University of Northern Colorado offered him a head coaching position. He led the Bears for four years before moving on to the University of Colorado.

“All those stops along the way in assistant coaching positions and head coaching positions have given me a perspective of how special the university of Colorado is and how fortunate I am to be the coach here,” he said.

When he became a father, his outlook on basketball recruiting improved dramatically.

“I became a much better recruiter overnight when I became a father,” he affirmed.  “There’s no question.  I understand what parents go through when they hand their kids off to us as their college coaches.  As a parent, I see the love and the hard work that goes into raising a child, and I’ve got a lot of respect for that.  It comes through in my recruiting because I build relationships with kids and families.”

Off the court, however, Tad Boyle is your average father.  Outside of college basketball, the most important thing to him is his family.

“I spend time with my wife and my three kids as much as I can,” he said. “They’re at that age that they like to do a lot of activities.  I have a son who’s 14 (Jack), a daughter who’s 12 (Claire), and another son who’s 10 (Pete), so I’m really busy with baseball games, basketball games, and volleyball games.”

After the past 19 years as a college coach, his family has grown to love the sport that drives his everyday career.

“Yes, in terms of support and passion and love for the game, they have it,” he confirmed.  “They might not have it to the depth that I have it and to the degree that I have it but certainly, it’s there.”

All of his children play basketball, although Claire and Pete think of it as more of an activity.  Jack, however, is starting to develop a real passion for the game.  As a father, it does not matter to Boyle if his kids have the same passion for the game that he has.

“As a father, all you can ask for as a parent (not just a father or mother), you just want your kids to be passionate about something;  whether that’s basketball or not, I really don’t care.  I just want them to be passionate about something.”

He has many interests outside of basketball, including playing golf, reading, watching Seinfeld reruns late at night, and watching other sports.

He has been a Baltimore Orioles fan since they won the World Series in baseball in 1969.  When it comes to the NBA, he doesn’t have a favorite team but likes to follow the Denver Nuggets and the San Antonio Spurs.  In football, he is a Kansas City Chiefs fan but enjoys watching the Denver Broncos as well.

On Monday night, senior guard Chucky Jeffery was drafted 24th overall in the WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx.

In the 2013 season, Jeffery earned an honorable mention All-American as well as an All-Region nominee in the WBCA Division I Coaches’ team as a part of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

Guard Chucky Jeffery drives through the lane in against Oregon on Feb. 10, 2013. Jeffery was drafted 24th overall in the WNBA draft. (Nate Bruzdzinski/CU Independent File)

In addition to these high honors, the media and the coaches also named her to the All-Pac-12 team for the second year in a row and gave her Pac-12 All-Tournament honors. The coaches also gave her an honorable mention to their All-Defensive team.

Jeffery will leave her legacy behind as the only CU women’s basketball player in history to reach over 16,000 points, 900 rebounds and 400 assists.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.

“This year was an exciting year; it was a good year,” said men’s basketball head coach Tad Boyle.  “This was a good year for Colorado basketball in the sense of one more NCAA tournament.  It was the first time we’ve had back-to-back NCAA tournaments in fifty years, first time post-season play in three straight years ever.  A lot of firsts and some seconds that we’re pretty proud of.”

Xavier Johnson celebrates amongst the crowd after they rushed the court on Thurday, Feb. 14, 2013 at the Coors Events Center. (Kai Casey/CU Independent)

The University of Colorado men’s basketball team took a step backwards from last season, but still managed to make it to the Big Dance despite competing in a tough Pac-12 conference during the 2012-13 season.  They finished the season with a 21-12 record overall and a 10-8 record in conference play.

As a team, the Buffs were No. 1 in Pac-12 conference-only defense and No. 1 in conference 3-point defense.  Although they were not ranked in the top 25 for the majority of the season, the Buffs remained in the top 50 out of 350 basketball programs nationwide.

Sophomore guard Askia Booker carried his team as it powered past Dayton, No. 16 Baylor, and Murray State to start the Buffs season.  Booker considers their road to the Charleston Classic title one of his greatest achievements of the season.

“Murray State at the beginning of the season was probably the best game I’ve had all year,” Booker said.   “There were a lot of ups and downs in the game, we were trailing and leading, and we ended up winning by seven.  Putting the team on my back and leading us to victory was personally pretty sweet.”

“The Charleston Classic was a great way to start out the year, ” senior guard Sabatino Chen added.  ”It was just a good year overall.”

After their success in Charleston, the AP poll ranked the team at No. 23 on Nov. 19.  The Buffs moved up to No. 19 a week later after defeating the Air Force Falcons by a 15-point margin.

By the start of their Pac-12 conference games, the Buffs had reached an incredible 10-2 record, which included a home victory over in-state rival Colorado State.

As the team entered Pac-12 play, however, the level of competition increased significantly and it became more difficult to maintain a winning record within the conference.  The Buffs managed to achieve the feat with an 10-8 record in the Pac-12, but their road to victory was not easy.

The team had to play two ranked teams within the conference (Arizona and Oregon) twice and won an astounding three games out of the four.

The Buffs fell to Arizona in Tucson after a controversial buzzer-beater call sent the game into overtime and gave the Wildcats a chance to outscore them in the last five minutes. This loss motivated Colorado to fight harder against ranked opponents, and in turn led them to win their next two matchups against Arizona and Oregon.

When Arizona visited Boulder over a month later, the Buffs outplayed them for 40 minutes and ran away with a 13-point victory.

Freshman forward Josh Scott believes this Arizona game was the Buffs’ best this season.

“From top to bottom, we just destroyed them,” he said.  “The crowd was there behind us and the energy was there.  Our defense was good, and I don’t think Arizona had an easy possession all game.  When we played Wyoming, I felt like we never got an easy possession off of them, so I felt that’s what we were doing in this game.  It was really cool to beat a top ten team by thirteen.”

The Buffs continued their success against ranked Pac-12 teams when they played Oregon away, and upset them by one point.  They added to their winning streak when they dominated Oregon once more at home without the help of junior forward Andre Roberson.

Chen qualifies the team’s performance during this game as their best of the season.

“From the team standpoint, I’d probably say Oregon at home was our best game because Andre was gone,” he said.  “I played really well that game and everyone stepped up their game with Andre missing, so that stood out.”

Two games later, the Buffs squared off with Oregon State in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament and won in a tight competition, 74-68. Their Pac-12 run ended, however, after the Buffs fell to Arizona in the quarterfinals the next day.

Despite this loss early in the tournament, the NCAA selection committee still gave CU a No. 10 seed in the NCAA tournament.  The Buffs faced off with Illinois, who was seeded at No. 7, and their season ended there because they could not stop the Illini from lighting up behind the arc.

By the end of the season, Andre Roberson earned the Defensive Player of the Year award and was named to the conference first team in the Pac-12 and the All-Defensive team.  Sophomore guard Spencer Dinwiddie was also honored with a place on the conference first team, and Scott earned a spot on the Pac-12 All-Freshmen team.

After the team’s performance this year, Boyle has high hopes for his next season at CU.

“You guys know I’m always trying to minimize and downplay [expectations] as much as possible,” he said. “But as we progress as a program – you go to three straight postseason tournaments and back-to-back NCAAs – just the natural progression is the thinking that each year is going to be bigger and better.”

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.

The University of Colorado women lost a tough battle in Boulder against the Kansas Jayhawks in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday afternoon. The Buffs fell 67-52.

Colorado was seeded No. 5 and Kansas held a No. 12 spot going into the tournament.

Junior guard Ashley Willson makes her way down the court against Washington State in Boulder on Friday, Feb. 22, 2013. On Saturday, the Buffs lost to Kansas in the first round. (Amy Leder/CU Independent)

Junior guard Brittany Wilson carried the Buffs with 11 points, one rebound and a steal. Angel Goodrich led Kansas with 14 rebounds, two rebounds, eight assists and two steals.

Kansas got the early lead with a layup by Carolyn Davis in the first 30 seconds of the first half, but the Buffs quickly responded with a seven-point run to overcome the Jayhawks. Kansas’ Chelsea Gardner cut at the deficit with a two-point jumper two minutes in, but that was not enough to faze Colorado. The Buffs added another seven-point streak before the Jayhawks could score again.

Kansas’ offense lit up after three minutes of play and began their comeback with a three-point jumper by Goodrich. They fought back for the next ten minutes until a two-point basket by Davis tied to the game at 21 with 6:28 remaining. The Jayhawks regained the lead shortly after with a three-point basket by Markisha Hawkins and held on to the lead for the rest of the half.

Colorado fought back during the next four minutes of play, but the Buffs could not score for the remainder of the half after bringing the score to 30-27. Kansas took advantage of their dry spell and scored seven more points, going into the half with a 37-27 lead.

Kansas opened the second half with a 6-0 run over the Buffs, until a pair of free throws by freshman forward Jamee Swan cut their lead back to 14.

Colorado could not overcome Kansas’ lead, which increased to 20 points with 15 minutes left in the game. The Buffs fought back and cut the Jayhawks lead to as little as 15 points with 11 minutes remaining, but Kansas’ lead proved too much for them. They went up by 20 again with nine minutes left, but the Buffs weren’t ready to give up yet.

Colorado cut the deficit to 14 points with five minutes left, but they eventually fell by 15 points (67-52).

Kansas will take on No. 4 seed South Carolina in the second round of the tournament on Mon., March 25 in Boulder.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.

The University of Colorado men’s basketball team played Illinois on Friday in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Austin, Tx, but fell (57-49) despite a large rally to start the second half.

The Buffs were seeded tenth for the tournament, while Illinois got a seventh seed.

Last season, the Buffs rode momentum from a Pac-12 Tournament Championship to take down UNLV in their opening game of March Madness.

Colorado is now 21-12 overall and 10-8 in the Pac-12. Illinois are 23-12 overall and 8-10 in their conference.

Freshman forward Josh Scott led the Buffs with eight points, 14 rebounds, a steal and three blocks. Abrams carried Illinois with 13 points, four rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.

The Buffs ended the first half down by 16 (37-21), the largest lead the Illini had throughout the half. Colorado started the half strong and were up. However, the half had four lead changes and the Illini finished much stronger and continued to increase their lead.

[Show as slideshow]

Colorado played timidly during the first half and only had three offensive rebounds going into the half. Illinois was able to get 12 points from Buffalo turnovers, giving them easy baskets. The Illini started off with the first basket of the game, but the Buffs responded quickly with a free throw by junior forward Andre Roberson to get them on the board. They outscored Illinois 14-11 for the next eight minutes, until a three-point basket by Brandon Paul put the Illini back on top.

At the beginning of the second half, Illinois shot poorly and only scored two points in the first eleven minutes of play. Colorado took advantage of this dry spell and rallied to a 44-39 lead.

Tracy Abrams stepped up for Illinois and scored a layup at the 8:36 minute mark to bring the score to 44-41. The Illini cut at the deficit even more with a free throw by Tyler Griffey and regained the lead shortly after with a three-point jumper by D.J. Richardson.

The score advanced to 46-50 with five minutes left in the game and with Illinois on top. It remained there after a series of turnovers and missed shots on both sides, until Paul made a set of free throws at the 1:06 mark.

Freshman forward Xavier Johnson made a three-point jumper with eighteen seconds left, but it was not enough to compensate for the five free throws that Illinois added to their score. The Illini won the game, 49-57.

Illinois will take on the winner of the No. 2 Miami and No. 15 Pacific in the third round on Sunday, Ma. 24, in Texas.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.

The Colorado Triathlon team is headed to Arizona on Thursday to compete in their regional race. As a team, the Buffs have earned 13 USA Triathlon National Championships since it was founded in 1993. Mike Ricci currently coaches over 120 men and women and has led the team to three straight national titles since 2010.

Student athlete Caryn Maconi attributes these successes to each individual’s own strengths and weaknesses and the support they show each other during the race.

(Courtesy of Caryn Maconi)

“While there is usually an option to participate in a relay, most of us on the CU team competes individually — so we compete in all three events: swim, bike, run,” Maconi explained.  “The distance we compete in for Regionals and Nationals is Olympic, which is a 1.5 km swim in open water, a 40 km bike, and a 10 km run. The great thing about triathlon is that while we have so many great athletes, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses — so I die in the pool but enjoy the run, while others are great swimmers but struggle on land — and we all push each other in all three areas.”

Although the team hasn’t raced in a while, they have been training all winter both indoors and outdoors to keep up with their fitness. The Buffs have a lot of open practices for swimming and running and biking on hills, but they also focus on core work. Senior team workout coordinator and student athlete Veronica Penney explained why they focus their workouts on abdominals.

“It’s something that’s sort of neglected in triathlon because you focus on your legs, cardio, biking and swimming,” Penney said. “You really need to strengthen those ab muscles and back muscles to get the most out of your speed and the most stability.”

She also says that the team should perform well in the competition this weekend given the team’s overall abilities.

“We’re strong all around. We’ll definitely have an advantage with running and biking, coming from altitude and with so many hills here. Training around here gives us that advantage,” she said. “We’re pretty strong across the board, so I don’t know if there’s any one thing we’re excelling in right now.”

Senior Tess Amer, the team’s president, agreed that she thought the team would perform well in the regional race.

“I know that we’ll do well,” Amer said. “We haven’t raced in a while, so it’s always exciting how everyone will do out there.  We’ve won it the past few years so that’s obviously a goal.”

She explained that the conference has grown more competitive, which will push the Buffs to achieve their full potential in the race this week.

“Our conference has grown increasingly competitive as the years have gone on,” she said. “There’s a lot of good teams in Arizona, and I think U of A got second at Nationals last year (behind CU). A lot of our people from conference go on to do well at nationals.”

They will compete in the Collegiate Nationals race in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in April following Thursday’s race.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.