Colorado moves to 6-1 for the season after beating Harvard on Nov. 24th at the Coors Events Center.
By Jordyn Siemens

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The Buffs fall to an 8-10 record in conference play going into the final two games of the season.
By Jordyn Siemens

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A close home game ended with a steal by Askia Booker in the last 3 seconds that sealed the Buffs’ 76-68 win.
By Jordyn Siemens

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Young Buffs cross country teams — the No. 3-ranked men and No. 5 women — have high hopes for Saturday’s NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana.
By Jordyn Siemens

The post Cross country chases national victory Saturday appeared first on CU Independent.

CU football recorded their first conference win of the season, beating Cal 41-24.
By Jordyn Siemens

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Buffs’ record now falls to 7-7 in conference play

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Men’s team wins, women’s team takes second in Pac-12 Championships in Louisville
By Jordyn Siemens

The post Buffs cross country teams take 1st and 2nd at Pac-12 Championships appeared first on CU Independent.

Recent rain and floods turned the Buffalo Ranch Cross Country Course in Boulder into a muddy challenge on Saturday, but the conditions did not deter the Buffs from another Rocky Mountain Shootout title.

It was the women’s 15^th and the men’s 23^rd consecutive team titles at the Shootout. Both men and women had six runners place in the top 10 of the Division I section.

Junior Blake Theroux won the men’s race with a time of 25:34, barely holding off freshman Ben Saarel, who conquered the eight-kilometer course in 25:35.

“I feel really happy to put my name in (the record books) and up against some people that I really look up to,” Theroux said.

When asked about Saarel, Theroux had nothing but praise.

“(Ben) is the real deal,” he said. “He’s phenomenal, and his kick especially is ferocious. I just laid it all out there at the very end trying to get him at the line.”

On the women’s team, the Buff’s top finishers were sophomores Carrie Verdon, with a time of 20:55, and Catrina McAlister, who came in at 21:59. Although the women’s course only measures 5.8 kilometers compared to the men’s eight, it proved to be just as grueling.

“The footing was really difficult, but I think we managed pretty well,” Verdon said.

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McAlister said she was especially happy about her performance because of the muddy course, caused by the floods.

“I know it’s just the beginning of the season… I have a long way to go but I’m excited to be back up there,” McAlister explained. “This is a good place to be and a good start.”

Head coach Mark Wetmore was also happy with his runners. Aside from the sub-par conditions on the course, he revealed that the recent flooding also compromised many trails that the Buffs use to practice.

“A lot of the places we normally go are either flooded or the roads are closed,” Wetmore said. “We have the dirt roads north of town (and) what are known as the practice football fields at CU.”

The runners have not lost a step, though.

“We couldn’t run on the creek path anywhere because it’s kind of gone, but we just ran on the roads,” Verdon said. “We’ve been putting in some hard miles and training hard.”

Wetmore said the team’s talented freshman women all ran unattached, waiting to make uniform decisions.

“Two of them will go into uniform on Monday, and maybe a third,” Wetmore said about the women’s team.

The men’s team follows the same process, but the competition for a varsity spot is closer this year.

“They run with the greatest recruiting class we’ve ever gotten,” Theroux said. “Looking forward next year, even after I’m gone, those guys are going to be running some very scary times and beating a lot of people.”

The Buffs will run again Oct. 19 at the NCAA Pre-National meet in Terre Haute, Ind.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jordyn Siemens at Jordyn.siemens@colorado.edu.

In the same month she won gold, Mandy Ortiz’s quest for a full recovery from recent hip surgery led the cross country runner to redshirt her freshman year this season at CU.

Coming into her first year with the No. 15 Buffs, Ortiz was expected to be a star. She won gold in the women’s junior division at the 29th World Mountain Running Championship Sept. 8 in Krynica-Zdroj, Poland.

Her time of 22:56 on the 4.65-kilometer course led team USA to score 17 total points. The women’s team placed second overall.

“Going in I was a little nervous…but the race was really great,” she said. “There was a lot of uphill, which is a good strength for me, so I think it fit me well.”

Ortiz’s performance in Poland led to her being named the USA Track and Field Athlete of the Week on September 11, which she said was an honor.

“It was really unexpected, and it just meant a lot to me,” she said.

In the mental world of running, Division 1 collegiate courses prove to be significantly faster, harder, and more taxing on the body than in high school. After running at Battle Mountain High School in Colorado for four years, Ortiz feels that difference, she said, despite her experience with the altitude.

“It’s definitely a lot tougher than high school, but I like it that way,” Ortiz said. “Living in Vail, we ran a lot of mountain courses, and down here a lot of stuff is flat.”

With her strength in mountain running, Ortiz is embracing the chance to run faster courses at CU. The priority of saving energy and conserving oxygen is different without any incline, and for a runner, that mental shift is the key to reaching a new level of racing.

Despite her absence from competitions, Ortiz said she has not missed out on being a part of the Buffs’ cross country team.

“All the girls are supportive of each other and help push each other to become better, rather than compete to beat each other,” she said.

The Buffs’ next meet is at 9 a.m. Saturday here in Boulder at the Rocky Mountain Shootout.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jordyn Siemens at Jordyn.siemens@colorado.edu.