Rams travel for 2018 Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championships

2018 Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Wednesday, May 9; Thursday, May 10; Friday, May 11; Saturday, May 12
Veterans Memorial Stadium | Clovis, Calif.
Hosted by Fresno State
Coverage: Championship Central | Meet Schedule | FloTrack ($) | Live Results

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Colorado State track & field team will travel to Clovis, Calif., for four days of competition, as the Rams compete against conference foes this week at the 2018 Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The meet is slated to be hosted by Fresno State at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Action will begin on Wednesday and will last through Saturday. Colorado State is seeking its fourth MW outdoor title on the women's side (2016, 2015, 2008) and its second on the men's side (2015).

"We're feeling optimistic and think we've got a shot on both of the women's and men's sides," Colorado State head coach Brian Bedard said. "I like the depth on our women's team in particular. We have 20 women that are ranked in the top eight in the conference and can score, and then eight more that are ninth or tenth. Any time we head to a conference meet and have 28 women that are in a position to score, I think it bodes well for us. If we stick together as a team and support each other I think good things will happen."

Full results and a recap will be posted to CSURams.com as soon as each are available each day. FloTrack subscribers will be able to watch the entirety of the meet live through the website's live stream coverage of the event. Additionally, real-time scoring and results will be made available by the Mountain West for the duration of the meet.

Action begins on Wednesday with the first day of multi-event competition. The women's heptathlon is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. MT start, while the men's decathlon is slated to begin at 4 p.m. PT/5 p.m. MT. The decathlon continues at 4 p.m. PT/5 p.m. MT on Thursday, while the second half of the heptathlon is set for a 4:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. MT start that day. Thursday's competition wraps up with the women's and men's 10,000 meters, which are scheduled for 8:15 p.m. PT/9:15 p.m. MT and 9 p.m. PT/10 p.m. MT, respectively.

Field events begin on Friday with the men's hammer and women's shot put at 3 p.m. PT/4 p.m. MT, and conclude at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT with the women's hammer, women's high jump and men's shot put. The women's javelin is the first field event scheduled for Saturday (2 p.m. PT/3 p.m. MT), while the men's javelin will be the last (7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT).

Preliminary races for 14 different events (seven women's, seven men's) will be held on Friday, starting with the women's 1,500 meters at 4:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. MT. Finals for each of the women's and men's steeplechase will also be contested on Friday, with the first of those, the women's race, set for 7:40 p.m. PT/8:40 p.m. MT.

Qualifiers from Friday's preliminaries will race in finals on Saturday, as will entrants in the 4x100-meter relay, the 5,000 meters and the 4x400-meter relay. The first event on the track on Saturday will be the women's 4x100, and is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT/6 p.m. MT. Track events at the conference championships will conclude at 8:55 p.m. PT/9:55 p.m. MT with the men's 4x400.

"On the men's side it's probably going to be a three-team race, so we'll see how we stack up, but I like to think we've got a shot there," Bedard said. "I think we'll have to be at our best to challenge for a conference title. We do know that we have a chance, that we're mostly healthy and that we like the 28 athletes we're taking on both sides."

Of the Rams heading to the conference meet, four athletes currently rank as the Mountain West leaders in their respective events. Events led by CSU athletes include the men's 10,000 meters (Jerrell Mock), the women's hammer (Kelcey Bedard), the women's high jump (Autumn Gardner) and the men's shot put (Austin Blaho).

Austin Blaho, Darius Smith Sweep Men's MW Athlete of the Week Honors on May 1
- Colorado State's Austin Blaho and Darius Smith swept men's weekly outdoor conference honors on May 1, as Blaho was named Mountain West Men's Field Athlete of the Week for the second straight week and Smith was tabbed Mountain West Men's Track Athlete of the Week.
- Blaho, the April 24 MW Men's Field Athlete of the Week, repeated that honor after recording a personal-best mark in the men's shot put for the fourth consecutive meet. The senior topped his previous-best mark, which won the most recent weekly conference honor, with a new lifetime-best mark of 58-10.75 (17.95m) at the 7220 Invite. Blaho won the event at the meet by nearly four feet.
- Smith earned his first career weekly conference accolade after a personal-best performance in the 400-meter hurdles at the same meet. The junior placed as the top collegian at the 7220 Invite with a time of 51.99, which ranks 12th on CSU's all-time outdoor list.

Austin Blaho Tabbed MW Men's Field Athlete of the Week for April 24
- After a pair of personal-best performances in Long Beach, Calif., Colorado State senior Austin Blaho was named Mountain West Men's Field Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, April 24. The accolade was the first weekly conference honor of his career.
- Each of Blaho's personal-best efforts came in the shot put. The senior registered a new personal best in the shot put with a mark of 57-7 (17.55m) at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate, then topped it the next day with a throw that ranks as his current personal-best mark, 57-11.25 (17.66m), at the Beach Invitational.
- Blaho's shot put mark of 57-11.25 (17.66m) ranks at No. 13 on CSU's all-time outdoor list. With those performances, the native of Fort Collins, Colo., also ranked as the Mountain West leader in the men's shot put and the NCAA's No. 70 performer in the event this outdoor season to that point.

Autumn Gardner Named MW Women's Field Athlete of the Week on April 17
- Following a record-setting performance at the NoCo Challenge, Colorado State senior Autumn Gardner earned her first career Mountain West Women's Field Athlete of the Week honor. The conference announced that accolade on Tuesday, April 17.
- Gardner cleared 6-0.5 (1.84m) to break the program record in outdoor high jump and become the first athlete in program history with a mark better than six feet (previous record was 6-0/1.82m by Jazmyn Webster in 2015). In addition, the senior's mark ranks as the sixth-best in Mountain West history.
- With her performance, Gardner ranked as one of only three athletes in the NCAA to that point in the season with a mark in the women's high jump better than six feet. Additionally, the Westminster, Colo., native ranked as the Mountain West leader in the event and at 21st among all performers in the world at that point in the outdoor season.
- Gardner also stands as one of only five athletes from any Mountain West school this decade (current or former member institutions) to register a mark better than six feet in the women's outdoor high jump (UNLV's Kaysee Pilgrim, BYU's Ada Robinson, Air Force's Shelley Spires and Nevada's Nicole Wadden).

Gardner, Ozoude Break Program Records at NoCo Challenge
- In a meet that produced numerous personal bests, Colorado State track & field's Autumn Gardner and Jessica Ozoude distinguished themselves among the rest by producing record-breaking performances at the NoCo Challenge.
- Gardner entered the meet at Colorado State's No. 2 all-time indoor and outdoor high jumper, and leapt to the Rams' all-time No. 1 outdoor spot with a jump of 6-0.5 (1.84 m) on Sunday. With that mark, the senior ranked third in the NCAA in the women's high jump, tops in the Mountain West, 21st in the world and sixth all-time in Mountain West history that week.
- Previously the holder of the freshman record in the event, Ozoude climbed to the top of the CSU all-time list in the women's 200 meters with a time of 23.65 in Greeley, Colo. The Sparks, Nev., native ran that time, which currently would rank as a qualifying time for the NCAA West Preliminaries, despite running against a headwind of -0.9 m/s.

Destinee Rocker is First CSU Freshman Since 2001 to Earn Weekly Outdoor Conference Honors
- Colorado State freshman Destinee Rocker was named Mountain West Women's Track Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, April 10.
- Rocker is only the second freshman in program history – women's or men's track & field - and the first since 2001 to earn a weekly outdoor conference honor (Christine Ahn). This also marks only the second time a freshman has been honored by the conference this outdoor season (Fresno State freshman Morgan Lewis).
- Rocker clocked a time of 13.50 (13.54 with altitude conversion) in the 100-meter hurdles at the Colorado Invitational, winning the event on Saturday by over half of a second. Rocker's time from that meet was topped by only 48 athletes in the NCAA, only 17 athletes on the NCAA West Qualifying List and only 59 athletes in the world to that point in the season.

Rams' Distance Crew Run Elite Times at Stanford Invitational
- With performances in distance events at the Stanford Invitational, Cole Rockhold, Jerrell Mock and Grant Fischer rank among the NCAA's elite distance athletes.
- Rockhold ran a personal-best 5,000 meters time of 13:40.29 at Stanford, marking better than a 12-second improvement over his previous lifetime best. Rockhold's time ranks second in program history, and after that weekend, ranked third in the NCAA.
- In his first action since the 2017 cross country season, Mock opened his outdoor campaign with a 10,000 meters time of 28:46.86. Fischer followed right behind with a time of 28:54.19.
- With those times, Mock and Fischer ranked seventh and 10th, respectively, in the NCAA after that weekend. Those two remain the only athletes in program history to run a sub-29-minute 10,000. Each have done so twice.

Bedard, Sayles Earn Weekly Conference Honors After Opening Weekend of Outdoor Season
- Following their performances on the opening weekend of the outdoor season, Colorado State's Kelcey Bedard and Ronald Sayles have received conference recognition. Bedard was named Mountain West Women's Field Athlete of the Week and Sayles was named Mountain West Men's Track Athlete of the Week. The league announced those weekly accolades on Tuesday, March 27.
- The accolade was the second for Bedard in outdoor competition and the third of her career overall (one indoor). This marked the first weekly conference honor of Sayles' career, indoor or outdoor.
- Bedard opened her outdoor campaign with a first-place finish and throw of 203-6 (62.04m) in the women's hammer at the Mines Nature's Bakery Invite. A couple of hours later, the junior followed with a discus throw of 163-10 (49.94m). Those marks ranked 13th and 52nd in the NCAA, respectively, that week.
- Sayles ranked as the Mountain West's top athlete in the 200 meters and 400 meters and was a member of the conference's top-ranked 4x100-meter relay that weekend. Among those performances was a time of 47.11 in the 400 meters, which ranked sixth in program history, 24th in the NCAA and 14th on the NCAA West Qualifying List.

Ozoude, Rocker Set CSU Freshman Records in Collegiate Outdoor Debuts
- Jessica Ozoude and Destinee Rocker set Colorado State freshman records in their respective outdoor collegiate debuts on day two of the Mines Nature's Bakery Invite, the Rams' outdoor season-opener. Those records were set at the Stermole Track & Field Complex in Golden, Colo., on Saturday, March 24.
- Ozoude set her freshman record in the 200 meters, as she won the event by nearly three tenths of a second with a time of 23.82. In addition to being the fastest freshman in the event in program history, the Sparks, Nev., native also ranks second on CSU's all-time outdoor list in the 200 meters regardless of class.
- Rocker, who is coming off an All-Mountain West indoor campaign in the 60-meter hurdles, won her first collegiate 100-meter hurdles race with a CSU freshman-record time of 13.45. The native of Lithonia, Ga., ranks second in program history in the event behind only fellow Georgia native and former CSU All-American Lorenda Holston (13.26).

Mostafa Hassan Repeats as NCAA Indoor Shot Put Champion
- After becoming CSU's first NCAA champion since 2005 a year ago, Mostafa Hassan repeated as national champion in the shot put at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships from Gilliam Indoor Stadium.
- Hassan's winning mark was a season-best 68-5.25 (20.86m), which came on his first attempt of the night. The native of Cairo, Egypt won the competition by nearly two feet (66-7/20.29m by Georgia's Daniel Comenentia), and had the three best marks by any athlete at the meet (68-5/20.85m and 68-4.25/20.84m). In addition to the individual title, Hassan's performance earned him his fifth career First-Team All-America honor.
- The senior becomes the first athlete in Mountain West history, in men's or women's indoor track & field, to repeat as an NCAA champion in a single indoor throwing event. Hassan is the second Ram to win multiple NCAA titles (Bryan Berryhill – 2001 indoor champion in mile, 2001 outdoor champion in 1,500 meters) and the third to win multiple national titles under any collegiate organization (Wendy Koenig-Knudson – 1975 and 1976 AIAW outdoor champion in 880 yards/800 meters, 1976 AIAW outdoor champion in 1,500 meters).

Fischer, Hassan and Rockhold Earn All-America Honors at NCAA Indoor Championships
- Three members of the Colorado State men's track & field team were named All-America for performances at the NCAA Indoor Championships: Grant Fischer, Mostafa Hassan and Cole Rockhold.
- Fischer picked up Second-Team All-America distinction with a 14th-place finish in the 5,000 meters. The Fort Collins, Colo., native finished with a time of 14:21.82 en route to his second straight All-America performance in the indoor 5,000 and the third overall of his career. The senior becomes one of two athletes in program history to earn multiple All-America honors in the indoor 5,000 meters (Jerrell Mock – 2015, 2017).
- Hassan earned First-Team All-America honors for the fifth time in his career with his national title. Hassan won the event on his first attempt of the night with a season-best 68-5.25 (20.86m), The senior won the competition by nearly two feet (66-7/20.29m by Georgia's Daniel Comenentia), and had the three best marks by any athlete at the meet (68-5/20.85m and 68-4.25/20.84m).
- Rockhold earned First-Team All-America recognition in the mile as well as Second-Team All-America distinction in the 3,000 meters. Rockhold was the only athlete on the men's side to run in each of the mile and 3,000 meters, and was the first Ram to earn multiple All-America honors of any distinction in distance events in a single season since Bryan Berryhill (2001), who attempted the same double that year.

Mountain West Tabs 16 Rams All-Conference
- The Mountain West has awarded 16 members of the Colorado State track & field team all-conference distinction based upon performances last week at the 2018 Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships. The conference announced its indoor accolades on Monday, Feb. 26.
- Four athletes earned All-Mountain West honors on the women's side, while 12 earned all-conference accolades on the men's side. Each of Caleb Hardy (4x400-meter relay, distance medley relay), Mostafa Hassan (shot put, weight throw), Cole Rockhold (mile, distance medley relay) and Blake Yount (4x400-meter relay, distance medley relay) were recognized in multiple events.
- See below for CSU's full list of All-Mountain West performers.

2018 Women's Indoor All-Mountain West Performers
Kelcey Bedard – weight throw (champion)
Autumn Gardner – high jump
Darby Gilfillan – 5,000 meters
Destinee Rocker – 60-meter hurdles

2018 Men's Indoor All-Mountain West Performers
Alex Blaho – weight throw (champion)
Austin Blaho – shot put
Julian Dulaney – 4x400-meter relay
Grant Fischer – 5,000 meters (champion)
Caleb Hardy - 4x400-meter relay, distance medley relay
Mostafa Hassan – shot put (champion). weight throw
Jalen Hunter – 60-meter hurdles
Bailey King – weight throw
Trent Powell – distance medley relay
Cole Rockhold – mile, distance medley relay
Ronald Sayles - 4x400-meter relay
Blake Yount - 4x400-meter relay, distance medley relay

Mostafa Hassan Named Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Men's Field Athlete of the Week on Jan. 30 and Feb. 12
- Following his debut in the shot put at the Air Force Invitational, Mostafa Hassan was named Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Men's Field Athlete of the Week. The senior received the honor on Tuesday, Jan. 30.
- The defending indoor shot put NCAA champion opened his 2017-18 indoor campaign with a mark of 64-1.75 (19.55m) to win the event at the Air Force Invitational and put himself in front of the rest of the conference by six feet and 4.25 inches (57-9.5/17.61m by CSU's Austin Blaho). With that mark, the Cairo, Egypt native ranks as the No. 7-ranked shot putter in the NCAA this season and the No. 30 performer in the event in the world.
- Hassan topped that mark at the Don Kirby Invitational, winning the event at the prestigious meet with a mark of 64-3.25 (19.59m). He then earned weekly honors from the conference for the second time this season.
- Those accolades mark Hassan's ninth and 10th weekly conference honors and his third and fourth in indoor track & field. The senior has also been named Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Men's Field Athlete of the Week six times, including a program-record and MW-record-tying four times in 2017.

Nick Kravec, Jalen Hunter Sweep Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Men's Athletes of the Week on Dec. 12
- Colorado State seniors Nick Kravec and Jalen Hunter each earned their first career weekly indoor honor from the Mountain West on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017, as the duo swept Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week honors.
- With those honors, Colorado State athletes have now been honored by the Mountain West after opening weekend in three consecutive indoor seasons. It is also the second straight season that a heptathlete has been honored (Hunter Price on Dec. 13, 2016).
- Kravec topped the heptathlon field at the Mines Alumni Classic & Multi, racking up 5,507 points (5,548 when converted for track size) to win by over 100 points. The Fort Collins, Colo., native's score was a personal best, and ranks fifth in program history and well as third in the nation at that point.
- Hunter opened his indoor season with a time of 8.08 (8.12 when adjusted for altitude) in the 60-meter hurdles at the Air Force Holiday Open, a time that has been topped by only nine other athletes in program history. The senior from Denton, Texas ranked 17th in the nation at that point in the 60-meter hurdles.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results