Men’s and Women’s teams have solid finishes
The CU cross country program, led by Sara and Brent Vaughn, reasserted their dominance this weekend at the 2007 Rocky Mountain Showdown, taking first place in both the men’s and women’s divisions as well as earning an overall team win.
The No. 2 ranked Buffalo men were in control of the race, with CU runners finishing in six of the top ten spots, and veteran leaders Brent Vaughn and Stephen Pifer finishing in first and third respectively. After the race, Vaughn spoke optimistically about the youthful squad’s upcoming season.
“This year is a lot different than other years in the past,” Vaughn said. “We’ve got a lot of older guys up front leading the team who have been to the NCAA meet and have won NCAA titles and I think it makes a big difference because the younger guys who are coming in feel like they’ve got a leader who’s going to lead them into every race.”
Even with star runner Jenny Barringer sitting out, CU decidedly won the women’s division, taking four of the top ten spots. Sara Vaughn, wife of teammate Brent Vaughn, finished in first place, followed closely by Erin Marston. The two decided early that running together would be their strategy.
“It was kind of a mutual thing,” Vaughn said. “We knew we were going to go out together. The first mile we were going to take it easy and kick it up from there. We knew we were going to run the same kind of race.”
Between Sara’s first place finish and Brent’s taking the first spot later in the men’s division, it turned out to be quite a day for the Vaughn family, who will celebrate their daughter Ciara’s first birthday later today. After the race, both Brent and Sara were excited about winning together on the same day.
“It was cool,” Sara Vaughn said. “We talked about it a little bit a couple days ago and how it was a possibility. I never really thought about winning a cross country race before but I’m fit, I’ve been training with Erin a lot. It was fun.”
Head coach Mark Wetmore was not surprised by the Vaughn family’s sweep.
“They are talented athletes in great shape and . that was the plan.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Brad Cochi at Bradley.Cochi@Colorado.EDU
