Buffs look to prolong season’s success
The Buff’s cross country team continued their steady performance this season at Pre-Nationals with the men’s team finishing second in the white race and the women’s team finishing sixth in their white race as they gear up for the Big 12 championships this Friday.
Jenny Barringer, a junior political science major, finished first in the women’s white race setting a course record of 19 minutes and 49 seconds in her first competition of the 2007 season.
Stephen Pifer, a senior geography major, led the men’s team finishing third. Running mate Brent Vaughn, a senior accounting major, finished a fraction of a second behind him in fourth place. Pifer said that the results are wrong and that it was actually Vaughn that beat him by a hundredth of a second, and not the other way around.
Both Barringer and Pifer were named Big 12 Conference runners of the week of Oct. 8 through Oct. 14.
“It’s exciting to get recognized for all the hard work I’ve put in, but cross country really is a team sport and I get more excited when my team does well,” Barringer said.
Pifer has similar feelings.
“It’s cool to be honored like that but my teammate actually beat me in that race,” Pifer said. “They must have gotten the camera angle wrong or his timing chip didn’t register correctly or something.”
The Buff’s performance at Pre-Nationals reaffirmed their status as a top-ranked team, but since the races ended, head coach Mark Wetmore has been looking forward the rest of the season.
“Our performance at Pre-Nationals told us that we’re lucky we have five more weeks to continue to prepare for nationals,” Wetmore said. “Our goal has been to make steps of improvement week by week so that we’re two weeks fitter for the Big 12 championships.”
The Buffaloes will be looking to defend their titles as Big 12 champions, having won both the men’s and women’s titles the last eight years.
Ranked fifth in the nation, CU’s men’s team will face some stiff competition at the Big 12 championship in 14th-ranked Texas and 18th-ranked Oklahoma State. The 15th-ranked women’s team will also have to face ranked opponents in 5th-ranked Arizona State and 14th-ranked Texas Tech.
Friday’s Big 12 Championships promise to be a difficult test for the Buffaloes before they prepare for the national championships three weeks later.
“Big 12’s are really exciting,” Jenny Barringer said. “I’m looking forward to defending our title.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Brad Cochi at brad.cochi@thecampuspress.com
