Sophomore Laura Tremblay stretches before cross-country practice in the Balch Fieldhouse Friday, Sept. 24. The Buffs had a decisive win at the Rocky Mountain Shootout Saturday with Tremblay setting the tenth fastest time for 5.8 kilometer course with a 20:29 time. (CU Independent/Lee Pruitt)
Winning both the men’s and women’s Division I team titles and individual titles on Saturday at the Rocky Mountain Shootout in Boulder, the men’s team earned a decisive Division I victory, recording 18 points compared to second-place Wyoming’s 40. Winning the non-Division I title was Division II Adams State with 22 points.
The Buffs were led by sophomore Joe Bosshard, who finished the 8k course in 24 minutes, 44 seconds: a personal record and the sixth fastest time in course history. In second was another Colorado jersey, junior Andy Wacker, in 25 minutes, 5 seconds. Junior Christian Thompson, senior Cameron Clayton and sophomore Aric Van Halen also scored for the Buffs, earning fourth, 13th and 17th place respectively.
“Colorado is a strong program and we always want to be at the top at the end,” Bosshard said in a news release. “Our younger guys really stepped up today.”
On the women’s side, sophomore Laura Tremblay and junior Emma Coburn had a neck-in-neck finish, and Tremblay outkicked Coburn by just one second. Her time of 20:29 in the 5.8 kilometer course was the tenth fastest in course history. She is also the first sophomore to win the race since Olympian and former teammate Jenny Barringer took the title in 2006 in 20 minutes, 51 seconds.
Reflecting on her team’s performance today, Tremblay said she was impressed with the improvement in times from the previous season.
“I was the fourth runner last year and I ran 21:04 and our fourth runner this year was [20:44.],” Tremblay said in a news release. ”It’s a huge jump.”
The Buff women’s team took the top four spots, with Coburn in second, redshirt freshman Shalaya Kipp in third and senior Laura Thweatt in fourth. Redshirt freshman Camille Logan, the fifth Colorado jersey, finished in 13th. Those performances were good enough for the team title, with 16 points compared to runner-up Wyoming’s 48.
“We had some tough competition,” said head coach Mark Wetmore. “This is our home course to know and master well.”
With the cross country season now in full swing, Colorado will compete next on Saturday at the Fort Hays Invitational in Hays, Kan. The Buffs will stay busy for the remainder of the month, competing at the NCAA Pre-Nationals Meet on Oct. 16 and the Big 12 Championship on Oct. 30.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Caryn Maconi at Caryn.maconi@colorado.edu.
