Colorado coach Mark Wetmore dispatched four of his youngest women to race at the MPSF championships in Seattle to earn an NCAA qualifying time in the women’s distance medley relay.
The hope? Run fast enough to get into the NCAA championships in College Station, Texas, and in the process gain valuable experience in a high-pressure environment to store away for future years.
Wetmore admits his expectations were minimal, given the powerhouse teams Colorado was facing.
But on Friday night, the four — Kremmling native and former West Grand runner Tabor Scholl, running 1200 meters; former Monarch runner and Louisville native Elissa Mann, running 400 meters; Sage Hurta, a native of Hamilton, N.Y., running 800 meters; and Dani Jones, a Phoenix native and CU’s anchor running who ran the final 1600-meter leg — stunned even Wetmore himself, winning the school’s first NCAA title in the event after Jones outleaned former Niwot star Elise Cranny.
“The win was unexpected,” Wetmore said in an interview. “This was a very young team — two freshmen, two sophomores. Our plan was to get them here and get them some experience. And if we ran smart, get some points. To have Dani get back and bring us back, with 20 meters to go, was incredible.”
The drama unfolded over the race’s final lap and featured an all-Colorado cast of players. Leading was former Air Academy standout Katie Rainsberger, now a freshman at Oregon and the fourth-place overall finisher at the NCAA cross country championships in November. Closely behind was Cranny, a Stanford junior, who edged by her in the final turn on the 200-meter banked Gilliam Indoor Track.