Dani Jones took home her second National Championship title of the meet as she clocked a 9:09.20 in the 3,000 meters. Jones started off steady settling into her pace while also staying within the middle of the pack for most of the race. But, with about 400 meters left Dani Jones started making moves pushing her way into third. As shown from Friday’s final leg of the DMR, Jones has a lethal kick to the end of her races and Saturday’s 3,000 was no different. With about 200 meters left coming around the final turn, Jones kicked it into gear passing up Missouri’s Karissa Schweizer (who won the 5,000 the day before) to win the title.
NOTEABLE
- Jenny (Barringer) Simpson was the last Buff to win the 3,000 meter indoor National title in 2009 when she clocked an 8:42.03 which is also the NCAA meet record.
- This is the first time a Colorado track athlete has won two National titles in the same year at the Indoor National Championships.
Teammate Erin Clark also put together a strong 3,000 meter performance coming in eighth place to not only earn All-American honors but gather points towards the team score. This is Clark’s second first-team All-America honor in the 3,000 meters as she placed fifth last year.
On the men’s side Joe Klecker paced the trio of Buffs competing in the 3,000 meters as he finished in fourth place with a time of 7:58.90. Klecker earned his first All-American honor and earned five points for the team. John Dressel in his second event of the weekend also added his second All-America accolade finishing in eighth place overall with a time of 8:01.93. Ben Saarel rounded out the Buffs competing in the 3,000 meters finishing in 15h place with a time of 8:21.01 to earn second-team All-America honors.
MILE
Junior Ben Saarel kicked off the day for the Buffs in the finals heat of the men’s mile. Saarel collected his first mile All-America honor on Saturday placing eighth with a time of 4:07.84. He also earned a point towards the team score in his first of two events on the day.
TEAM NOTABLE
- The women’s team finished in 7th which is their highest indoor finish since 2001 where they came in 6th overall
- The men placed 16th overall. The same as the 2016 season
UP NEXT
The Buffs will set their sights to the outdoor season as they host the Jerry Quiller Classic starting on Friday March 17 at Potts field.
QUOTABLE (Head Coach Mark Wetmore)
Overall
The men were 16th overall and the women were 7th overall. Team finishes were above what we had hoped for and in the women’s case quite a bit higher than what we had hoped for. Pretty good weekend for us, good team results. Almost everybody who came here competed very well. A couple days rest and back to work getting ready for May and June.
On Dani Jone’s 3,000 meters
Dani Jones was brilliant. There was a lot of bumping around and some tactical mistakes here and there that were driving coach [Heather] Burroughs and myself a little crazy, but she solved the problems with a few laps to go. She put herself in position and just like last night, closed hard over the last 30 or 40 meters off the final turn for an unexpected and really exciting win.
On the Mile
Today was a day of a few ups and downs. We are a little disappointed in the men’s mile for Ben. He did what he planned to do but was unable able to hold a hard move he made with 600 meters to go and faded a little bit and was a few spots behind what we hoped for him. But, we will go back to work with him and he will be ready to go in a few weeks.
On the 3,000 Meters
The 3ks were both exciting. Our men were moving up carefully working their way into the points slots. Sophomore Joe Klecker, like his classmate John did yesterday, finished fourth overall. John moved up and got us a couple of points too, despite some very heavy legs from the 5k yesterday. Erin Clark worked her way through maybe the deepest 3k field I have ever seen to get some points for us.
2017 NCAA Indoor Championships
College Station, Texas
Men Mile finals: (1. Josh Kerr, New Mexico, 4:03.22) 8. Ben Saarel, 4:07.84
Women 3,000 Meters: (1. Dani Jones, 9:09.20) 8. Erin Clark, 9:13.56
Men 3,000 Meters: (1. Edward Cheserek, Oregon, 7:55.91) 4. Joe Klecker, 7:58.90; 8. John Dressel, 8:01.93; 15. Ben Saarel, 8:21.01