XC Countdown 2014Aug 22, 2014 by FloTrack Staff
XC COUNTDOWN: #11 Colorado Women
XC COUNTDOWN: #11 Colorado Women
Head Coach:
Mark Wetmore (20th Year)
Last Year:
2nd Pac-12
1st Mountain Region
7th NCAA
Probable Top Five:
SR Sara Sutherland (4:18 1500m; 9:10 3k; 15:50 5k; 34:28 10k; 58th NCAA XC '12)+
JR Carrie Verdon (9:18 3k; 15:59 5k; 33:42 10k; 132nd NCAA XC '13)
SO Melanie Nun (9:24 3k; 16:17 5k; 10:18 3k Steeple; 68th NCAA XC '13)
SO Erin Clark (9:40 3k; 16:41 5k; 97th NCAA XC '13; 5th Mountain Region XC '13)
FR Hagen Reedy (4:56 1600m; 10:21 3200m; 20th NXN '12; 1st CIF XC '11; 2nd CIF XC '12)*
Impact Freshman/Recruits:
Sara Sutherland - From Texas (4:18 1500m; 9:10 3k; 15:50 5k; 34:28 10k; 58th NCAA XC '12)+
Kaitlyn Benner - Monarch, CO (5:03 1600m; 10:58 3200m; 61st NXN '13)
Valerie Constien - Battle Mountain, CO (5:04 1600m; 2:16 800m)
+Transfer from Texas
*Redshirt Freshman
+Transfer from Texas
*Redshirt Freshman
Analysis:
In his 20th year as coach of the Lady Buffs, Coach Mark Wetmore has already reached legendary status. So when he makes this kind of comment about his 2014 women’s cross country team, you have to take him seriously:
In his 20th year as coach of the Lady Buffs, Coach Mark Wetmore has already reached legendary status. So when he makes this kind of comment about his 2014 women’s cross country team, you have to take him seriously:
“We can be very good. We can be better than 7th."
Well, we didn’t quite agree with Coach Wetmore, but we do think they will be a very, very potent team Losing 4 time all American and Olympic steeplechaser Shalaya Kipp has to hurt. Kipp was also a leader and an inspiration to her teammates. So why is the coach so optimistic?
Well, we can start with a top transfer in University of Texas senior, Sara Sutherland. Sutherland was 58th in last year’s championships, and has also recorded PR’s of 15:50 for 5k and 34:28 for 10k. Nice pickup for Wetmore. Plus, he returns junior Carrie Verdon, who posted times of 15:59 and 33:42 for 5k and 10k, respectively. And probably forgotten by now, redshirt freshman, Hagen Reedy from California, who won the CIF state cross title in 2011 and was second in 2012. Great credentials for Reedy and it certainly bodes well for improving the upfront depth of last year’s team.
Two sophomores with very nice freshman years behind them are Melanie Nun and Erin Clark. Clark was 5th in last year’s Mountain Region meet, and Nun was a 10:18 steepler as a freshman.
The Mountain Region for women is good, but not nearly as powerful as the men’s. Look for Colorado to advance fairly easily asthe wiley Wetmore to prepare his team perfectly for the NCAA. They could be better than our projection of 11th.