by By: Linda Sprouse, Associate SID
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — In the final tune-up before the postseason, the University of Colorado cross country teams had a successful outing as the men placed second and the women took third Saturday at the NCAA Pre-National Invitational at LaVern Gibson Championships Cross Country Course.
The CU men, who were ranked third heading into the weekend, finished exactly where there were projected to on paper in the 8-kilometer race behind second-ranked BYU. The Buffs gave the Cougars a good run for their money, finishing just two points behind (81-83).
“I would say we had more good races than bad,” head coach Mark Wetmore said. “We had some races that were not perfect, but for this time of year, we are satisfied.”
The biggest performance on the men’s side came from Kashon Harrison (Navajo), who was 11th overall. Harrison finished just out of the top 10 in 23:37.0. He was just .2 of a second behind Iona’s Johnjack Millar (23:36.8). Harrison also ran near the front of the field for the majority of the race. He was 14th through the first 3k and jumped up to fifth at 5k.
“He’s the star of the team this week,” Wetmore said. “That was a beautiful race by him. He may be the best true freshman in the country. We have some important races yet to come, so we have to be careful about praising him too much.”
So proud of Kashion, he is a very positive young man and a self motivated person.
So happy for Kashon. I know he loves running and this experience will continue to inspire him and his teammates into the end of the season. University runners know one-ness and they celebrate Kashon’s good race as a team. Keep it up Colorado.
-Coach Elmer Yazzie, Rehoboth Christian High School, New Mexico