April 6, 2015
Brandon Applehans
[email protected]
With the indoor season concluded, the women’s track and field team now takes to the outdoor track.
The Jerry Quiller Classic on March 21 in Boulder was the first opportunity, and the team had 11 top-ten finishes.
“Our focus is really to build toward that outdoor conference meet and I think we have had some breakthrough races,” said interim head coach Corey Kubatzky.
At the Kit Mayer Memorial Open, held in Golden March 27-28, teammates sophomore Chelsea Martus and senior Amber McAfee battled each other in the 800-meter run.
Martus won the race, taking the lead after the chaotic “cut” in the runners to the finish-line. The “cut” is the meshing of lanes on the track near the end of the race.
“It was good, but honestly I didn’t run that race the way I wanted to run it,” Martus said. “I was upset about the cut-off, and I was in the back of the pack until the very end.”
In the final seconds of the race, Martus sprung from the pack and won. McAfee finished second.
According to Kubatzky, McAfee ran the perfect race until the final 200 meters, where Martus overtook her.
“Amber was running the perfect tactical race, and she did exactly what we talked about before [the race],” said Kubatzky. “She really took control of the race.”
“Chelsea about gave me a heart-attack on the first lap when she got tangled up at 200 meters,” he said. “She came blazing back the last 200 meters to help us go 1-2.”
McAfee explained she can learn from the race.
“I was more thinking about being tactical, so that I could have a strong finish,” she said. “From the cut, it was difficult because all of the runners did break awkwardly. I just eased my way to the outside to bring it home. I lost it in the end, but it’s a learning experience.”
Kubatzky enjoys the success his team has had so far.
“I have been very impressed with the team,” he said. “It’s a really good group of ladies and they work very hard. They deserve all of the success they get. I’m excited to see all the hard work pay off over the course of the season.”
The Mountain Lions are next in action at the Colorado Invitational on April 11 in Boulder.