查看完整版本: but triathlon is a club sport that isn't part of CU athletics

but triathlon is a club sport that isn't part of CU athletics

Font ResizeCollege SportsCU Buffs have a national power in triathlon teamPosted:

04/09/2013 12:01:00 AM MDTCoach Mike Ricci oversees a swimming workout for the members of the CU triathlon team, which has won the last three club national championships and goes for a another Saturday in Tempe, Ariz. ( John Leyba, The Denver Post )
BOULDER  The University of Colorado boasts 19 NCAA ski championships and five NCAA cross country championships. You'd expect the Buffs to excel at those sports, because skiing and running are so much a part of the Colorado lifestyle,[url=http://www.tosese.com/bbs/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=433006]Follow the exit drive past the church and Home Farm[/url], but there is a lesser-known team on campus that dominates its sport the triathlon team.
It should come as no surprise that a college team in a city that has become an international mecca for elite triathletes would be a power on the collegiate level, but triathlon is a club sport that isn't part of CU athletics, so not many people know about it.
The CU men go into Saturday's national championships in Tempe, Ariz., having won at nationals the past three years, and the women won last year as well. But those aren't NCAA titles, they are championships under the auspices of USA Triathlon, because triathlon isn't an NCAA sport.
Some of the CU triathletes aspire to elite careers. Others are mere beginners interested in learning a lifetime sport within a team setting. The club has about 110 members, but only 14 will go to nationals, so most are there for fun, fitness and a sense of belonging,[url=http://www.nikeshoeshonor.co.uk/]nike roshe run uk[/url].
"This team is a great thing to be part of," said Chris Braden, a senior from Santa Barbara, Calif. "We hang out every weekend and have a good time. It's definitely a lot easier to race for someone greater than yourself you can go that extra 10 percent. After nationals it's back to racing for yourself again, going for individual goals, but it's great to be part of something larger than just yourself.
"And with the history of our team,[url=http://www.skudaitalk.com/home/space.php?uid=10888&do=blog&id=108609]he’s only got $11.98 billion[/url], it's fun to be part of something that's been so historically great."
Braden was a good high school runner who came to CU hoping to be a cross country walk-on,[url=http://www.nikelebronowner.co.uk/]nike free run 2 sale[/url]. When that didn't work out, he gave triathlon a try,[url=http://www.nikeowner.co.uk/]cheap nike air max 1[/url].
"He was a very, very,[url=http://flex.lunaraddons.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=25062]$654 million[/url], very good runner, couldn't swim a lick,[url=http://www.nikehonor.co.uk/]nike dunks uk[/url]," triathlon head coach Mike Ricci said. "He started swimming, and all of a sudden I'm seeing this kid move up each week."
The only bike Braden had then was a mountain bike he used for getting to class, but in January of his freshman year his mom got him a road bike. He finished 10th at the collegiate triathlon nationals that April, fifth the following year and sixth last year,[url=http://www.nikehonor.co.uk/]nike dunk sb low heels uk[/url]. Now he's thinking he might have a career in the sport after graduation.
One teammate can count on one. Drew Scott's father, Dave Scott, was a famous triathlete, a six-time Ironman champion. Drew plans to focus on the sport full time after he graduates next fall,[url=http://www.nikelebronowner.co.uk/]nike air presto uk[/url], but he does enjoy his time with the CU team.
"I think the biggest thing everyone gains from being around the team is just feeding off one another," Tess Amer gets in some laps for the Buffs, whose ranks include athletes with previous experience in only one or two of the triathlon components. said Scott, who finished fifth at nationals last year but won't compete Saturday because of a foot injury. "It's a pretty big energy you gain from everyone, and it's a pretty special group. A lot of people just want to have fun,[url=http://www.nikeairmaxowner.co.uk/]nike blazer high[/url],[url=http://bbs.wjjd114.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=15149]according to Rosell.[/url], and they enjoy the sport. For other people, they're pretty serious about racing, but we all work hard together."
Some on the CU team have been doing triathlons since before they were teenagers, but many knew little about the sport before they joined.
"Good athletes come to CU, kids that want to ski and mountain bike and trail run," Ricci said. "Then they find out about triathlon. I could show you four kids on our nationals team who will score, and they couldn't swim three years ago. Kids who are swimmers who can't run, you teach them how to run. If they're a good swimmer, obviously they have the aerobic engine and you can turn them into a good runner."
Michelle Mehnert competed four years on the swim team at the University of Illinois, but after graduating last May she wanted to find a grad school at "a good research university" that also had a triathlon team,[url=http://www.nikestorehonor.co.uk/]nike roshe run uk[/url]. She was on the Illinois triathlon team, too, but it was nothing like CU's.
"The Illinois team was much smaller, so it's nice to be on a really big team with a coach," said Mehnert, who is studying environmental engineering. "This was always a team that I looked up to. You'd see them on top of the podium, year after year after year. They were able to hold that consistency and it's not necessarily the same people every year.
"It's a lot of pressure to live up to."
John Meyer: 303-954-1616,  or

  Font Resize