If one needs a nickname for CU runners Pierce Murphy and Morgan Pearson, All-American would be appropriate.
The Buffs pair earned such accolades once again Friday night in the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, Ala.
Murphy scores his second All-America honor with a third-place run in 13 minutes, 52.22 seconds, while Pearson is taking home his third straight honor after finishing sixth in 13:53.22.
Colorado sits seventh in the team standings with nine points, one point ahead of Purdue, South Alabama and Mississippi. Oregon leads with 25 points, while fellow Pac-12 foe Washington is seven points back.
At the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Portland, Ore., CU sophomore Ana Holland came in 18th — sixth in her heat of the prelims — in the 60 meters in 7.56 seconds.
2016 NCAA Indoor Championships
Birmingham CrossPlex (Birmingham, Ala.)
Men’s team scores: 1. Oregon 25; 2. Washington 18; 3. SE Louisiana 15.5; 4. Arkansas 14; 5. Va. Tech 13.5; 6. N.C. State 12; 7. Colorado 9; T8. Purdue 8; T8. South Alabama 8; T8. Mississippi 8
Men’s 500-meter run: 1. Edward Cheserek, Oregon, 13:47.89; 3. Pierce Murphy, CU, 13:52.22; 6. Morgan Pearson, CU, 13:53.22
2016 USATF Indoor Championships
Oregon Convention Center (Portland, Ore.)
Women’s 60-meter dash: 1, Barbara Pierre, Nike, 7.13; 18. Ana Holland, CU, 7.56
CU tennis falls in Pac-12 opener
No. 26-ranked Arizona State, behind a pair of doubles wins to open the match, won six of eight matches overall in straight sets to topple host Colorado 7-0 in the Buffs’ Pac-12 Conference opener Friday at the South Campus Tennis Complex.
The Sun Devils (8-4 overall, 2-1 Pac-12) recorded wins from Desirae Krawczyk and Stephanie Vlad, over CU’s Kyra Wojcik and Nuria Ormeño Ruiz 6-3, and Sammi Hampton and Kassidy Jump, against the Buffs’ Alex Aiello and Brigitte Beck 6-2, to score the doubles point. Krawczyk, Jump, Hampton and Gussie O’Sullivan also posted straight-set wins in singles action.
Colorado pushed a pair of singles matches to three sets. Annabelle Andrinopoulos won the opening set in her match with ASU’s Stephanie Vlad before falling 5-7, 6-2, 10-1. Alex Aiello did the same against Ebony Panoho, who rallied for a 4-6, 6-0, 6-0 victory.
“I think we had a couple of bright spots in there,” said CU head coach Nicole Kenneally. “We just have to keep realizing that if something doesn’t quite go your way, that doesn’t mean you walk away. Against any team in the Pac-12 you’re going to be competing against solid teams every match. So if you walk away once, you’re helping their cause. I think on several different situations we didn’t walk away, but in a couple of situations we did.”
CU welcomes No. 59 Arizona to Boulder on Sunday.
No. 26 Arizona State 7, Colorado 0
Singles
Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) def. Nuria Ormeño Ruiz 6-3, 6-4; Kassidy Jump (ASU) def. Jeannez Daniel 6-4, 6-3; Ebony Panoho (ASU) def. Alex Aiello 4-6, 6-0, 6-0; Stephanie Hampton (ASU) def. Annabelle Andrinopoulos 5-7, 6-2, 10-1; Sammi Hampton (ASU) def. Kyra Wojcik 6-3, 6-3; Gussie O’Sullivan (ASU) def. Brigitte Beck 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
Daniel/Andrinopoulos (CU) vs. Panoho/Alexandra Osborne DNF; Krawczyk/Vlad (ASU) def. Ormeño Ruiz/Wojcik 6-3; Jump/Hampton (ASU) def. Beck/Aiello 6-2
