Colorado University Athletics
Jones, Klecker Earn UCHealth CU Athlete of the Week Honors
November 01, 2017 | Cross Country
Cross country standouts Joe Klecker and Dani Jones have been named this week's UCHealth CU Athletes of the Week after their performances at this weekend's Pac-12 Championships in Springfield, Ore.
Jones won the women's individual Pac-12 Cross Country Championship to help the women's team to its third consecutive Pac-12 title. In the process, she helped the No. 3 Buffs to a 53-71 upset of top-ranked Oregon. Jones finished the 6-kilometer race in 18:57.3, out-sprinting the course record holder, UO's Katie Rainsberger, by over a second (18:58.5). She also defeated the 2016 Champion, Washington's Amy-Eloise Neale, who was third in 18:58.7. It marks the first time a CU runner has won an individual conference title since Jenny Simpson won the Big 12 in 2009.
On the men's side, Klecker finished second individually and led the fifth-ranked men's team to a second place team finish behind Stanford (41-47). Klecker kept pace with eventual champion Grant Fisher (Stanford) until Fisher took off with about 200-meters to take first. Klecker hung on to finish second (23:48.0), an enormous improvement from last season's 19th place finish. It was also the highest individual men's finish for a Buff since Brent Vaughn won the Big 12 title in 2007.
Also nominated for this week's honors: Steven Montez (Football), Jalen Tompkins (Soccer), and Naghede Abu (Volleyball)
Quarterback Steven Montez shined in Saturday's 44-28 win over Cal. He took control from the opening kickoff, accounting for 206-yards and throwing a pair of touchdowns on CU's first four offensive series. Montez punctuated his early dominance by finding Shay Fields for a 65-yard touchdown to give the Buffs a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter. He never looked back, compiling a career-best 227.1 quarterback rating and throwing for 347-yards and accounting for four touchdowns.
Junior Naghede Abu led CU to a pair of road wins this weekend to sweep the season series with No. 15 Oregon and Oregon State. Abu hit .488 on the weekend, and averaged 2.44 kills and 0.78 blocks per set. She helped the Buffs to just their second win ever in Eugene, 3-2, on Friday night with eight kills and also added three blocks. Her first block in that match was the 400th of her career. The following night, Abu tallied 14 kills and hit .583 with no errors on 24 attacks while adding four blocks. Colorado has now won five of its last six matches.
Goalkeeper Jalen Tompkins starred as the Buffs recorded two more shutouts on the road last week. She extended her scoreless streak to 408 minutes, and is now just 56 minutes from breaking the school record for consecutive shutout minutes in conference matches. Tompkins recorded nine saves over 180 minutes. On Thursday, she had three saves in a 1-0 win at Oregon State. On Sunday, she made six saves in a 2-0 win at Oregon. Sunday's win was the 10th of the season for the Buffs, their fourth 10-win season in the past five years.
Jones won the women's individual Pac-12 Cross Country Championship to help the women's team to its third consecutive Pac-12 title. In the process, she helped the No. 3 Buffs to a 53-71 upset of top-ranked Oregon. Jones finished the 6-kilometer race in 18:57.3, out-sprinting the course record holder, UO's Katie Rainsberger, by over a second (18:58.5). She also defeated the 2016 Champion, Washington's Amy-Eloise Neale, who was third in 18:58.7. It marks the first time a CU runner has won an individual conference title since Jenny Simpson won the Big 12 in 2009.
On the men's side, Klecker finished second individually and led the fifth-ranked men's team to a second place team finish behind Stanford (41-47). Klecker kept pace with eventual champion Grant Fisher (Stanford) until Fisher took off with about 200-meters to take first. Klecker hung on to finish second (23:48.0), an enormous improvement from last season's 19th place finish. It was also the highest individual men's finish for a Buff since Brent Vaughn won the Big 12 title in 2007.
Also nominated for this week's honors: Steven Montez (Football), Jalen Tompkins (Soccer), and Naghede Abu (Volleyball)
Quarterback Steven Montez shined in Saturday's 44-28 win over Cal. He took control from the opening kickoff, accounting for 206-yards and throwing a pair of touchdowns on CU's first four offensive series. Montez punctuated his early dominance by finding Shay Fields for a 65-yard touchdown to give the Buffs a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter. He never looked back, compiling a career-best 227.1 quarterback rating and throwing for 347-yards and accounting for four touchdowns.
Junior Naghede Abu led CU to a pair of road wins this weekend to sweep the season series with No. 15 Oregon and Oregon State. Abu hit .488 on the weekend, and averaged 2.44 kills and 0.78 blocks per set. She helped the Buffs to just their second win ever in Eugene, 3-2, on Friday night with eight kills and also added three blocks. Her first block in that match was the 400th of her career. The following night, Abu tallied 14 kills and hit .583 with no errors on 24 attacks while adding four blocks. Colorado has now won five of its last six matches.
Goalkeeper Jalen Tompkins starred as the Buffs recorded two more shutouts on the road last week. She extended her scoreless streak to 408 minutes, and is now just 56 minutes from breaking the school record for consecutive shutout minutes in conference matches. Tompkins recorded nine saves over 180 minutes. On Thursday, she had three saves in a 1-0 win at Oregon State. On Sunday, she made six saves in a 2-0 win at Oregon. Sunday's win was the 10th of the season for the Buffs, their fourth 10-win season in the past five years.
Players Mentioned
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/ Cross Country
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