Running with the Buffaloes Read online

  The Show Is Over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

  Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

  Afterword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

  About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

  CONTENTS

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  Lear i-xxiv:Lear i-xxii 1/5/11 1:17 PM Page xvii The 1998 University of Colorado

  Cross Country Team

  Adam Batliner

  Senior

  Lakewood, Colorado (Green Mountain)

  Wetmore: “Adam should be one of the best cross country runners in the nation this year. He has as good a reason as anyone to win the national championship. He’s definitely among the top eight or ten runners in the country, and the other seven or nine will be dreaming of a national title.

  He might as well also.”

  1997: 26th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. He ran a 7:58

  for 3000 meters indoors and finished third in the steeplechase at the Outdoor NCAA’s.

  Wes Berkshire

  Junior

  Aurora, Colorado (Smoky Hill)

  Wetmore: “Wes is one of the hardest workers in our program. He could surprise some people and make our [Varsity] team.

  1997: Redshirt. Did not compete.

  Aaron Blondeau

  Sophomore

  Salida, Colorado (Salida)

  Wetmore: “Aaron had a good freshman year in cross and was disappointed with a left shin stress fracture during the outdoor season. He’s been training full speed all summer and I predict that he will be much improved. I expect him to be a top-25 runner at Nationals this year.”

  1997: CU’s top freshman. 101st at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

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  Zach Crandall

  Freshman

  Fort Collins, Colorado (Rocky Mountain)

  Walk-on seeks to make the roster.

  1997: All-State performer in Colorado.

  Jason Drake

  Assistant Coach

  Gillette, Wyoming (Campbell County)

  First Wyoming prep to run under 4:20 in the 1600m. A 1994 CU graduate, he had a disappointing collegiate career until he made great strides under Wetmore in Wetmore’s first two seasons with the Buffaloes. He is Wetmore’s right hand man.

  Matt Elmuccio

  Freshman

  Westfield, New Jersey (Westfield)

  Wetmore: “Matt has an outside shot of making our varsity this season.”

  1997: Redshirt. Did not compete.

  Mike Friedberg

  Sophomore

  Columbia, Maryland (The Park School)

  Wetmore: “Mike will be an unknown guy on the national scene this year.

  He would make any other varsity team in the United States, and will probably make ours. People are going to wonder where he came from.

  While Goucher, Batliner, and Reese have been getting all of the attention, he’s been putting dollars in the bank and waiting his turn. He’ll be a surprise in November.”

  1997: Redshirt. Did not compete.

  Adam Goucher

  Senior

  Colorado Springs, Colorado (Doherty)

  Wetmore: “Adam has wanted to win an NCAA title in cross country since two and a half minutes after finishing second his freshman year. He’s been snakebit by interruptions the last three years and he feels that he has something to prove this season. He will be the Boulder favorite, but there will be seven or eight different favorites all over the country.”

  1997: An undefeated fall ends in disappointment with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Goucher subsequently xviii

  The 1998 CU Cross Country Team

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  won the NCAA Indoor 3000 meter title in a collegiate record 7:46.03

  and the NCAA Outdoor 5000 meter title.

  Cameron Harrison

  Freshman

  Colorado Springs, Colorado (Doherty)

  Walk-on from Goucher’s alma mater seeks to make the roster.

  Jay Johnson

  Senior

  Castle Rock, Colorado (Douglas County)

  Enters the season hoping to end career on a positive note. A disappointing spring track season in 1998 followed by a case of mono places Johnson at the bottom of the heap starting his senior campaign.

  1997: 84th at Pre-Nationals.

  Adam Loomis

  Sophomore

  Highlands Ranch, Colorado (Highlands Ranch/Portland)

  Walk-on seeks to make roster.

  Matt Napier

  Senior

  Socorro, New Mexico (Socorro)

  Wetmore: “Napier had a breakthrough last fall when he became an All-American. He is one of the great blue-collar success stories of CU running. He’s in the best shape of his life, but he will most likely redshirt.”

  1997: The former walk-on follows second-place performance at the Mountain Regional with a 39th-place finish at NCAA’s.

  John O’Mara

  Sophomore

  Northboro, Massachusetts (St. John’s/Providence)

  8:24 3000 meter runner is an unknown heading into the 1998 season.

  Oscar Ponce

  Junior

  Denver, Colorado (Denver North)

  Wetmore:“Oscar was a varsity runner until we had to go from nine to seven runners at the end of last season. He definitely wants to be in the seven The 1998 CU Cross Country Team

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  that go to the NCAA championship. The only road he knows is the hard road. If he can survive 105 to 110 miles per week, he might get there.”

  1997: 32nd at Big Cross Country Championships.

  Tom Reese

  Senior

  Golden, Colorado (Wheat Ridge)

  Wetmore: “As was planned, Tommy redshirted last spring to balance his eligibility. His recovery from arthroscopic surgery in May has been slow.

  If rehab on his left knee goes the way we think, he will be among the varsity seven and be an All-American again this year. He’s too good a runner not to make it back.”

  1997: 33rd-place finish at NCAA’s earns Reese All-American honors.

  Jason Robbie

  Junior

  Boulder, Colorado (Alexander Dawson/Vermont)

  Wetmore: “Robbie was the most impressive guy at the Varsity Time Trial last year. But since the day he made the team, his training has been interrupted. A lot of guys have run more than him this summer.”

  1997: Fourteenth at the Ft. Hays State Tiger Invitational.

  Lorie Moreno-Roch

  Assistant Coach

  She attended Adams State College (Alamosa, Colorado) from 1982 to 1984

  before graduating from Western State College (Gunnison, Colorado) in 1988. Between the two schools, she was an eight-time all-American in the mile, 5k, 10k, and distance medley relay. Roch was a member of the U.S. national team at the World Relay Championships in 1994, and she was coached by Wetmore in the spring of 1995. She adds her vast national and international racing experience to the staff.

  Ronald Roybal

  Junior

  Pojoaque, New Mexico (Pojoaque)

  Wetmore: “Ron pulled our tails out of the fire for us a year ago with a great race at the NCAA championships. He helped us to stay in third place.

  He’s been training well this summer and if he takes the next logical step, he will be a top-30 finisher and a First Team All-American at Nationals.”

  1997: 45th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.

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Page xxi

  Matt Ruhl

  Freshman

  Runnemade, New Jersey (Triton Regional)

  9:28 high school 3200-meter runner seeks to make the roster.

  Chris Schafer

  Sophomore

  Yakima, Washington (Eisenhower)

  Colorado Indoor 800 meter Record Holder (1:49.37) is a long shot to make the varsity.

  1997: 26th at the Fort Hays State Tiger Invitational.

  Chris Severy

  Senior

  Aspen, Colorado (Aspen)

  Wetmore: “Chris battled mono a year ago, but he’s back training. He’s a little behind his normal summer, but he is completely healed. He finished 17th two years ago at the NCAA championships and hopes to improve.”

  1997: Redshirt. Did not compete.

  Steve Slattery

  Freshman

  Flanders, New Jersey (Mt. Olive)

  Wetmore: “He is a big talent. But most likely, he will redshirt.”

  1997: New Jersey state champion in cross country. Fourth at the Foot Locker National Championship.

  Sean Smith

  Sophomore

  Montrose, Colorado (Montrose)

  Triathlete seeks to make the roster.

  1997: Did not compete.

  Brock Tessman

  Graduate/Transfer

  Danville, California (Monte Vista/Brown)

  Wetmore: “A Brown transfer, Brock still has a cross country and an outdoor season of eligibility left. He’s a national caliber 1500-meter runner, the fastest guy in the country who didn’t qualify for the NCAA Champi-The 1998 CU Cross Country Team

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  onships last year. His success will depend on how he adapts to our system, but I’m pretty sure he will be a Varsity-caliber runner for us. I wouldn’t be surprised if he finished in the top 30 or better in Lawrence.”

  1997: 14th at the Heptagonals (Ivy League Championships).

  Chris Valenti

  Sophomore

  Littleton, Colorado (Littleton)

  Sophomore walk-on seeks to make the roster.

  1997: 26th at the Fort Hays State Tiger Invitational.

  Mark Wetmore

  Head Coach

  Bernardsville, New Jersey (Bernards)

  A Bernardsville, New Jersey, native, Wetmore graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in English education in 1978. In 1988 he earned his master’s in movement sciences from Columbia University. A middle-distance runner at Rutgers, he began his coaching career as coach of the Edge City Track Club in 1972. He then spent fourteen years as an assistant to his high school mentor, Ed Mather, at Bernards. In 1991, after a four-year stint as the distance coach at Seton Hall University, he emi-grated to Colorado. He was named men’s distance coach at the University of Colorado in 1992, and his cross country teams have finished no lower than fifth in the NCAA Men’s Cross Country National Championships since 1993. On November 6, 1995, Wetmore was named head cross country and track and field coach for both the men’s and women’s programs.

  Wetmore enters the 1998 season with his best team ever, having only lost two-time All-American Clint Wells from the 1997 team that finished third at the NCAA championships. Wetmore seeks nothing less from Adam Goucher and the Buffaloes than their first national titles.

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  The 1998 CU Cross Country Team

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  WITH THE

  BUFFALOES

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  Lear 001-011:Lear 001-011 1/5/11 1:21 PM Page 1

  Monday, November 23, 1998

  Lawrence, Kansas

  11:30 a.m.

  Introduction

  The team stretches in silence, finishing their pre-race preparation before ambling off, one by one, to the starting line. Adam Goucher is the last one to leave. Finished tying his spikes, he stands nervously and stares into the distance. Coach Mark Wetmore calms him with some final words. “You’re fine, Adam. You’re fine. Trust it, Adam. Trust all your work.”

  His voice terse, Adam responds, “I know.” With that, he turns away from Wetmore, and departs to meet his teammates at the starting line.

  Goucher is now ten minutes from a moment he has worked toward

  since late November 1994. As a precocious freshman he finished second to the University of Arizona’s Martin Keino at the NCAA championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas (in the process becoming the highest freshman finisher in the NCAA championships since Indiana yearling Bob Kennedy took home the title in 1988). Goucher moves with confidence.

  Goucher is not alone. Oscar Ponce, Mike Friedberg, Ronald Roybal, Tom Reese, Adam Batliner, and Jay Johnson, each with aspirations of his own, also ready themselves to join Goucher in the battle to establish collegiate distance-running supremacy.

  On August 18th, the 23 men of the University of Colorado cross country team dreamt of being here. In the ensuing 94 days, these seven demonstrated that they indeed possessed the right stuff. After myriad trials, they emerged: leaner, meaner, wiser, and ready.

  Ponce readies for

  start.

  RUNNING WITH THE BUFFALOES

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  At campuses across the country, from Princeton, New Jersey, to Palo Alto, California, similar rites of passage have taken place. Now 31 teams have converged to find out which team— and which person— can lay claim to the title of National Champion.

  The Buffaloes are in starting box fourteen, right toward the middle of the 31-team field. Mountain District rivals Northern Arizona University ready themselves in box thirteen, to the left of the Buffaloes. Individual qualifiers (including a man familiar to all the Buffaloes after training with them last summer, Columbia’s Tom Kloos) are to their right in box fifteen.

  Oregon, their primary rival, is at the far end of the line to their right.

  Ronald Roybal stands at ease, snaps his arms backwards, and takes in the sight of the 250 foot soldiers, a battalion awaiting the bugle’s call, that surround him. Wetmore says that last year the Pojoague, New Mexico, native “swooped up and saved our ass” at NCAA’s, finishing a remarkable 45th after only running to an 80th-place finish at the Mountain Regional.

  “Ronald had one good day of running all fall,” Wetmore recalls, “when we needed it.” Without his breakthrough performance, CU would not have finished third in the team competition. They need him today. And, unlike last year, his training has progressed sufficiently enough so that Wetmore now expects him to gain All-American honors.

  Oscar Ponce, the diminutive Mexican from inner-city Denver North High School, has had a dream season. Having finally made it to his first national championship competition, he stands on the precipice of reaching his dream: to inspire others, for whom mere survival is a struggle, to reach for the stars by becoming the first All-American ever to graduate from Denver North. On October 3rd he finished seventh at the Rocky Mountain Shootout, two spots ahead of his buddy Roybal. They hugged and celebrated afterward, thinking of their progress, and how fit they would be, come today, if all went well. In the last three weeks, shin pain has threatened to unceremoniously dash his dream. Unbowed by the development, he stands at the ready, prepared to fight again.

  Team Captain Tommy Reese shakes out his limbs and stares blankly into space as he takes his position on the line. An All-American a year ago after finishing 33rd at NCAA’s, the fifth-year senior accelerated his return from surgery to repair a cracked femur in order to lead his team in its quest for a national title. But his path to this point has been full of interruptions. Two weeks ago his knee swelled to the size of an orange after running repeat miles. “Right then,” he said, “I knew three things.

  One, there’s blood in the joints again. Two, the cracking and clicking tells me there is loose, cracked cartilage. That all hurts and affects the bending of the knee. But the cra
cked femur is what I can totally feel, and that’s what stops me. It doesn’t feel at all stable when I land. The pain shoots, 2

  CHRIS LEAR

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  and it feels like my leg is going to go backward.” He has had the knee drained, and now he is convinced he is a top-thirty guy. But with everything he has endured, is this possible?

  Tired and wanting to yawn, legs feeling just a smidge lethargic, Adam Batliner knows it is time to go. Another fifth-year senior, he, too, earned All-American status last year with a 26th-place finish at NCAA’s. He capped an outstanding year with a third-place finish in the steeplechase at the NCAA’s last spring despite only training intermittently because of a stress fracture in his fibula. He built upon those accomplishments with the best summer of training in his life. When practice started in late August, finishing in the top ten today looked realistic. But like Reese, his training has suffered from numerous setbacks. Now a top-ten finish will require a miracle, and he lines up with only the vaguest idea of what is possible. He will need to summon all of his savvy to repeat last year’s All-American performance.

  Goucher adjusts his necklace of shrunken skulls, symbols of his prey, determined to add more scalps on this day. Julius Mwangi, a Kenyan running for Butler University, handed Goucher his only loss of the season on this course on October 10th. As Mwangi crossed the finish line, he raised his hands in exultation, celebrating, in Goucher’s opinion, “like he’s the national champ. I’m not worried,” he said then of the loss, “I’ll destroy him when I’m ready.”

  But since then Goucher has also suffered setbacks in his preparation.

  By now, though, he is no stranger to untimely misfortune sabotaging his season. Since his freshman year he has been poised to win the NCAA cham pionship, but each time illness or injury has debilitated him when it mattered most. Just last year he seemed indomitable as he marched through the season undefeated. But a cold felled him the week of the NCAA’s, and a beleaguered Goucher could only manage a fourth-place finish.

  He would not have to wait long for a chance at redemption. Just four months later, he electrified the crowd at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships by running away from Bernard Lagat of Washington State University to win the 3000 meters and set a new collegiate record of 7:46.03 in the process. He complemented that championship with a victory in the 5000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Buffalo, New York, for his third career NCAA championship (he also won the NCAA 3000 meter title in 1997). Yet, the one title running enthusiasts thought he would already have, the one title he should already possess, has eluded him. It is a title he covets so much that he elected to postpone his professional career for one final opportunity to claim it as his own. Rightly or wrongly, his season and his collegiate ca-RUNNING WITH THE BUFFALOES