Colorado struggles, but individuals thrive at Big 12 Championship

Colorado's Avery Pearson set a conference title meet record and placed third all-time in NCAA history in the 600-meter run at the Big 12 Championship on Saturday. (Photo via CUBuffsTrack/X)

Nine different podium finishes and Avery Pearson making meet history weren’t enough for the Colorado Buffaloes to score high at the Big 12 Championship in Lubbock, Texas, last Friday and Saturday. The women’s team placed 13th out of 16, and the men's finished 12th out of 13.

The headline for the Buffs was Pearson’s 600-meter race. On day one, she ran a 1:17.92, which at the time was the fastest mark ever run at the Big 12 Championship. The next day in finals, she broke her own record with a 1:17.48. Her new time also put her in third on the NCAA all-time list.

The two distance medley relay teams also had a lot of success. The women’s team (11:22.85) captured third, and the men’s (9:38.03) won a photo finish for second.

Consistency was key for Abbey Nechanicky (16:18.86) as she narrowly stayed on the podium with her seventh-place finish in the 5000-meter race. 

National standout in the mile race, Isaiah Givens (16:18.86), met his match last Saturday as he fell behind by less thana second in his third-place finish. Both Kole Mathison (4:07.69)  and TJ Hansen (4:07.87) lost steam as the race went on, dropping into seventh and eighth place, respectively. 

Drew Costelo ran a 2:23.49 to place fifth in the 1000-meter race. To round out the day, Tanner Newirk ran a competitive 3000-meter race, placing sixth with a 7:58.88 time.

Thanks to strong performances these past few weeks, several Buffs now look toward the Indoor National Championship on March 13.