Eduardo Herrera’s victory in the final individual event capped a strong distance weekend for Colorado. Photo by Kevin Neri
Since Colorado joined the Pac-12 in 2011, the Buffaloes have never placed higher than third at the conference meet, on either the men’s or women’s side. This year, things were different. The distance crew served as a catalyst for the highest finishing place in Colorado’s Pac-12 history, on either the men’s or women’s side.
The women’s team finished second, totaling 102.5 points.
It’s safe to say there will be a plane full of elated runners heading back to Boulder.
“I mean,” said Abby Nichols, who won two conference titles, “that’s what you come here to do, you know, win.”
“It’s a great day to be a Buff,” added Eduardo Herrera, the 5,000-meter champion.
The Colorado distance team capped off the Pac-12 Championships with dominant performances in the 5,000 meters, sweeping the event. Herrera won in 13 minutes, 33.95 seconds, besting Stanford’s Cole Sprout by less than three seconds.
Nichols won with a time of 15:47.92, edging teammate Emily Covert by less than a second.
It was a finish worthy of the Buffs’ weekend that included winning five Pac-12 titles collectively by the distance group. The distance crew scored 32 points across the five races on the men’s side and 72 points on the women’s side.
On Friday night, Nichols won the 10K title in 32:27.25, breaking the Pac-12 meet record, previously held by Oregon’s Carmela Baez, as well as Colorado’s school record, previously held by Makenna Morley. Covert finished third, chipping in some points.
Saturday was Madison Boreman’s turn in the limelight, winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:42.22. Her win returned the women’s steeplechase title to Colorado, which had won it every year prior to last year since joining the conference.
Micaela Degenero started Sunday solid for Colorado, winning the women’s 1,500 meters in a time of 4 minutes, 13.26 seconds. Boreman placed fourth in the event. In addition to Herrera and Nichols, Covert and Andrew Kent competed in the 5K, finishing second and fourth, respectively.
Nichols entered the 5,000 meters as the heavy favorite, a product of being ranked second in the NCAA. The race began slowly, but by 3,000 meters, the top seven increased the gap between them and the field.
It remained stagnant until Oregon’s Alessia Zarbo made a move with around 600 meters left — it may have been miscalculated, as Nichols and Covert followed, biding their time. Entering the final lap, the pair of teammates switched gears, Covert leading with Nichols close behind. Nichols remained in striking distance and outkicked Covert in the last 100 meters.
“I kind of looked up at the screen to see who else was with us, and I only saw us two,” said Nichols. “I was a little surprised, but I also was so happy.”
It was Nichols’ second 5K conference title; she previously won the Big Ten in 2019 while at Ohio State, becoming the first Buckeye to do so in the event. She still holds the Ohio State records in both indoor and outdoor 5,000 meters.
Herrera entered the 5,000 meters ranked second behind Washington’s Brian Fay. Having run the 1,500 earlier in the day, where he placed third in a time of 3:40.78, he admitted he was feeling a bit tired. However, Herrera said that watching his teammates all weekend infused him with much needed motivation. Watching Nichols and Covert’s race set the stage for his own.
“They won — I’m just like ‘holy shit,’” said Herrera. “My teammates are killing it, and now I got to step up and do my job.”
Herrera did his job.
Abby Nichols won the women’s 5,000 meters two days after opening the meet by winning the 10,000. Photo by Cierra Hitner
