Buffs Roundup: Men's cross country takes Pac-12 title

BOULDER — There was a lot going on around Colorado Buffaloes athletics this week, but the biggest story is the first Pac-12 title of the school year.

Here’s what happened:

Football

The Buffs fell to UCLA over the weekend 31-14, dropping their season record to 3-6.

UCLA came out with a scorching 17-0 start in the first quarter behind a very slow start from Montez and the offense, and they were unable to string together drives while the defense struggled to keep the game close. The storyline coming into the game was the Bruins run game, led by Joshua Kelley, and his 126 yards and two touchdowns showed CU could not find an answer.

Laviska Shenault’s presence on offense was sorely missed, as he was in and out of the lineup to notch just four touches in the game. Shenault’s absence did lead to yet another impressive showing from Tony Brown with 6 grabs for 77 yards and a touchdown.

Ultimately the loss is a disappointment to Mel Tucker & Co., as they now need to win all three of their remaining games to make the postseason, a schedule that includes matchups with Washington and No. 8 Utah.

The long road to bowl eligibility begins this week, as Homecoming brings the Stanford Cardinals to Folsom Field on Saturday at 1 pm.

Soccer

The Buffs split games this week against Washington and Washington State to push their record to 11-6-2 heading into the final match of the season.

First, against No. 21 Washington, it was a very tight game throughout. The Huskies came out aggressive, posting more shots and fouls, but they failed to put one in the back of the net. The difference was a goal from Hannah Sharts in the 79′, which gave the Buffs the 1-0 victory in Seattle.

Then, against Washington State, the Buffs were sorely outshot resulting in a tough 4-1 loss. WSU put up a whopping 24 shots with 11 on the frame, whereas the Buffs could only notch seven total and five on target. Taylor Kornieck was able to get a goal in the 60′ minute to increase her season total to 11.

The Buffs’ final game of the season comes this week against Utah on the road.

Volleyball

The Buffs pick up two wins at home to move their record to 10-12 and snap their losing streak.

On Thursday, against Arizona, the Buffs won it on a 3-2 match behind several back-and-forth sets. CU had one of its better showings of the season as it took down Arizona, hitting 24.8% while notching 67 kills and eight aces. Sunday’s matchup with Arizona State was much easier on the Buffs as they sweep the Sun Devils 3-0. The Buffs doubled ASU’s hitting percentage and pulled away early in every set.

Freshman Elissa Alcantara came up huge for the Buffs as she led the team with 22 kills against Arizona and seven against Arizona State. These were the Buffs’ first wins since Sep. 21 when they swept the Colorado Classic Tournament.

The Buffs now take to the road against UCLA and USC in the coming week as they look to build off a couple of huge wins.

Golf

While the men’s team waited until 2020 for its next tournament, the women went to Hawaii for the Pac-12 Preview.

The women came out ninth in the finale of the fall season. Alisha Lau led the Buffs with an even-par 219 over the three-day tournament, which tied her for 17th. Malak Bouraeda was the second-best Buff, as she posted a 4-over par 224 to tie for 28th.

Cross Country

In an amazing display by the men’s cross country team, the Buffs became Pac-12 Champions behind impressing showings from the team’s leaders.

With three top-10 finishers and five within the top-15, Colorado was led by senior Joe Klecker with the first-place finish of 23:02:07, individually beating all the conference competition and leading the Buffs to a 16 point victory. Klecker is the first Buff to win the individual title on the men’s side. Behind him, Kashon Harrison and John Dressel rounded out CU’s top-ten finishers, placing in seventh and eighth.

The women’s team finished fourth led by Sage Hurta’s time of 19:57:08, good for an 11th-place finish. CU was fairly disappointed with this finish, as most of their runners finished near the middle of the pack with some stragglers behind. Behind Hurta finds Holly Bent, Annie Hill, and Rachel McArthur at 14, 16, and 18.

Both teams look forward to the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships, taking place on Nov. 15 in Utah.

Looking Ahead

As fall sports begin to wind down, we are seeing some winter sports kick up, as the men’s and women’s basketball teams both have games this week. The men’s team travels to China to take on Arizona State on Friday night, while the women’s team is at home on Sunday against the New Jersey Institute.