Rams Roundup: Catching up on a dominant weekend for CSU athletics

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Proud to be.

It was a great weekend for the Ram faithful. Not only did the football team defeat an FBS opponent for the first time in nearly a year and solidify a 10-game winning streak over New Mexico in the process, but multiple other squads continued their extremely successful 2019 campaigns with victories as well.

Here’s a brief update on what you may have missed between Friday and Sunday, as well as a rundown on how the seasons have been going for the various Rams teams.

Soccer

Colorado State women’s soccer (9-4-1) remains perfect on their home turf after recently beating a pair of conference foes.

Under head coach Bill Hempen, the Rams have already surpassed their previous record for wins in a season by multiple games and continue to play like league contenders. This past weekend, CSU helped their title pursuit with back-to-back wins over MW foes.

On Friday afternoon, CSU looked slick in their State Pride kits — but it was their defensive play that really stood out. The Rams defeated Fresno State 1-0 at home to notch their seventh shutout this season. In the win, sophomore Gracie Armstrong tallied her second goal of 2019 and the defense did the rest.

Less than 48 hours later, the Rams successfully defended CSU Soccer Field again with a 2-1 win over San Jose State. In this win, junior forward Taylor Steinke got the action started with a goal in the 14th minute. 12 minutes after that, Caeley Lordemann recorded the game-winning goal — her seventh overall this year and fifth game-winner.

“We are in a good spot right now,” Hempen said, according to a postgame release.

The Rams will look to extend their winning streak to four games against Utah State on Friday, Oct. 18. The home match will begin at 3:00 p.m.

Then on Sunday, Oct. 20., CSU will host Boise State (13-2, 5-1) in what will be one of the biggest conference games in program history. As it currently stands, the Broncos (5-1) hold a one-game lead in the standings over CSU (4-2) and New Mexico (8-5, 4-2).

Volleyball

All they do is win win win no matter what.

CSU volleyball (16-1, 6-0) continues to be the class of the Mountain West and they showed why this weekend. The Rams remained perfect in conference play with a dominant sweep of the San Diego Aztecs (9-8, 2-4) at Moby Arena on Saturday.

CSU took the first set 25-19, the second set 25-15 and the third set 25-16. The sweep was the 11th of the season and third against a MW opponent.

Although Breanna Runnels and Kirstie Hillyer did lead the team with 12 kills each, the victory really was a well-rounded performance from the whole team.

“It’s so nice to have a well-rounded team in the front row,” Katie Oleksak said postgame, according to a release. “We don’t have to just rely on one hitter. It definitely makes a setter’s job easier when all of your hitters are equally capable of getting a kill.”

On Monday, CSU moved up to No. 14 in the coaches poll and No. 13 in RPI. CSU will look to extend its winning streak to 16 games when the Rams face Boise State on the road this Thursday. Following the Oct. 17 match against the Broncos, the Rams will head to Utah State for a Saturday night contest in Logan, Utah on Oct. 19.

Hillyer named Offensive Player of the Week

Along with great team success, CSU players continue to rack up individual accolades.

The league announced on Monday that Kirstie Hillyer (senior) was named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week. Hillyer is the fourth Ram to earn recognition from the MW in 2019.

In last week’s victories over Fresno State and SDSU, Hillyer recorded a combined .655 hitting percentage and committed zero hitting errors in the process.

Cross Country

CSU dominated the UCCS Open in Colorado Springs over the weekend. On the men’s side, Thomas Chaston placed first and Lauren Offerman took first place on the women’s side as well.

In the Men’s 8K, nine of the 11 Rams that participated in the field of 126, ultimately finished in the top 50.

Chaston, who is a native of Colorado Springs, clearly felt right at home as he took first place by over 15 seconds — his final time was 24:41.6. On Monday, Chaston was named the USTFCCCA Athlete of the Week for his performance. The last Ram to receive this honor was Jerrell Mock in 2017.

Right behind Chaston was Michael Mooney in second place (24:56.4). And rounding out the top 25 were No. 16 Tom Oates and No. 21 Preston Norris.

In the Women’s 5K, CSU had four of its five participants finish in the top 15 of the 59 runner field. Offerman’s time of 18:16 paced the field by three full seconds.

Emily Chaston, crossed in eighth place for the Rams at 18:42.1. Behind her was Stephanie Carrasco in ninth and Sydney Petersen in 14th to round out CSU’s top 15 finishers.

UCCS Results

MEN

1^st– Thomas Chaston 24:41.1

2^nd – Michael Mooney 24:56.4

16^th – Tom Oates 25:14.4

21^st – Preston Norris 25:20.3 (UNA)

26^th – Noah Bodewes 25:30.4 (UNA)

33^rd – Andrew Forsyth 25:36.3

41^st – Cal Banta 25:52.8 (UNA)

42^nd – Ryan Birkmeier 25:59.1

45^th – Carter Storm (UNA) 26:04

51^st – Dawson Besst 26:17.5

58^th – Lars Mitchel (UNA) 26:31.6

69^th – Chris Montross (UNA) 26:54.7

WOMEN

1^st– Lauren Offerman (UNA) 18:16

8^th – Emily Chaston (UNA) 18:42.1

9^th – Stephanie Carrasco 18:46.8

14^th – Sydney Petersen 18:58.8

37^th – Emma Jordan (UNA) 20:12.7

Football

Last but not least, CSU football finally defeated an FBS opponent for the first time in 2019. The 35-21 victory over the Lobos extended the Rams’ winning streak over New Mexico t0 10 games, and increased their lead in the the overall series to 17 games (42-25).

Warren Jackson was a monster in the win, leading the Rams in total catches (9) and receiving yards (214). As a result of his play, Jackson was ultimately named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Along with the strong showing from Jackson, though, Dante Wright recorded his second 100-yard game of 2019. The freshman wide receiver added 64 rushing yards on top of his 105 through the air to boot.

Finally, sophomore tight end Trey McBride found the end zone for the first time this season with a 42-yard receiving touchdown Friday night. McBride also totaled a career-best five receptions for 57 yards in the victory.

Following a bye, CSU will look to win their second consecutive road game at Fresno State on Saturday, Oct. 26. The team recently announced that kickoff will be at 5:30 p.m. MT and the matchup will be televised on ESPNU.