This season Metro sent just three runners to the tournament  — all from the men’s side — but they managed to have two top-five finishes in the men’s 800-meter run.

Senior Anthony Luna completed his college track career with a second place finish in the men’s 800m with a time of 1:48.18, less than a second from first place.

Rick Bogatay, left, leads a pack of runners while Nate Newland, center, follows close behind during the men's 1500-meter race April 24 at the Jack Christiansen Invitational in Ft. Collins. Bogatay finished 11th in the 1500-meter run May 29 at the Division II Track and Field National Championships in Charlotte, N.C. File photo by Daniel Clements

The race was tight as junior Shawn Lindbom finished a few tenths of a second behind Luna to finish fourth at 1:48.65.

Luna said he couldn’t maneuver out of the pack of runners at the start, which hampered him from making a strong push for the top position toward the end.

But he added that overall he “didn’t run that great of a race,” which was something that has stayed on his mind.

“To be honest, I haven’t stopped thinking about that race since it happened,” he said.

Luna is the only Metro track runner to win a national title. He won the indoor and outdoor titles in the 800m during the 2008-09 season; he didn’t want to finish his time at Metro without a win.

“It was really disappointing,” he said. “I’m not going to beat around the bush: I was upset. I shouldn’t have lost that race.”

Senior Rick Bogatay finished 11th in the men’s 1500-meter run with a time of 3:52.99.

The 2009-10 indoor and outdoor track season ends after a series of changes in the program. Pete Julian, co-founder of the program and long-time head coach, abruptly left Metro to take a coaching position at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash.

Metro Athletic Director Joan McDermott quickly named Sean Nesbitt, who helped Julian revive the program in 2005, interim head coach of the men’s and women’s cross country teams. Last December John Suspic, an assistant under Nesbitt and student of Julian’s, took over as the permanent coach of the cross country and track teams.

“We’re really pleased to have John take over as our new head coach,” McDermott said in a statement. “We feel John can take us to the next level of competing with Adams State and Western State. He has an excellent running background and we think the transition will be easy for our student-athletes as he brings a similar philosophy as Sean and Pete (Julian) had.”

Luna said the transition wasn’t easy for long-tenured runners like himself, but in the end they became receptive to the changes.

Although he found frustration instead of a third national championship in Charlotte, Luna found solace in knowing the track program is progressing well.

Suspic summed it up after the race.

“He (Suspic) told me ‘You know Metro is going in the right direction if athletes are pissed off with a second place finish at nationals,’” Luna said. “We’re moving the program in the right direction. “

“Preparing for the RMAC, we broke up the team,” Head Coach John Supsic said. “Guys that already qualified for nationals trained through RMAC.”

The championships became a venue for the runners to sharpen their skills and build confidence for nationals.

The conditions in Pueblo were less than favorable, Supsic said.

Kellen Fockler breaths deeply after his 800m run April 20 in Golden. Metro has four runners who have qualified for the NCAA finals, two in the men's 800 meter run and two in the men's 1500-meter run. Photo by Dan Clements

“The weather has been bad the entire season,” Supsic explained. “There has only been one decent meet the entire year.”

The windy conditions made the meet difficult but all the schools were forced to compete in the same weather.

“It’s not the preferred conditions but we did it with a smile,” Supsic said.

Metro’s runners performed with confidence even with the windy conditions. The program had top five performances in the men’s 800-meter and 1500-meter running events, as well as a championship finish.

Anthony Luna entered the meet as defending champion in the 800-meter run and repeated as RMAC champion with a 1:50.68 run time. Shawn Lindbom finished fourth, a few seconds behind Luna, with a time of 1:51:21.

“Shawn, did great and he’s ready to roll at the national championships,” Supsic said.

There are two ways to qualify for nationals. Athletes need to run an automatic qualifying time or meet a provisional time. The provisional time needs to place in the top 16 of their respective event. A qualifying time can be met at any event during the season. Lindbom earned a spot at nationals with a provisional time that places him in the top 10 nationally. Luna earned a spot in his first meet of the season with an automatic qualifying time of 1:49.10, which remains the fastest in the nation.

Rick Bogatay and Carl Arnold III both finished in the top five at RMAC in the 1500-meter run. Bogatay finished third with a time of 3:53.16. He entered the championships with a spot at nationals. Arnold finished fifth 3:54.14. He earned his trip to nationals at the Colorado Mines Last Chance meet.

The meet was a last chance to secure a trip to the NCAA Championships in Charlotte, N.C. Arnold competed May 16 in Golden. He lingered around the 16th spot in the nation going into the meet and the conditions at Last Chance were ideal for him to secure his spot.

“Ironically, the meet had really good weather,” Supsic said.

Arnold ran 3:53.01 and finished second at the meet. The RMAC Championships proved to be a place for younger athletes to develop their talent.

“Derek Fiorini finally turned his season around,” Supsic said.

The sophomore sprinter finished third in the 200-meter dash. He also earned a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash. Fiorini struggled throughout the season but found his stride at the championships.

No female athlete will compete at nationals, however, a few athletes had their best performances of the year at RMAC. Danielle Kehoe finished seventh in the 5000-meter dash.

“The women were a little further behind than I thought we’d be,” Supsic said. “There were still very strong performances by certain athletes. Danielle Kehoe had a great meet.”

Metro will continue to improve their standings at future RMAC championships. The absence of field events puts the school at a disadvantage when competing for a team championship.

“Once we start adding field events we’re going to keep moving up,” Supsic said.

The Metro track and field team will compete at the NCAA Championships May 27 through May 29 in Charlotte.

The ’Runners made the 1500-meter run their primary goal to improve on over the weekend. The Metro track team was successful in qualifying two new 1500-meter runners while improving two personal records for two 1500-meter runners.

In Eugene, seniors Rick Bogatay and Anthony Luna battled against the NCAA provision standard of 3:53.00 for the 1500-meter run.

Track redshirt freshman Adrienne Bratton practices her triple-jumping technique while jump and sprint coach Jacenta Spanti offers advice in the background before Bratton competes April 30 at the Mines/Metro/UCCS meet in Golden. The meet started out with a flurry of hail but quickly turned to more track-friendly weather. Photo by Daniel Clements

Bogatay and Luna traveled to Eugene to participate in the same 1500-meter race. The entire trip was an immense success with Bogatay finishing 3:50.95 and placing third.

Luna placed fifth out of twelve with a time of 3:52.31, which was still high enough to qualify. The duo joins junior Carl Arnold III and junior Nate Newland in 1500-meter provisional qualifiers. Both Arnold and Newland qualified earlier this season.

Arnold held the fastest time on the team before the dual meet in Golden but in improved his time yet again, becoming the ninth fastest 1500-meter runner in the nation with a time of 3:49.26.

Sophomore Xenia Flores also beat her 1500-meter personal record by almost 2 seconds with a time of 4:57.51, making this the fourth 1500-meter runner to either improve their personal record or qualify under the NCAA standard.

Sophomore Kristin Yarkosky dominated her 800-meter run improving her personal record by a whopping 22 seconds. Yarkosky ran a 2:20.65 and finished third out of nine runners in her 800-meter race.

“We have put in a ton of work and miles since December and we are expecting the best performances of the year,” Head Coach John Supsic said.

The track team will travel to Pueblo May 9-11 to compete in the RMAC championships.

“The weather conditions were tough,” Head Coach John Supsic said. “The sprinters ran pretty well. Distance it was tough for them, but they ran great considering the conditions.”

Junior Carl Arnold III posted a provisional qualifying time in the 1,500 meters, winning the race. He finished with a time of 3:52.37, beating the provisional standard time by .63 seconds.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Arnold said. “I haven’t hit a provisional time all year. I’m working on getting an auto time.”

Arnold is the second runner to qualify in the 1,500 this outdoor season after junior Nate Newland qualified last week.

“He’s kind of a quiet leader,” Supsic said on Arnold’s performance. “He does what’s expected of him. I heard people say they were nervous because of the win, but Carl went out and ran with guts. He’s coming on strong and is going to have a great end of the season.”

Senior Anthony Luna missed the cutoff time, finishing second in the 1,500 meters.

Sophomore Derek Fiorini missed the school record time in 100 meters, finishing eighth with a time of 10.90. Fiorini said breaking records isn’t that significant to him.

“I was more excited to see my times going down,” Fiorini said. “To me, that’s more important than holding records.”

Track senior Rick Bogatay, left, leads a pack of runners while junior Nate Newland, center, folls close behind during the men's 1500-meter race April 24 at the Jack Christiansen Invitational in Ft. Collins. Photo by Daniel Clements.

Women’s basketball senior Chelsea Williamson became the first discus thrower in school history, however she wasn’t able to record a measurable throw.

Redshirt freshman Adrienne Bratton finished sixth in the triple jump with four Division I jumpers ahead of her. She recorded at 10.56 feet, her second-best distance.

The Roadrunners only have a month until the season is over. Fiorini said the team has done pretty well this season, despite being so young and having a new coach.

Arnold agrees with Fiorini.

“It’s been a pretty decent season,” Arnold said. “We have pretty good expectations for finishing up in the DMR (distance medley relay).”

He’s also setting goals for himself for the next couple of weeks.

“For me, I want my times to go down more,” Fiorini said. “I’m happy with the season, I just had to adjust to training more, but I’m happy with it.”

The Roadrunners will travel to Fort Collins May 1 for the CSU Front Range Open.

Senior Anthony Luna automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships April 17 in the 800 meters with a time of 1:49.10 — the fastest time of any runner in NCAA Division II this spring. Only one collegiate runner from another division had a faster time, Charles Jock of UC Irvine, who ran the 800 meters in 1:48.21. Luna has been recovering from a lower leg injury since November.

“I’m healthy now and I’m ready to rock ’n’ roll,” Luna said. “What better way to go out than to graduate and leave Metro State a champion,”

Junior Nate Newland, senior Rick Bogatay and sophomore Xenia Flores all qualified April 16. Newland ran a 3:52.70 in the 1500-meter run, which beat the provisional time of 3:53.00.

Bogatay and Flores both qualified in the 5,000 meters. Bogatay finished at 14:38.97, good enough to beat the men’s provisional mark of 14:45. Flores crossed the line at 17:32.97, under the provisional mark of 17:33.

Flores is just the second woman in school history to post a provisional NCAA qualifying time in any event, and crushed the previous school record of 18:27.49, which was set by sophomore Danielle Kehoe earlier this season.

“(Flores) ran a great race,” Head Coach John Supsic said. “She really stepped it up. I’ve never seen her race so well. She beat her personal best by over a minute.”

For the Metro runners who didn’t travel to the Mt. SAC Relays in California, they competed in the CSU-Pueblo Invitational. In Pueblo, 13 Metro runners set personal bests.

Red-shirt freshman Kery Allen and freshman Cherelle Cropp, beat two personal bests each. Allen posted a 4:57.26 in the 1500 meters, which placed her fourth out of 30. Allen also finished with a 2:27.64 in the 800 meters.

Cropp also had two personal bests in the 200 meters and 400 meters.

The track team will travel to the Jack Christenson Invite April 24 in Fort Collins.

For the men, two personal bests were set one by freshman Gabe Meidl, who finished 12th in the 400 meters in 51.80, and the other by sophomore Jake Wolford who finished 13th behind his teammate with a time of 52.31.

Sophomore Derek Fiorini, a Westminster native, ran the 100 and 200 meters and finished seventh and 12th place, respectively.

“Overall I was a little disappointed with myself,” Fiorini said. “My times should be down from were they were (at the CU Invitational), I expect myself to compete at the highest level and continue to improve.”

Track sophomore Derek Fiorini powers through the start of the men's 100-meter dash April 10 at Potts Field in Boulder. Photo by Daniel Clements

On the women’s side, sophomore Danielle Kehoe was another athlete who set a personal best when she crossed the finish line at 10:51.64, good enough for 10th out of 31 runners in the 3,000 meters.  The time beat her personal best by eight seconds.

“The whole team is running well for this time of year,” Head Coach John Supsic said.  “In a few weeks we will have our conference meet, and it’s good that we have guys and girls running personal and season bests.”

This week the track teams will have light workout to prepare for the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif.  With conference finals just a few weeks away, the competition is an opportunity for Metro runners to qualify for nationals.

Supsic said he didn’t run several of his athletes in the CU Invitational in Boulder April 10 so the men and women’s track teams will be ready to compete for the meet in California.

“We are going to need our athletes rested for this opportunity to qualify for nationals,” Supsic said. “They will be running against some of the top athletes from around the country.”

The Mt. SAC Relays will be a big stage and we have to be ready to perform at the top of our game. It will be fast out there, so we have to be ready to be fast.”

Fiorini will travel with the team to run next weekend.  He said he felt ready for the relays, and that the team will try to stay loose this week to stay mentally and physically prepared.

Track freshman Gabe Meidl sets in his block April 10 before running in the 400-meter run. Photo by Daniel Clements

“I am really pumped up for (Mt. SAC Relay)” Fiorini said. “We work hard and feel our training will pay off.”

Despite 20 to 30 mph winds, Luna finished with the top time among 48 runners, including a number of NCAA Division I runners.

“Winds definitely play a role, because you’re racing to place,” Luna said. “Your main goal is to qualify, and it’s nice to get the auto, lock it in for NCAA. The element shows how tough people are.”

He ran a 1:52.70, which converted to 1:52.13 for altitude. The provisional standard in Division II is 1:53.57 and the automatic time is 1:50.57.

Luna was also part of the 4×400 relay team with sophomore Derek Fiorini and juniors Carl Arnold III and Shawn Lindbom. Luna said there was a handoff mishap where one of the opposing runners got in the way while Lindbom was trying to hand the baton to Luna. Even after the disastrous handoff, Luna still passed four competitors on the final lap to pull the Roadrunners to a third place finish, missing the qualifying time by five seconds.

“He ran exceptional in both races,” Head Coach John Supsic said. “Even though it was windy, he hit provisional times. He looked great; like a national champ.”

Redshirt freshman Adrienne Bratton was one of the fewer athletes to benefit from the wind in her event. Bratton placed seventh in the triple jump out of 12 competitors, and was topped by just two Division II jumpers, while competing against multiple Division I and professional jumpers. Her 10.63-meter jump broke her school record of 10.13 meters.

Bratton was excited to break her record once again, but is confident she can improve her jump even more.

“It’s kind of disappointing, because it’s not as far as my indoor jump, but it will get better,” Bratton said.

Sophomore Eiger Erickson came up just 13 seconds short of a provisional time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for the men, finishing seventh out of 20 runners.

For the women, sophomore Xenia Flores finished 24th in 5:04.55 as the top Roadrunner in the 1,500 meters.

Though no one else made NCAA provisional times, Luna said he believes the team had a lot of success.

“We’re fired up,” Luna said. “There are some pretty big meets coming up to get good times. Our fitness level is there.”

The Roadrunners will compete in the CU Invitational April 10 in Boulder.

Metro Women – Top 10

Metro State men’s and women’s track teams opened their outdoor season March 28 at the Colorado State-Pueblo Open in Pueblo.

Senior Rick Bogatay won the 5,000-meter run to lead a men’s team that placed nine different men in the top-10 of their respective events. Bogatay finished in 15:18.28, which was over 30 seconds faster than the rest of the field. Junior Zach Mares came in fifth at 16:15.10, while freshman Kellen Fockler came in ninth.

Junior Carl Arnold III placed second in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.59, less than two seconds back. Junior Shawn Lindbom came in fifth with a time of 1:56.85.

Sophomore Derek Fiorini was the only individual from Metro to have two top-10 finishes. Fiorini finished seventh in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Freshman Gabe Meidl placed seventh in the 400 meter dash, while sophomore Jacob Wolford finished ninth in the 400-meter hurdles.

Sophomore Eiger Erickson finished fourth in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:09.70.

Sophomores Danielle Kehoe and Xenia Flores led the way for the women’s team which placed five top-10 finishers. Kehoe finished second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:27.49 and just ahead of teammate Flores who finished third in 19:07.83.

Kehoe said she was further along than her expectations through this early in the season and was pleasantly surprised with the results.

Senior Lindsay Novascone finished seventh in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.83.

Red-shirt freshman Kery Allen finished tenth in the 800-meter run.

Red-shirt Adrienne Bratton placed eighth in the triple jump, which was Metro’s only top 10 in field events.

The Roadrunners will compete at the Tom Benich Invitational April 3 in Greeley.

Junior Shawn Lindbom finished ninth with a time of 1:59.58 in the 800-meter run on the second day of the championship. On the first day, in the preliminary round, Lindbom finished with a time of 1:52.31 in the 800 meters good enough for third place.

The time was just .11 seconds shy of his previous best this season which was 1:52.20.

Metro finished third in the distance medley relay with a time of 9:55.67, which broke the old school record of 10:02.93. It was also the highest finish in school history.

Metro senior Brandon Johnson tries to stay with the leaders during the men's 3,000-meter Feb. 27 in Golden. The men's distance relay placed third at the NCAA Championships March 14 in Albuguerque, N.M. File photo by Daniel Clements

Metro managed to hold on to third place when senior Rick Bogatay beat three runners in the last lap on the final leg of the race.

As for the team events distance medley team consisting of seniors Nate Newland and Anthony Luna, junior Carl Arnold III and Bogatay were awarded All-American honors. This was the fifth All-American honor for Luna and second for Newland. Arnold and Bogatay got their first All-American honors.

The men’s distance team scored six points for Metro, placing them 27th overall, in a tie with Stonehill College, out of 47 teams in the championship. The women’s team did not participate in the championship.

Now the indoor season is over the ‘Runners can look forward to warmer and fresher air outdoors. For Head Coach John Supsic, the primary focus of the track season comes during the outdoor portion.

“Our focus is outdoors. We treat the indoors as preseason,” Supsic said earlier this season. “Still that doesn’t exempt us from performing.”

Middle distance will continue to be the strong point for Metro.

Middle distance’s success from the first half of the season will demand their focus for the second half. The ‘Runners largely consider themselves a middle distance team but will look to grow and expanded into other events as the team grows. But now the coaching staff will continue to take advantage of their strong point.

“We have some naturally quick guys,” Supsic said. “Middle distance will continue to do what they are doing.”

Metro will started the outdoor season March 20 at the Potts Invitational in Boulder.

“It’s very exciting,” Bratton said. “I was kind of surprised no one else had attempted the triple jump. It’s a pretty fun event. It’s surprising.”

Bratton is from Arvada and graduated from Pomona High School in 2007. She was a four-year letter winner in track and had personal bests of 13.00 in the 100-meter, 15 feet in the long jump, 33 feet in the triple jump and 27:00 in the 200-meter.

This is Bratton’s first year of eligibility in college for track. She is already learning a lot from the team and likes what Metro has to offer.

“It’s a growing team,” Bratton said. “We’re all really supportive of each other, so it’s fun.”

Metro track triple jumper Adrienne Bratton. Photo by Tiffany Kassab

Bratton posted a personal best in the triple jump Feb. 19, jumping 10.31 meters. She broke her own school record the next week Feb. 27 at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships in Golden, jumping 10.74 meters to finish seventh in the finals. Her goal as a Roadrunner is to keep breaking her record for track.

“Adrienne was great this year,” Head Coach John Supsic said. “She started out a little slow, but she continued to jump better and further every meet. She isn’t even close to her potential yet.”

Not only is she breaking records, she’s also overcoming obstacles. Bratton found out her sophomore year she is missing a vertebrae in her back, so she has been doing extra strength training to solidify her core to be able to jump.

“They told me I wouldn’t be able to jump and I wouldn’t be able to play basketball or any of that,” Bratton said. “It doesn’t hurt while I’m jumping, but any other time the after effects is what gets it.”

Bratton is persuing a degree in behavioral science with a secondary education licensure. She doesn’t really have any free time after three-hour-a-day workouts, school and homework. However, on the weekends she likes to hang out with her family and relax.

Despite both team’s last place finishes, Head Coach John Supsic said he felt both teams were mutually successful on the track.

Zach Mares reacts after running his 3000 meter race in 9:22.61 and placing 27. Mares ran better in the 5000 meter race, with a time of 15:49.17 and placed 10. Photo by Daniel Clements

“We had solid performances individually and with the men’s distance relay, so I was excited about that,” Supsic said.

The men’s distance relay, consisting of juniors Nate Newland and Carl Arnold III and seniors Anthony Luna and Rick Bogatay, finished Feb. 26 with a time of 10:02.93. The time converted to 9:48.11 for altitude and track size, and is also the second-fastest time in the nation this year, behind first place Adams State’s 9:46.70. The time automatically qualified them for the NCAA Championships.

“It’s really exciting,” Newland said. “Last year we placed in fifth and this year, we barely made first. I think we can do some big stuff.”

Junior Shawn Lindbom led the men Feb. 27, finishing second overall in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:55.51. Arnold took fifth in the 800-meter.

Sophomore Derek Fiorini qualified for the finals in the 400-meter, finishing fifth overall and first in his heat with a time of 51.84. Fiorini ended up taking sixth place in the finals, improving his time by .32 seconds.

On the women’s side, senior Taebrooke Rutter placed ninth in the mile. She was one spot away from earning team points as the top-eight finishers score. The mile was Rutter’s final race of her collegiate career.

“She was a great contributor to the team with a positive attitude,” Supsic said. “She helps with team formality.”

Rutter said her time with Metro has been great, especially the coaches, and overall it was a good experience. She believes she finished her running career on a good note.

“It was bittersweet for me,” Rutter said. “It ended with a good race, but it was also hard to let it go.”

The RMAC Indoor Track and Field Championships were held at the Colorado School of Mines on Feb. 27. Photo by Sean Mullins

Sophomores Xenia Flores and Kery Allen both scored in the 3,000 meters, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively.

Freshman Adrienne Bratton broke her own school record in the triple jump, jumping 10.74 to finish seventh in the finals.

Newland said he thinks the team overall has gotten better since the beginning of the season.

“There was a slow start, but everybody has improved,” Newland said. “Everybody is getting faster. We’re looking to do big things.”

The Roadrunners will travel to Albuquerque, N.M. March 12 and 13 for the NCAA Championships.

It is safe to say that injuries are becoming less of an issue for the Metro track and field team. Injury held senior Lindsay Novascone from being able to participate in most of the indoor season, and almost left freshman Gabe Meidl from competing this weekend.

“This was only the second meet I was able to compete in this season,” Novascone said. “But in the RMAC Championship, long jump could be an option for me.”

Track sophomore Jacob Wolford looks on as teammates freshman Gabe Meidl, junior Kyle Hameister, and freshman Steve McMillon practice their starts in front of the Tivoli Feb. 23. The track team will participate in the RMAC Championships Feb. 26 and 27 in Golden. Photo by Daniel Clements

Novascone placed fourth at the Twilight Invitational in the 60-meter run with a time of 8.05.

“I could have done better, I had a mishap at the start,” Novascone said. “But I will make it up next weekend.”

While Novascone was training for cross country earlier this year, she heard a snap in her foot and found out she sustained a stress fracture. The injury even held her in a boot for quite some time.

Meidl also attained a hamstring injury earlier last week before the Twilight Invitational.

“It happened last Monday when we were just warming up,” Meidl said. “I don’t know if it was the cold weather, but I tweaked it a little bit and was easy on it all week, icing it and stretching it.”

Meidl also beat his personal best with a 53.77 in the 400-meter sprint while being cautious with his hamstring, even while competing.

Sophomore Jacob Wolford nipped at Meidl’s heels, placing in fifth place with a time of 54.08 in the 400-meter sprint.

Redshirt Freshman Adrienne Bratton also placed a personal best in the triple jump. Bratton jumped 10.31 meters, and she is the only woman in school history to participate in the triple jump.

The men’s track team moved up one spot to No. 18 in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s top-25 poll Feb. 23.

In this week’s national performance list, junior Shawn Lindbom is ranked third in the 800-meters, while senior Rick Bogatay sits fourth.

The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship meet will be Feb. 26 and 27 at Colorado School of Mines in Golden.

Sophomore Scott Ingram races in the men's 3,000-meter run Jun. 23 at the Colorado School of Mines Fieldhouse. File photo by Daniel Clements

Senior Morgan Thomas became the first woman ever at Metro to hit a provisional qualifying time, finishing with a converted time of 2:16.13 in the 800-meter preliminaries. Thomas also broke a school record with that time, and was nearly three seconds ahead of her 24 competitors. Thomas went on to win the final 800-meter race with a time of 2:18.62.

“Overall we had some great performances,” Head Coach John Supsic said. “Morgan had a phenomenal meet, and we had some guys that placed very well. This was one of our bigger meets and we held our own.”

Senior Brandon Johnson also blew by competitors, winning the mile race with a converted time of 4:11.65, well below the provisional standard of 4:13.70, qualifying him for the NCAA Championships in March. Johnson and several other athletes helped the team to finish with 20 points on the men’s side, placing 12th out of 17 teams, and fourth of the seven Division II teams participating.

The women’s team finished with 22 points, placing them 10th out of 18 teams and second out of eight Division II teams.

Sophomore Danielle Kehoe contributed 10 points to the women’s total when she came in first in the 5000-meter championship, beating nine other competitors and also achieving a personal record. Thomas also added 10 points, and the remaining two were earned by senior Taebrooke Rutter when she finished eighth in the mile.

With conference championships and the NCAA Championships closing in, every meet matters. With only a few meets left to “tune up,” the Roadrunners are giving everything they’ve got to prepare themselves for the competition. Although they have faced Division I runners before, meets like the Air Force Invitational are great preparation for what they will face in conferences and Nationals.

“Everyone’s definitely excited, people that haven’t made Nationals are pushing themselves in practice and pushing themselves in meets. Competing against Division I fires up our team. They want to prove something,” Supsic said.

The Roadrunners will compete again Feb. 19 when they head to Golden for the Colorado Mines Twilight Invitational.

“I started running cross country to get in shape for soccer and figured out that I kind of liked running,” Bogatay said.

Rick Bogatay poses for a portrait on the Athletic Fields on the Auraria Campus. He recently broke the school record for the mile at Metro. Photo by Will Morgan.

Bogatay and Pete Julian switched states after Julian took a new assistant coaching job at Washington State University, which is only five hours away from Bogatay’s hometown of Puyallup, Washington.

“I really like Denver, I knew that training at altitude was the next step up,” Bogatay said. “I figure, give this running thing a shot and see where I can take it.”

So far it has brought him over 1,300 miles to Denver and all over the country competing in indoor and outdoor 2k and 5k events, while competing at a nationally ranked level.

Bogatay grew up competing at home with two older brothers. He had to prove himself day in and day out. All three kids played sports growing up, including roller speed skating, but only Bogatay was competitive enough to contend at the collegiate level.

Bogatay, 23, will be attempting to become the first Metro runner to run a sub four-minute mile.

Outside of athletics, Bogatay refuses to stray far as a human performance and sports major.

He would also like to share his love and knowledge of running to younger generations through coaching and even becoming a high school gym teacher.

Pushing his body to the limit is what keeps him in love with running.

“I started out running 50 miles a week, now I’m running 90 to 100 miles a week,” Bogatay said. “It’s about how fast I can get, how crazy I can get with training.”

Bogatay has taken on a leadership role since becoming a senior, but maintains his sense of humor no matter what role he falls into.

“He always keeps an even keel on the team,” Head Coach John Supsic said. “He jokes around a lot, but when it comes time to bust his butt he sets a good example for everyone else. He has a great shot at winning Nationals at indoor in the mile.”

After college, Bogatay wishes to try his hand at some post-collegiate cross country runs while still practicing with the team during his last year at Metro.

“It will be weird this summer not having anything to train for, but just running for the sake of running,” Bogatay said. “Maybe try a marathon.”

As long as Bogatay has maybe in front of him, he will compete until his body is done with the sport.

“It was a surreal feeling to run that fast,” senior Rick Bogatay said.

Bogatay set a new school record in the mile with a time of 4:08.98, breaking the previous record of 4:10.37 set by senior Anthony Luna.

He finished third behind two runners from Adams State, and was automatically qualified for the National Championship.

Junior Shawn Lindbom also hit an automatic qualifying time in the 800-meter after placing fourth with an altitude converted time of 1:51.57, and junior Nate Newland also hit a provisional time in the mile after conversion to 4:11.48.

Sophomore Xenia Flores also set a school record in the 5,000-meter in 18:40.29.

Track senior Brandon Johnson pulls away from the competition during the men’s 3,000-meter race Jan. 23 at the Colorado School of Mines Fieldhouse. Johnson competed in the mile Feb. 6, finishing 17th in 4:20.18, and was less than a second away from quallifying. File photo by Daniel Clements

“All of our athletes did a fantastic job,” Head Coach John Supsic said. “Watching three of my guys qualify for nationals and break school records was so exciting. From here it’s easy to keep everyone going with the success that we’re having.

The people that haven’t qualified yet see their teammates making it and are motivated to qualify too. The success is just speaking for itself.”

The Roadrunners will be running again Feb. 12 and 13 at the Air Force Invitational, and are hoping to continue their success from this past meet.

“This weekend we’re going to try and qualify a couple more people,” Supsic said. “We’ll have Rick [pacing] to get some other guys to qualify in the mile, and we’re going to try and get some females to qualify too.”

Bogatay agrees with Supsic.

“It’s just cruise control until Nationals,” Bogatay said. “Metro State has come a long way. We’ll get three to four weeks of training in, I’ll be a few seconds faster, and I’ll beat those guys that beat me.”

Josh McDaniels, Jim Tracy, Joe Sacco. What do these three people have in common? They are new head coaches for Denver sports. And what’s more? They have all had success, in their own way. Well Metro has a name of its own to throw into the mix: John Supsic.

The Baltimore native was an assistant coach during the 2009 cross-country season under interim coach Sean Nesbitt when Metro’s men’s and women’s cross country teams both qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive season.

Head Coach John Supsic hopes to take Metro’s track and field program to the next level. Junior Shawn Lindbom runs in the background. Photo by Luke Powell • lpowel18@mscd.edu

The men’s team placed 14th and the women finished 21st. Both teams finished in the top 5 in the highly competitive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Supsic’s only other coaching experience was with Regis University, where he was an assistant coach and designed workouts.

The new head coach of Metro track and cross-country teams has realistic, lofty goals for his squad under his reign. In his first position as head coach, he hopes to build off of a solid foundation of success set by previous Head Coach Pete Julian, and last year’s Interim Head Coach, Sean Nesbitt.

“In the short term, I expect to improve upon where our teams finished last year,” Supsic said. “I want to win nationals. I want both of our teams to be in the top 10 in the next two years.”

Supsic has been a competitive runner for nearly 16 years. In college, the Towson University alum was a two-year captain of the cross-country team and earned All-American honors three times.

Since graduation, Supsic continued his running career with the Boulder Distance Project for four years, and was coached by a former marathon world record holder, Steve Jones. During that time he was training partners with Nesbitt on the U.S. marathon relay championship team in 2006.

In pursuit of a running career, Supsic was injured two years ago that has, to this day, sidelined him. He suffered a stress fracture in his hip due to a vitamin D deficiency.

Outside of his new coaching duties, he works toward a full recovery in attempt to give professional running “one last go.” Shooting for the stars, he hopes to qualify for the 2012 Olympic trials.

While running competitively in Boulder, Supsic also worked full-time, 40 to 50 hours per week. Supsic had been an accountant in real estate from 2004-09 and spent three years as an auditor prior to his time in real estate.

Even though he was unhappy at his real estate job, his business background has helped him in his organizational qualities and financial understanding of budgeting and similar issues for the Metro track and cross-country programs.

A bonus not every new head coach has the privilege of boasting.

Managing people in the business world, Supsic explained, was like being a head coach.

“I’m essentially managing a team,” Supsic said.

Supsic, like Julian, emphasizes hard work in the classroom as much, if not more, than the hard work he demands on the field.

Being a college athlete who dreamed of being a professional athlete, he knows how hard (and rare) it is to succeed as an athlete.

“I’d be disappointed if an athlete wins the national title, then drops out of school. It’s that serious with me,” Supsic said.

Supsic will take this role seriously and will push his teams to their potential every day and every meet.

So, RMAC, he may be the new kid on the block, but don’t get too comfortable, because he’s in the hunt to be the top dog in the nation.

The Lady ’Runners ran their way to two school records and jumped their way to a third, while the gentlemen finished both first and second in the distance medley relay. Metro as a team finished in fourth place for the men and seventh place for the women.

Sophomore Scott Ingram, center, tries to stay ahead of the pack in the men’s 3,000-meter race Jan. 23 at the Colorado School of Mines Fieldhouse. Ingram was followed closely by junior Zach Mares, left, and senior Brandon Johnson. Photo by Daniel Clements . dcleme12@mscd.edu

First year Head Coach John Supsic was pleased with how the weekend turned out, “[The meet] went great,” Supsic said. “We had two relay teams qualify for provisionals.”

Metro is about halfway through the indoor part of the season. Metro’s runners normally consider indoor meets a little harder than outdoor meets.

“Its harder indoors where you’re not breathing in the fresh, cold Colorado air,” sophomore Xenia Flores said.

Supsic agrees with Flores.

“Our focus is outdoors. We treat the indoors as preseason,” Supsic said. “Still that doesn’t exempt us from performing.”

The distance medley A team of juniors Carl Arnold III and Shawn Lindbom, sophomore Derek Fiorini and senior Rick Bogatay finished with a time of 10:12.57. The B team of junior Nate Newland, freshman Gabe Meidl, sophomore Scott Ingram and senior Brandon Johnson finished right behind at 10:17.21.

As for individual events the men’s team had several good showings. Bogatay finished first in the 800 meters with a time of 1:58.74.  Fiorini finished second in the 400 meters with a time of 52.44. Metro also had a close race in the men’s mile with Arnold and Lindbom finishing in second and third place, with times of 4:24.72 and 4:26.88, respectively.

Middle distance runners dominated Metro’s roster during the open. Supsic explained that, while middle distance is the focus, there is a new running program for the sprint side of the team, which he expects would take four to five weeks to see full results.

“Our focus is mainly on middle distance,” Supsic said. “Though injuries to senior Lindsay Novascone and sophomore Desiree Martin made our sprinting results a little misleading.”

Senior middle distance runner Anthony Luna also sat out of the meet with an injury. Supsic went on to say all three runners could have participated, but the team decided to be extra cautious.

While the men were dominating the distance medley, the women’s team set new ground for the track team. Flores led the way, setting records in the mile run and 3,000 meters. She finished 5:29.53 and 10:49.2, respectively.

“I feels pretty good to set new records,” Flores said.

Flores was not the only Lady ’Runner to impress in the 3,000 meters. Finishing fourth right behind Flores was senior Taebrooke Rutter who also broke the previous school record of 10:54.67 with a run of 10:50.1. The last notable ’Runner was senior Morgan Thomas, who placed sixth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:22.69.

Adrienne Bratton was the first person to compete for Metro in the women’s triple jump. Bratton placed seventh with a jump of 10.15 meters establishing a new school record.

The ‘Runners next tournament will be the New Mexico Classic Feb. 6 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Under new Head Coach John Supsic, the Roadrunner track team is off and running. After getting promoted to head coach Dec. 2, 2009, Supsic said the program will likely stay similar to the training plan they’ve had in the past.

New this year will be an enforced study hall program where the athletes that do not maintain a grade point average of 3.0 will have to participate in until they can bring their grades up. The NCAA only enforces a 2.0 grade point average for eligibility of the athletes, but Suspic believes that education is important and expects all his athletes to get their degrees.

Senior Rick Bogatay, right, and sophomore Scott Ingram race to the finish during the men’s mile Jan 15 at Air Force Academy. Photo by Taryn Jones • tjone101@mscd.edu

It’s no surprise that the Roadrunners will be led this year by senior Anthony Luna, who was the NCAA Division II National Champion last year in the 800-meter run and a qualifier for the U.S. National Team. Luna missed the meet at Air Force since he is recovering from an injury, but Supsic said that he is all healed up and they are just being cautious at this point. They can expect to see him more once the outdoor track season begins in March.

Other than Luna, there will be plenty of other athletes to keep an eye on this year as well.

Senior Lindsay Novascone is coming off an injury and looks to have a strong season, while seniors Brandon Johnson and Morgan Thomas are also looking to have big years. Thomas is looking to finish up her track eligibility this indoor season.

“I am looking to take advantage of this opportunity, embrace the season and push as much as I can,” Thomas said.

She is also hoping that some good performances this year by the women’s team will attract positive attention to the program that will strengthen the recruiting process and ensure the program’s strong future.

An Arizona native, Thomas spent this winter training in the warmth of her home state.

“It is essential to stick to the coach’s training program, and I’m hoping that the work that I put in this offseason will pay off during the season.”

Johnson, a communications major at Metro, is hoping to qualify for Nationals this year in the mile. Last year his best time was 4:12 and he aims to improve that mark to 4:09 this year, which he believes will give him a shot at Nationals.

Senior Shawn Lindbom already posted a provisional qualifying time in the 800-meter at the Air Force Open with newcomer to the team junior Carl Arnold III finishing right behind him and just off the mark for the provisional time.

Sophomore Derek Fiorini will definitely be another athlete to keep an eye on with high expectations in only his second year on the team. Fiorini is also looking at Nationals as his ultimate goal this year.

“Any time I can improve my time or gain points for the team. I think that’s successful,” Fiorini said. “You have to keep in mind what your goals are, be careful about what you eat and remember that the little things make a big difference during the season.”

Fiorini believes that there is more depth this year in sprint which will hopefully contribute more to the team score.

With a mix of seasoned veterans, young stars and a talented new coach, the Roadrunners are poised to make this track season a great one.