Top Story
May 27, 2010
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Roadrunners to swing bats, race their hearts out at national championships
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The team waits for Tara Michelson as she rounds the bases following her home run in the ninth inning during their May 22 victory. |
This weekend will be an exciting one for the Roadrunners, with a first-ever appearance by the softball team at the NCAA Division II World Series and four men’s track athletes competing in the national NCAA Championship, including Anthony Luna, the defending champion in the 800-meter race.
World Series
In only its third season since being reinstated at Metro State, the women’s softball team, headed by Coach Jen Fisher, won the super regional tournament this past weekend to advance to the NCAA College World Series, May 27-31 in St. Joseph, Mo. The Roadrunners will play Angelo State (San Angelo, Texas) (48-13) on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET in the double-elimination tournament.
The fourth-ranked Roadrunners are 51-4 following two wins over Wayne State (Neb.): 6-2 on Saturday and 2-1 on Friday.
The series-ending game on Saturday was a nail-biter. After Metro State scored the first run in the fifth inning, Wayne State tied it up in the sixth. It remained tied until the ninth, when Metro State scored five runs, a lead that proved to be insurmountable. Senior pitching ace Christie Robinson pitched all nine innings of Saturday’s game, and now holds a record of 28-2.
But Coach Fisher is quick to credit the entire team effort. “It’s a different hero every day,” she says. “When one person does something well, it’s the whole team’s victory because they absolutely push each other every day in practice, to make each other better.”
Senior Tara Mickelson, who had a two-run hit in the ninth on Saturday, says, “This has been the best two years of softball I’ve ever played in my life.” Mickelson’s homer in the ninth was her 23rd home run of the season and put her in sole possession of the NCAA home-run record.
Metro State will take a 10-game winning streak into the World Series, including five straight in the NCAA Tournament.
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Running in the 1500 event, Rick Bogatay will be one of four track athletes to compete in the NCAA tournament, May 27-29. |
Four men’s track runners headed to NCAA Championships
The NCAA announced last Wednesday that four Metro State men's track runners have qualified for the national NCAA Championships, to be held May 27-29 in Charlotte, N.C. Anthony Luna, Shawn Lindbom, Carl Arnold III and Rick Bogatay will represent the Roadrunners in two events: Luna and Lindborn will run the 800 meters, and Arnold and Bogotay the 1500 meters.
Defending champion Luna earned the nation's top seed in the 800 and currently holds the nation's fastest time at 1:49.10. Lindbom has the 10th-fastest time in Division II at 1:50.77.
Arnold is sitting fifth in the nation entering the championships in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:46.78. Bogatay is making his second straight appearance at the NCAA Championships in the outdoor 1500 meters.
Visit www.goMetroState.com for the latest updates on the Roadrunners’ progress.
