Home > Sport

Runners, soccer team kick it at invite
Metro gets help from another outside sport at Fort Collins meet
By Eric Lansing
lansing@mscd.edu

Photo by Heather A. Longway-Burke • longway@mscd.edu Metro distance runner Gabe Luna runs at the RMAC Indoor Championships Feb. 24 in Golden. Luna ran in the men’s 800-meters and finished third at the Jack Christensen Invitational April 21 in Fort Collins.

Metro’s cross country and track teams saw great performances from Sheila Hughes, Anthony Luna and Gabe Luna, and got help from the women’s soccer team April 21 at the Jack Christensen Invitational in Fort Collins.

“The team ran tough,” Metro distance runner Anthony Luna said. “We came and competed today. We had some good competition, that’s for sure, running against some pretty good D-II schools and some D-I schools.”

Hughes continued her dominance in the sprinting events with another outstanding performance in 100- and 200-meter dash. She completed the 100 in 12.37 seconds which landed her in second place overall. She finished behind Janay DeLoach who finished with a time of 11.78 seconds. Hughes finished the 200 in 25.80 seconds, which placed her sixth overall.

“I felt really good in the 200,” Hughes said. “I had a great start and a great finish.”

But before Hughes ran in the 100-meter dash, she had to play coach to a few newbies to the track team as Katie Kilbey, Nicole Cito and Carrie Aversano of the women’s soccer team also ran in the 100-meter dash. It was the first time any of the girls had run in a collegiate track event.

“I was nervous at first, (because) I knew I was going to lose,” said Kilbey, who finished 19th and is a two-time Division II national champion in women’s soccer. “I don’t mind it. I really liked running back in high school.”

Cito said Hughes told them to make sure that they sat still in the blocks so they wouldn’t false start. Cito was worried because she was unfamiliar with the blocks.

“We are fine with the running,” Cito said. “But it was the blocks. It was the first time I ever touched them. That’s all I wanted to do was not false start, and to stay in my lane, where I almost fell out.”
The three soccer players came to Fort Collins to help out the track team, just like a few basketball players and swimmers have done already, to add more athletes to the squad and allow the ’Runners to qualify for the NCAA Championships on May 24.

Runners like Gabe and Anthony Luna, Hughes, and Todd Tolentino, who have a shot at qualifying for the national tournament, get a chance to compete, thanks in part to the other sport athletes putting numbers on the roster.

Gabe Luna competed in the men’s 800-meter run and finished a spectacular third place amongst the toughest competition in the state. Luna finished with a 1:54.29 time and was only a second away from qualifying for a provisional spot in the NCAA Championships. Luna finished behind Jared Peacock of Boulder Running (1:52.92) and Larry McDaris of the Colorado School of Mines (1:52.99).

“I felt really good,” Luna said. “When I wanted to move and make my move, I felt like I could. I wasn’t as dead as usual. I just feel like I am getting more in shape now. We’re starting to get fit.”

Gabe Luna’s twin brother Anthony also finished in third place in the men’s 1,500-meter run in a time of 3:58.06. His time was good enough for a provisional spot in the NCAA Championships.
Anthony usually runs in the 800-meter run, but Julian placed him in the 1,500 to strengthen his 800 time. Julian also had Deserea Gleason, who usually runs in the 1,500, in the 800 while moving Marjaneh Gross to the 400-meter run instead of her usual 100- or 200-meter dash.

“Coach kind of switches it up,” Anthony Luna said. “Say for example (Gabe) usually runs in the 800, but the coach will put him in the 1,500 to build up his strength. Most of the time you want to race in your respective event, because that is your best event. But it also helps in the long run to run little longer races and then come back and do really well.”

Hughes respects her teammates for running outside of their normal events and said it is bringing the team together, which leads to great performances, including the Jack Christensen Invite.

“I think we did great,” Hughes said. “I think everyone showed great sportsmanship, even running in events they didn’t want to run in. We just came out here and worked as a team. I’m glad and I’m proud.”

The Roadrunners will get a week to prepare before heading to Alamosa May 6-8 to compete in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships.

“In the beginning of the season, those meets didn’t really matter,” Anthony Luna said about the team’s season progression. “It really starts to matter right now, when you are getting close to the conference, and we will start seeing peak performances (in Alamosa).”