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Olympic Sports- Transfers (incoming and outgoing) and other roster news

AztecBuff

Club Member
Club Member
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I'd been waiting to start a thread like this until we 1st heard of any incoming or outgoing transfers, as well as to note any other roster changes we hear about. Since cubuffs just posted an article about the 1st transfer (someone joining the soccer team) I formally have seen, this thread is now "open for business".

As anyone hears anything about player movement in any of the Buff Olympic sports, feel free to post the news in this thread. Or, of course, if anything is posted that is incorrect, feel free to post a correction.

Note- This thread is for Olympic Sport roster changes other than incoming freshmen, which have already been getting reported in the http://www.allbuffs.com/showthread.php/101643-Recruiting-News-Olympic-Sports thread.

Summary of known activity so far by sport
Incoming ='s someone either transferring into CU or an existing CU student just added to a roster for the coming academic year. Outgoing ='s either a student- athlete transferring away from CU, or someone who just isn't on the roster for the upcoming academic year's team. (Class level (sophomore, etc.) noted below will be where the student-athlete will stand when they 1st compete as a Buff NEXT year.):

Cross Country/ Track and Field:

Men:
Incoming:
Nick Harris (2015)
, cross country and distance (1500M/ 800M) runnder, is transferring from the U. of Washington Huskies; looks like he’ll be a (red shirt) junior in both cross country and track. (Went to high school locally at Niwot High School.) (See post #15 for more detail.)

Outgoing:


Women:
Incoming:

Lucy Cheadle (2015)
, Steeplechase runner, transferring from (Division III) Washington University (of St. Louis MO), will be a senior athletically (grad student academically?) (See Post #7 for more detail)

Tayler Tuttle (2015), cross country and distance runner, transferring from the University of Georgia; she will be a sophomore in cross country and either a sophomore or (more likely) a freshman in track. (See post #15 for more detail.)

Alexandra Peters (2015) - (Keller, Texas) Peters is a transfer from TCU. Sprinter (mainly looks to be a 400-meter runner) (See post #16 for more detail.)

Elisa Grandemange (2015) (Kennewick, Wash./Kent State) is a transfer from Kent State. - throws the hammer, javelin and discus and transfers to CU after redshirting the 2015 season. (See post #16 for more detail.)

Makena Morley (2016), cross country and distance runner, transferring from the University of Montana; she will be a sophomore in cross country and a freshman in track.Prior to college, she went to Flathead High School in Kalispell, MT. (See post #18 for more detail.)

Bri Gibbs (2017), Pole Vaulter, transferring from the University of Missouri; she will be a red-shirt sophomore in track for the 2017 season. (See post #75 for more detail.)

Outgoing:



Golf:

Men:
Incoming:
Kade Crossland (2015)
, transferring in from Corban University in Salem OR. Believe he'll be a sophomore next year. (See posts #10 & 11 for more detail.)

John Souza (2015), Transferring in South Mountain Community College in Phoenix. Will be a sophomore, with eligibility for four years to play three. (See post #13 for more detail.)

Spencer Painton (2016), Transferring in from the Univ. of Kansas. Will be a junior. (See post #35 for more detail.)

Yannik Paul (2016), Not a transfer, but returning to the Buffs after leaving for a year. Assume he will be a red shirt junior. (See post #57 for more detail.)

Daniel O'Loughlin (2017/18), Transferring in from McNeese State. Will be a sophomore (See post #85 for more detail.)

Outgoing:
Pierce Aichinger (2016),
transferred to Colorado State; will be a sophomore there. (See post #65 for more detail.)

Women:
Incoming:


Outgoing:
Tori Glenn (2017)
, Not transferring, but graduated and after red-shirt junior year is not staying with the Buffs for eligible senior year.

Lacrosse:

Incoming:

Outgoing:



Skiing:

Incoming:

Outgoing:
Maja Solbakken (2015)
, sophomore women's Nordic skier, accepted to and attending the Jagiellonian University of Medicine in Kraków, Poland. (See post #12 for more detail.)

Soccer:

Incoming:
Danica Evans (2015)
, 5'6" Forward; transferring from the Univ. of Portland; will be a junior (See Post #3 for more detail)

Isobel Dalton (2016) , a 5-foot-6 midfielder from Caloundra, Queensland, Australia, transferring from (NAIA school) Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky; will be a sophomore.
Hannah Scheid (2016) , a 5'7" outside midfielder/defender from Waldsolms, Germany. Spent 2013 freshman year as midfielder at (NAIA) Ashford University (Clinton, Iowa). Has spent last 2 seasons playing as defender for (German) Bundesliga team Hessen Wetzlar. Assume she MAY (???) be coming in as junior due to NCAA D1 "five year" rule.?.
(See post #41 and http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3937&SPID=259&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=210929693 for more info on Ms's. Dalton and Scheid.)
Emily Bruder (2016) , a 5'9" forward from Sandy, Utah and the University of North Carolina; will be a senior.
Megan Massey (2016) , a 5'8" midfielder/ forward from Highlands Ranch and the Univ. of Tennessee; will be a sophomore.
(See posts #50-51 and http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=210992523 for more info on Ms's. Bruder and Massey.)

Jorian Baucom (2017), 5'9" forward from LSU; will be a senior. (See post #73 for more detail.)
Cassie Phillips (2017), 5'7" midfielder from the U. of Maryland; will be a junior. (See post #66 for more detail.)
Rebecca (Becca) Rasmussen (2017), a 5'4" midfielder from the U. of Georgia; will be a senior. (See post #'s 68 & 69 for more detail.)


Outgoing:
Hannah Dearborn (2015)
, 5'4" Forward; Transferring to UC Santa Barbara; will be a junior (See post #5 for more detail)

Brittney Stark (2016), 5'6" Forward; transferring to U. of Wyoming; will be a junior (See Post #17 for more detail)
Brie Hooks (2016), 5'1" Forward; transferring to Seattle University; will be a senior (See Posts 21-24 for more detail)
Alyssa Herwatt (2016), 5'6" Midfielder, transferring to the U. of Michigan; will be a junior (was junior this year; but didn't play in any match) (See post #33 for more detail)
Amy Alexander (2016), 5'7" Midfielder; not on 2016 roster (as of Jan. 2016); would be a sophomore in 2016 season (See post #33 for more detail)

Juliana Guthner (2017), 5'3" Forward; transferring to the U. of Portland; will be a sophomore. (See post #72 for more detail.)
Kennedy Yost (2017), Forward; transferring to the U. of Montana; assume will be a red-shirt freshman. (See posts #73 & 78 for more detail.)

Tennis:
Incoming:
Jeannez Daniel (2015/16 season)
; transferring in from UTEP; Will be a sophomore (See post #14 for more detail)

Louise Ronaldson (2016/17 season); a native of London, transferring from Mississippi State University; will be a junior (See posts 63-64 for more detail).

Ilana Oleynik (Spring 2017 season); A Pacific Pallisades CA native, transferring in from Cal Poly; is a sophomore. (See post #70 for more details.)

Outgoing:
Tina Bokhua (Mid 2016 spring season)
; Transferred out to Texas A & M; sophomore in season of departure (See post #34 for more detail.)


Volleyball:


Incoming:
Alexa Smith (2016)
, 6'1" Outside Hitter (AKA OH, which ='s left-side hitter for those who don't follow volleyball closely); transferring from Purdue; will be a sophomore next season. (See Posts 20 and 25-30 in this thread and posts 147-154 in the http://www.allbuffs.com/threads/recruiting-news-olympic-sports.101643/page-5 thread for more detail. Formal article on her transfer at http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3871&SPID=256&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=210627349 . )

Kiara McKibben (2016) , 5'10" setter, transferring from the Univ. of San Francisco (USF). Will be a senior in the 2016 season. (See posts 42-47 and 49 for more info.)
Marie Zimmerman (2016), 6'0" setter, played on CU Club Team in 2015 after being setter at Sacred Heart Univ. in 2014. Will be a junior in the 2016 season. (See post 49 for more info.)
(Formal article on the above 2 transfers at http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=210991103 .)
Frankie Shebby (2016), a 6'1" Outside Hitter, transferring from the Univ. or Oregon; Assume she will be a junior. (See posts 59-62 for more detail.)

Branen Berta (2017), a 5'7" Defensive Specialist/Libero, transferring from Iowa State; will be a senior.
Emily DeMure (2017), a 6'1" Outside Hitter (and possibly ???? setter), transferring from Penn State; will be a sophomore.
(See
https://www.allbuffs.com/threads/new-volleyball-player-12-24-edit-and-a-2nd.123067/ thread for more detail on the 2 2017 additions noted above.)

Outgoing:
Katherine Hawkins (2015)
, 5'8" Defensive specialist; Not appearing on 2015/16 roster; will be a junior (See post #2 for original mention)
Erin Taylor (2015), 5'10" Defensive specialist; Not appearing on 2015/16 roster; will be a senior (See post #2 for original mention)

Zuri Smith (2016), a 6'5" outside hitter/ opposite/ middle; transferring to West Virginia; Red shirted with the Buffs last season, so will still be a freshman for the Mountaineers. (See posts 52-54 for more details.)
Aidan Lea (2016), a freshman 6'6" middle blocker/ outside hitter in 2015; transferring to the Univ. of British Columbia- Okanagan. (See post #55 for more detail.)
Abbie D'Agosta (2016) A freshman defensive specialist, is no longer on the roster. (Don't see any indication she's left CU)

Jaden Newsome (2018) A 6'0" freshman setter who didn't play during the 2017 season announced she is transferring to Missouri for the 2018 season.
Taylor Joachim (2018) A 6'4" redshirt sophomore (she'll be a junior next season) opposite (right-side) hitter announced on Instagram she is transferring to DU for the 2018 season.
 
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Don't know if they are actual "transfer outs" in the sense of leaving CU for another school, but the 2015-2016 Volleyball roster has been posted and two of last years players (not seniors) are no longer listed .... defensive specialists Erin Taylor and Katherine Hawkins.
 
Danica Evans joining the Buff's soccer team (From the U. of Portland)

Welcome and congrats to Danica Evans, formerly a forward for the Univ. of Portland Pilots, on joining the Buffs' soccer team!

As noted in the quote below, she will be a junior next year.

(Source- http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=209978389 )

The 1st 3 paragraphs from the article:

"
BOULDER – University of Colorado head soccer coach Danny Sanchez has announced that Danica Evans will join the Buffaloes’ roster for the 2015-16 season. Evans will be a junior next season after playing her first two years at the University of Portland.

“We are very pleased that Danica will be joining our university and soccer program,” said Colorado head coach Danny Sanchez. “With us losing five starters from last year’s squad, we feel that she can come in and have an immediate impact."

Evans, a Littleton, Colo. native turned in two solid seasons as a member of the Pilots. During her 2014-15 campaign, Evans played in 18 matches, starting each time and tallied a team-best 17 points with seven goals and three assists. She also registered an impressive 42 shots with half of them being on frame. An All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention in her freshman season, the 5-6, forward started all 21 matches. She notched five goals and seven assists, totaling 17 points, which ranked ninth in the WCC. Her seven assists was tied for first on the team and ranked second in the league. Evans also shined in Portland’s NCAA Tournament appearance, scoring the game-winner to defeat Seattle in the first round and she scored a goal and recorded one assist in the Pilot’s second round contest.
...

"

Her cumulative collegiate stats with the Pilots can be found at- http://www.portlandpilots.com/custompages/Soccer-W/2014/histcarr.htm#INDIV.FCA
 
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Don't know if they are actual "transfer outs" in the sense of leaving CU for another school, but the 2015-2016 Volleyball roster has been posted and two of last years players (not seniors) are no longer listed .... defensive specialists Erin Taylor and Katherine Hawkins.

Thanks BeBe. That kind of info was definitely in the "Other Roster" news I intended to include in this thread, and will add them to the volleyball section of the original post.

Whether they intend to stay at CU as students, or are transferring to another school, best wishes to Ms's. Taylor and Hawkins, who were a junior and sophomore, respectively, on the volleyball team this past season.
 
Just starting to see if I can see anything re roster changes by looking at 2015 rosters and past year stats on cubuffs.com, and it looks like (this year) sophomore Hannah Dearborn is no longer on the soccer team roster. Per http://ucsbgauchos.com/sports/w-soccer/2014-15/releases/20150204jg1f7f , it looks like she's transferred to that "hell on earth" (yes I'm being totally facetious) UC Santa Barbara (One of my dream schools growing up MANY years ago). Ms. Dearborn played in 20 games for the Buffs as a freshman, and in 4 this past season as a sophomore.

Best wishes to her at her new school.
 
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Welcome and congrats to Danica Evans, formerly a forward for the Univ. of Portland Pilots, on joining the Buffs' soccer team!

Every season it seems Sanchez brings in at least one impact transfer. He's done it again with Evans. despite losing a lot of seniors I think the Buffs will be pretty good again next season.
 
Lucy Cheadle, possible new steeplechase runner

From Google search, looks like the track team will possibly be picking up a 5th year senior next year in women's steeplechase runner Lucy Cheadle, currently at Division III Washington University (of St. Louis MO). (Assume she'll probably/ possibly be a grad student academically at CU, as she's a 4-time D-III cross country Academic All-American per http://bearsports.wustl.edu/sports/xc/2014-15/releases/20150211n16sem in chemical engineering.)

Source for the potential transfer news- http://www.studlife.com/sports/trac...cheadle-races-to-14th-at-the-stanford-invite/ . To quote part of that article- "Cheadle is currently committed to run for the University of Colorado Boulder next year for her fifth year of eligibility, which she gained after losing a season to injury at Washington University. " (her Washington U.track bio- http://bearsports.wustl.edu/sports/track/2014-15/bios/Cheadle-Lucy .)

(Note- It looks like Ms. Cheadle has already utilized her 4 years of cross country eligibility.)

From her Track bio, her (D-III) running highlights include:
"
--2015 NCAA Indoor 5,000 National Champion
--2014 NCAA Outdoor 3,000 Steeplechase National Champion
--Four-time NCAA DIII Cross Country All-American (2nd-2014, 5th-2013, 21st-2012, 20th-2011)
--Six-time NCAA DIII Indoor Track & Field All-American (5,000: 1st-2015, 4th-2014, 5th-2013, 6th-2012; 3,000: 6th-2015, 7th-2014)
--Two-time NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field All-American (3,000 steeplechase: 1st-2014, 7th-2012)
--Two-time Academic All-American (First-Team: 2014, Third-Team: 2013)
"

It looks like she'll need to improve her time some to be a NCAA championships level point contributor for the Buffs at the D-I level, as her current steeplechase personal record (PR) is ~10:20, while the slowest runner in the NCAA D-I finals last year ran 9:54 (winner ran ~9:36). However, if Ms. Cheadle can come close to meeting her goal of of 10:04 by the end of this year (per the article linked to above), and then gets a year of training and competing with D-I athletes and under Coaches Wetmore, Burroughs and Nelson, she could definitely be in the D-I steeplechase mix next year.

Best wishes and welcome to Ms. Cheadle as/ if she becomes a Buff next year!
 
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I want more elite steeplechase athlete articles. Miss you Jenny, Emma and Shalaya.
 
I want more elite steeplechase athlete articles. Miss you Jenny, Emma and Shalaya.

Could be hopefully more exciting times going forward in the event for current Buffs.

Per the entry list (http://www.mtsacrelays.com/confirmations/2015/uoe_accepted_entries.pdf), there are 4 young Buffs entered in the women's steeple at next weekend's Mt. Sac Invitational:

1) this year's fastest (and All-American) cross country Buff, red shirt freshman (for track) Erin Clark, is making I believe her collegiate steeplechase debut.
2) sophomore Melanie Nun (who it looks like red shirted cross country this year but was the 2nd Buff across behind Ms. Kipp at cross country nationals last year) makes her 2015 steeple debut. Like Emma Coburn, Ms. Nun placed an impressive 4th in her 1st conference championship meet as a freshman (last year), so should be an NCAA contender in coming years.
3) frosh Val Constien (back from representing the U.S. in the World Cross Country championships, red shirted cross country this year) and red shirt frosh Lucy May, also make (I assume?) their collegiate career debuts in the event.

And, on the men's side, last year's Pac 12 conference meet runner-up, senior Blake Theroux, will be toeing the line in the meet's invitational race. And, one of the Buff's other cross country speedsters, junior Connor Winter, is also entered to race in the event (for maybe his 1st time competitively)? (At least his CU bio doesn't mention anything about steeplechase.)
 
[tweet]588548744725012480[/tweet]

Looks like per the above the men's golf team may have picked up a possible transfer in Kade Crossland, who is currently a freshman at Corban University in Salem Oregon, and went to high school in Buhl Idaho. Welcome to him joining the Buffs!

Biography from Corban U. (mainly with high school highlights)- http://corbanwarriors.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=1683 .
Stats/ scoring so far this year- http://corbanwarriors.com/custompages/golfstats/men/2014-15/teamtgbg.htm .
Don't know the level of competition, but looks like he easily won medalist honors (by 8 strokes) the last tournament Corban U. competed in yesterday (http://yoteathletics.com/documents/2015/4/14//individualresults_RD3_MEN.pdf?id=340).
 
[tweet]588548744725012480[/tweet]

Official cubuffs.com article now available for Mr. Crossland joining the Buffs next academic year- http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=210036521 . Good that it sounds like he can compete immediately (no sit-out year required).

A couple paragraphs from that article-

"...

Crossland is currently ranked as the No. 12 golfer in the NAIA ranks, and he’s helped Corban (Salem, Ore.) to a No. 25 national ranking. He will have four years to complete three years of eligibility, and he will be eligible to play this fall.


“We are very excited to add Kade to an already strong recruiting class,” (CU Coach) Edwards said. “He is an extremely high-achieving athlete who has really started to blossom in golf in the last year or so. He is a powerful guy with potential to be very good. Corban University did a great job in developing Kade and was very helpful in the process.”

..."
 
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Via Instagram search, looks like the ski team just lost a big contributor from this year's championship team, sophomore Nordic skier Maja Solbakken, who announced yesterday she was accepted to and will be attending the "Jagiellonian University of Medicine in Kraków, Poland" next year. (Her announcement is at https://instagram.com/p/3Z16TGOLox/?taken-by=majasolbakken .)

Especially as I get older (and so more and more likely to need their skill and help sooner rather than later), I can only appreciate more and more any young person who is willing and able to take on the great challenges of medicine, and I wish her only the best going forward. Thanks to her for all her contributions and work as a Buff!

Ms. Solbakken was the Buff's top women’s Nordic finisher in this year's NCAA championships, and earned 2 All-American honors- 1st Team honors for her 4th place finish in the 15K Classic Race, and 2nd Team honors with a 6th place finish in the 5K freestyle race.

Hopefully the Buffs have depth and can still reach their goal (I’m assuming) of earning back to back championships, especially with the Buffs hosting the next one next March in Steamboat. Although I’m sure Ms. Solbakken’s leaving will have to be felt by the team, Petra Hyncicova and Ane Johnsen, the other Buff women who raced in the Championships this year on the Nordic side, were only freshmen. They also had great performances, with both earning two 2nd team All-American honors with top 10 finishes in both of their races. So, if those 2 stay healthy and put in the work, and one or two of the other current or incoming Buffs can develop, the women’s Nordic squad could still be a strong point next year and beyond.
 
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New men's golf transfer in- John Souza

Per cubuffs.com, the Men's Golf Team picked up its second transfer for next year- http://www.cubuffs.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=210139534 .

From the start of the article-

"
BOULDER —University of Colorado men’s golf coach Roy Edwards has added one more player to his 2015 recruiting class, as John Souza, one of the nation’s top junior college players, has signed a national letter of intent and will join the Buffaloes this fall.

A freshman this past year at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, he will have four years to play three in eligibility for the Buffaloes.

The 6-foot tall Souza was a first-team NJCAA Division II All-American, and was awarded the coveted Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award presented by the Phil and Amy Mickelson Foundation. Souza claimed medalist honors three times in 2014-15, winning the Firestorm JC Invitational (69-70—139), the Glendale CC Invitational (67-70—137) and the Chandler-Gilbert CC Invitational (69-66—135).
...
"

Welcome to him joining the Buffs!
 
Per cuBuffs.com ( http://www.cubuffs.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=210243041 ), the tennis team has picked up a new player from UTEP, sophomore Jeannez Daniel:


"
BOULDER – University of Colorado tennis head coach Nicole Kenneally has signed Jeannez Daniel to a Financial Aid Agreement, announced Monday.

Daniel spent her freshman year at the University of Texas-El Paso during the 2014-15 season where she led the Miners in overall wins (22) with only eight losses. Daniel also recorded a 12-4 dual match record, second-best mark on the UTEP squad that went 12-5 during the spring season. UTEP is a member of Conference USA.

"We are real excited that Jeannez is joining our program,” Kenneally said. “The experience she gained on and off the court during her freshmen year is only going to be a win-win for Colorado.

“Playing No. 2 (singles) as a freshmen and putting up the wins she did was impressive. Jeannez is athletic and has a heart of a Buffalo as a competitor and I'm excited to see her competing in a CU uniform.”

Daniel’s singles winning percentage of .733 from her 22-8 singles record, ranked eighth best for a single season in UTEP history. During the spring, 11 of her 12 singles wins occurred at No. 2 singles. Last fall, she paced UTEP with 10-tournament wins and finished the season winning seven of her last 10 matches.

...
"

Ms. Daniel's cubuffs bio is also available at http://www.cubuffs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=210243800&DB_OEM_ID=600

Welcome to her joining the Buffs!
 
2 incoming transfers for cross country and track (distance) teams

As also was mentioned on the Olympic Sport thread, the cross country roster, as well as the distance runner portion of the track and field roster, has (largely) been updated for the current year. There are a couple transfers listed there not previously noted on this thread.

Tayler Tuttle is joining the Women’s cross country and track teams after transferring from the U. of Georgia, and will be a sophomore in cross country. I could only find one result for her for track (5K run), and she was listed as unattached in that race, so if I had to guess I’d say she may still be a (redshirt) freshman this year for the Buffs in track (She isn’t showing on the CU track roster yet. ) Her Georgia cross country bio (including her 2014 results) is at http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/c-xc/mtt/tayler_tuttle_918997.html . It looks like she was generally the #1 finisher in cross country for a young Georgia team in all but the last (NCAA Regional) race, and among other things earned all-SEC freshman team honors after a 26[SUP]th[/SUP] place finish in the conference meet, and finished 37[SUP]th[/SUP] at the NCAA regionals as the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Bulldog finisher. (Her freshman cross country results are also shown at https://www.tfrrs.org/athletes/5016454/Georgia/Tayler_Tuttle.html . ) In high school, looks like her 4:52.20 time in the 1600 meters is the 7[SUP]th[/SUP] best all time in Georgia per http://ga.milesplit.com/articles/158033/all-time-best-georgia-hs-track-and-field-lists-are-updated .

Nick Harris is also joining the Buffs, in his case after transferring from the Washington Huskies, and looks like he’ll be a (red shirt) junior in both cross country and track. A grad from Niwot High School, Mr. Harris, per his Husky biography at http://www.gohuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=208062805 , looks to have had the most success as a 1500M runner in the track, although he also ran the 800M some. Looks like he had a very good freshman year, taking 5[SUP]th[/SUP] in the 1,500M at the 2014 Pac 12 championships, setting the U. of Washington freshman record at the same distance in regionals while qualifying for the NCAA championships, and thereby earning All-American Honorable Mention honors. In high school, per his bio, “captured the Colorado 4A state title on the track at 1,600-meters his senior year, running a PR in the finals of 4:18.79 ... also took sixth at state in 2012 in the 3,200m”. (Just guessing (having NO knowledge of his story) , but it looks like from his bio he only raced cross country once as a sophomore, and then didn’t perform as well on the track as he did as a freshman, so assume that he may have suffered an injury or illness during the XC season and couldn’t fully get his fitness back in time for the track season to perform at his best.)

Note- Also, just wanted to mention that the other track transfer already noted in this thread, steeplechaser Lucy Cheadle, is now officially listed on this year's track roster.
 
In the article announcing new Buff track and field athletes (http://www.cubuffs.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=600&ATCLID=210352302), there are a couple transfers included (along with of course many freshmen) that weren't listed in this thread before:

"Alexandra Peters (Keller, Texas/TCU)... Peters is a transfer from TCU. She did not compete in 2015, but in 2014 as a freshman, she qualified for NCAAs in the 4x400-meter relay. Peters, a 400-meter runner, clocked her fastest time of the season (54.93) in the preliminary round at the Big 12 Championships. She was second in the 400 at the Michael Johnson Invitational (56.39) and placed third at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner Kersee Invitational (55.83). Peters was a member of the 4x400 team that placed fourth at the Big 12 meet (3:37.59). During the indoor season, she ran a season best 25.23 at the New Mexico Invitational."

"Elisa Grandemange (Kennewick, Wash./Kent State)... Grandemange throws the hammer, javelin and discus and transfers to CU after redshirting the 2015 season at Kent State. Out of high school she was ranked 12th nationally in the hammer and is currently listed in the top-10. Grandemange was a two-time Washington State discus champion. As a senior in 2014, she won with a throw of 144-11 and in 2013 she recorded a throw of 138-00 for the win."

Welcome both to Boulder!
 
Looks like the women's track and cross country teams are adding up a transfer starting next semester in freshman Makena Morley, who will be transferring from the Univ. of Montana. Prior to that, she went to Flathead High School in Kalispell MT.

Welcome and best wishes to her on becoming a Buff!

Sounds like she did run cross country this past season, so will be a sophomore for the Buffs next season. For track, the below linked article says she'll definitely be red-shirting the indoor season as she recovers from a foot injury (plantar fasciitis), and may or may not also sit out the outdoor season also.



Direct link to article - http://flatheadbeacon.com/2015/12/22/morley-commits-to-run-at-university-of-colorado/
 
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Was just noticing I didn’t really go into much detail on Makena Morley, who as I noted in the above post is transferring this semester from the U. of Montana to CU.

In short, just wanted to add she could potentially be a BIG contributor to future Buff cross country and track teams.

A few particulars:
1) Based on her high school rankings, she actually could be seen as having underperformed a little at this season’s NCAA national cross country championships, where she came in 97th, and was only the ~16th freshman to cross the line. (Note- as I mentioned in my earlier post, she is currently recovering from a foot injury, so who knows how much that might have affected her championship run, and/ or the training leading up to it.) However, even that performance would have made her the 6th Buff to cross the line.

Her other results were stronger:

*·She won the Big West women’s championships by a comfortable 10 seconds.
* She also raced in a couple races the Buff’s also participated in:
* In the Pre-National (Pre-Nats) race, she placed 39th, which would have made her the 4th Buff across. (Note- the article summarizing her race in the Montana website is already talking about how her foot injury affected her training.)
* In the Mountain Regionals, Ms. Morley placed 8th, which again would have made her the 4th Buff across the line.

2) In high school, Ms. Morley was one of the highest ranked girl cross country runners in the country her senior year . MileSplit’s Flo50 (http://www.milesplit.com/rankings/flo50/535-flo50-girls-individual-rankings/286-final ) ranked her as #4 in the country in its final ranking, as did Dyestat (http://dyestatxcrankings.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=46052&do=news&news_id=305636) .

(Note- adding Ms. Morley after her freshman campaign should only add to a strong Buff recruiting class from last year, as it already contained Dani Jones (#6 ranked out of high school and a solid contributor for the Buffs; as she was the 4th Buff across the line at the NCAA Championships with a very good 49th place finish) and #18 ranked (per Dyestat) Brianna Schwartz. (Ms. Schwartz redshirted this year in cross country, assuming due to her recovering from injury and illness she was probably dealing with even in her high school senior season.)

3) On the track in high school, per http://parser.dyestat.com/search.js...015)&athID=201389&school=&schID=&meet=&meetID= :

* In the Montana State Class B meet Ms. Morley’s senior year, won the 3200M run, and came in 2nd in the 800M and 1600M. (In both the races she came in 2nd, she only lost to her sister Bryn, who was only a high school freshman that year.) As a junior, she won all 3 of those races.
* She was also one of the young women chosen to race in the prestigious Brooks PR Invitational this past summer, where she finished 10th in a high class field as a senior. She came in 5th in that same race as a junior, as well as finishing 2nd in the 2 mile and 5th in the 5K in the prestigious New Balance Outdoor National Championships held the summer of 2014 in races containing much of the who's who of girl's running that year.
 
Still no official announcement yet, but just found a little more evidence that Buff's volleyball MAY be picking up a top-flight transfer in 6'1" outside hitter Alexa Smith from Lewis Palmer HS in Colorado Springs, who would be transferring from Purdue after playing her freshman year there. The new evidence is I just did a student search at colorado.edu (http://www.colorado.edu/gsearch/students/alexa+smith ) and, just within the last day or two, an entry has popped up for an Alexa Kristine Smith. (Per her Purdue profile (http://www.purduesports.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/alexa_smith_969831.html), Ms. Smith's middle name is Kristine.)

I will of course add more info if/ when the transfer is confirmed, as I'm sure others will if they hear about it 1st. I assume, (unless there's some formal paperwork hurdles still left to negotiate), an official announcement will show up pretty soon at cubuffs.com.

(Note- Since at 1st we didn't know if the commitment Coach Mahoney tweeted about (see below) was a freshman or a transfer, some discussion of Ms. Smith has already occurred in posts #147- 154 of the "Recruiting News" thread ( http://www.allbuffs.com/threads/recruiting-news-olympic-sports.101643/page-5 ).)

 
Brie Hooks transferring to Seattle U :(

Boy, the Buffs will definitely be largely a YOUNG/ inexperienced team at forward next year, assuming Coach Sanchez doesn't move someone up from the midfield or back line. With Ms. Hooks (#1 scorer last year) joining Brittney Stark (#4 scorer) in transferring out, only Danica Evans, the 2nd leading scorer, remains on the team from the top 4 scorers last year. (#3 scorer Emily Paxton was/ is a senior.)

Even with her leaving after her junior year, Ms. Hooks leaves as I believe #6 in career goals and 5th in career points in the Buff's record book, so obviously provided a LOT of production her 3 years as a Buffs. She was CU's leading scorer in both her sophomore and junior years, and her 18 points as a freshman are top 4 all time in CU's freshmen numbers. (Those frosh #'s were in spite, if I remember correctly, her having to miss some matches due to a leg injury.)

Best of wishes to her at Seattle U!

For the Buffs overall, as MarkW mentioned, something definitely seemed off offensively last year, especially with coordination between players for the last dissecting pass that determines whether there will be a quality scoring chance or not. And this showed in overall goal production, which went down from 33 in both 2013 and 2014 to 24 in 2015. However, I'd think a dynamic and quick player like Ms. Hooks, who is one of those playmaking forwards who did look for her teammates as often as she looked for her own shot, will definitely be missed to some degree.

Well, as it's always said in sports, "next player up"! There's definitely going to be opportunities on the front line for some younger and future (signing day ~1 month away!) Buffs next season. Thankfully, it looks like both this past year's freshmen and the incoming class both have some highly regarded players, and hopefully a few of them will be able to contribute, even as underclassmen. I assume it should also help that a couple of this year's freshmen forwards (Esp. Erin Greening and to a lesser extent Stephanie Zuniga) did get quite a bit of playing time, so should be more equipped to contribute than many sophomores are.

Edit- Just wanted to give credit to what I assume may have been the initial source for Ms. Hooks' transfer news.
 
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Looks like we can confirm the transfer into CU of VB player Alexa Smith. Per a poster on Volleytalk, Alexa's Instragram bio now reads "skoooo buffs". And she is no longer listed on the Purdue VB roster
 
Thanks to poster "noreaster14" in the volleytalk forum (from post at http://volleytalk.proboards.com/thread/60402/d1-transfers-2016?page=15 ), there's a little more evidence that Alexa Smith may indeed now be a volleyball Buff- she is not listed on Purdue's spring 2016 roster (http://www.purduesports.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/pur-w-volley-mtt.html). Another poster in that thread wrote "I think you can mark Alexa Smith as confirmed because her Instagram bio reads "skoooo buffs""

Based on all this, I think I'll add her as a transfer in (officially still unconfirmed) in the list in the original post.

Again, as mentioned in other posts, as the 7th nationally ranked player in her class coming out of high school (per prepvolleyball.com), a High School National Player of the Year (as awarded by at least a couple websites, and with a LOT of international experience as a staple while in high school on U.S. U18 and U20 teams, Ms. Smith could be a VERY nice addition to the volleyball team as a potential 6 rotation player highly skilled in offense, from the service line, AND (maybe most importantly?) in back row defense.

(If Ms. Smith is or can get fully healthy (I have no idea if she's now 100% healthwise now or not after shoulder issues maybe slowed her down this past season with the Boilermakers?) and live up to being even close to her #7 recruiting rank, her playing could make it easier, especially if the Buffs can find one or more of their other young left and/ or right-side hitters to take a step up offensively, for Gabby Simpson to EASILY go back to setter in either a 5-1 or 6-2 system without losing much if anything overall offensively from this past season (although I would be surprised if any ONE Buff can come close to replacing Alexis Austin's production), while potentially getting better defensively.)

Edit- for more info on Ms. Smith, here is her bio from Purdue's website- http://www.purduesports.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/alexa_smith_969831.html .
 
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Looks like we can confirm the transfer into CU of VB player Alexa Smith. Per a poster on Volleytalk, Alexa's Instragram bio now reads "skoooo buffs". And she is no longer listed on the Purdue VB roster

Hah- we were both posting essentially the same thing at the same time, although of course as usual I was being MUCH more verbose.
 
Most definitive word yet that Alexa Smith is now a volleyball Buff- it's now listed in Rich Kern, the definitive listing service for volleyball commitments.
 
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