SEATTLE — University of Colorado true freshman Ben Saarel had an outstanding cross country season and is continuing to perform well as he placed second in the invitational section of the 3,000-meter run at the Husky Classic on Saturday.
Saarel clocked a time of 7:52.61 and was less than half a second behind Adams State’s Kevin Batt (7:52.15) in the first 3k race of his career. The freshman’s time placed him second all-time at CU behind Olympian Adam Goucher (7:46.03). It’s the best finish by a CU freshman ever and currently is tied for sixth in the NCAA Division I standings.
The Park City, Utah native, who was an All-American this past cross country season after an eighth-place finish, led a strong group of Buffs in the elite section of the 3k, with several other cross country All-Americans performing well for the Buffs. Blake Theroux, a two-time All-American in cross country, recorded a fifth-place finish with a time of 7:54.76, which placed him fifth on CU’s all-time list and also ranks 11[SUP]th[/SUP] on the NCAA list this season.
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