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CU Women’s Track and Field Athletes Run Up the Score

Women’s outdoor track and field continued to thrive after the close of the Pac-12 season. At NCAA championships, Dani Jones (Psych, SLHS’20) won the 5,000-meter run, giving her a fourth national title and adding to her previous championships in the outdoor distance medley relay (2017), cross-country (2018) and indoor 3,000-meter run (2019). Gabby Scott (Mgmt’19) was runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles at NCAAs. Scott then ran for Puerto Rico at the Pan American Games in Peru, placing fifth overall with her teammates in the 4x400 relay. Thrower Elisa Grandemange (Neuro’19) also excelled outside the U.S., finishing ninth in the hammer throw at France’s National Championships in July. Kaitlyn Benner (ChemBioEngr, Soc’18) was named Pac-12 Woman of the Year, the first-ever Buff to earn the honor. Finally, alumni Jenny Simpson (Econ, PolSci’09) and Emma Coburn (Mktg’13) impressed at the USA Championships. Simpson placed second in the 1,500 meters and Coburn won her eighth U.S. championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Both runners qualified for this fall’s World Championships in Qatar.

Buffs Bits

• All-American Alexa Smith (Mktg’19) signed her first professional volleyball contract with France’s Beziers Angels.
• Golfer Daniel O’Loughlin (Geog’20) won the Walton Heath Trophy, one of England’s top amateur events.
• Derrick White (Mgmt’17) earned a roster spot on Team U.S.A. for the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.
• Darrin Chiaverini (Comm’99) was named assistant head coach for CU football following his 2018 Rivals.com distinction as one of the nation’s top-25 recruiters.
• Kennedy Leonard (Comm’19) signed with Herner TC to play in Germany’s top professional basketball league.
• Hale Irwin (Mktg’67) received the PGA Tour’s Payne Stewart Award for his exceptional character, sportsmanship and commitment to charity.
• Cliff Branch (A&S’71), first-team All-American at CU, 14-year member of the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, four-time Pro Bowl selection and one of the most electrifying Buffs football players ever, died in August at age 71.