Big 12 Championship Quotes

Oct. 27, 2001

Colorado Head Coach Mark Wetmore
On his teams' performances:
"It was our goal to come back and win the four titles - two team and two individual. I was confident the men would cover and run a good race. I was confident in Jorge (Torres). I was a little more nervous about the women's individual but Molly is a very strong runner."

On Dathan Ritzenhein's performance:
"I'd be surprised if he finishes further back in any more races of his career."

On Colorado's next meet:
"The goal in the district meet is to advance in a conservative, methodical race to take the next step beyond this."

Colorado Men's Individual First Place Winner Jorge Torres
On pulling away:
"I wasn't paying attention to what was going on behind me, I was just pulling away. I know I pulled away at the two-mile mark."

On winning his second Big 12 title:
"I'm really concentrating on the big one (NCAA Championships). I'd be happy to give this one up for that."

On Colorado's chance to win the NCAA title:
"This team is really talented. It will be tough to beat us. We would have to mess up for ourselves not to win it."

Colorado Men's Individual Second Place Winner Dathan Ritzenhein
On the team's performance:
"I felt fine about us going out. Jorge (Torres) is just so strong that he pulled away.

On Colorado's chance to win the NCAA title:
"We did what we needed to do today, but we have some work to do."

Oklahoma State Head Coach Dick Weiss
On the team's chance to go to the NCAA Championship:
"It's an entirely different race than an 8k. We normally improve from this meet going on. Our ultimate goal is to get in the top two at regionals and get to nationals."

Texas A&M Men's Individual Fourth Place Winner Juan DeBastos
On his performance:
"I tried to run at an even pace. I took off conservatively for the first two miles and picked it up for the last two to move from 13th or 14th place into fourth. It was a great race and a really nice course - a fast course for everybody."

Colorado Women's Individual First Place Winner Molly Austin
On her performance:
"I was really nervous at first. I didn't know how the race was going to develop but I ran at a comfortable pace. I tried to focus on the back stretch, knowing if I could get the lead that it could be substantial."

On the course conditions:
"The course was great. It was flat without a lot of hills and ran pretty fast."

On the team's performance:
"The team winning first place was the most exciting part of the race. I'm proud of how well we did."

On Colorado's upcoming meets:
"This is exactly what we needed going into the final two races of the season."

Oklahoma State Women's Individual Second Place Winner Siri Alfheim
On her performance:
"It was OK at the beginning, but the end of the race was very tough. All of the crowd cheering me on helped me finish strong."

Kansas State Women's Individual Third Place Winner Amy Mortimer
On her finish:
"I'm really happy with my time. Everyone around me ran very well."

On the level of competition in the conference:
"It is good to see the Big 12 Conference be so competitive and strong."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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