UCCS Improves to Ninth in New Regional Team Index
NEW ORLEANS - The fifth-fastest distance medley relay team in the region provided additional points for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs to move the Mountain Lions up to No. 9 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association South Central Regional Team Index released today. UCCS has five regionally-ranked performances in this week's rankings.
The Mountain Lions are one of six teams from the RMAC ranked in the top nine of the region, which also includes the Lone Star and Heartland Conferences. The regional rankings uses the same basic premise as the national rankings, but scores the top eight performances in the region as if there were separate regional championships across the country. The rankings do not use altitude-adjusted marks.
The distance medley relay of David McCloskey, Travis Whitman, Anthony Davis and Carson Aberle ran an altitude and track-adjusted time of 10 minutes and 15.33 seconds at the Colorado Mines Twilight Collegiate Open last Saturday.
The Mountain Lions have two of the top eight 400-meter dash times in the region, with Jonathan Wright's fourth-ranked time of 49.40 seconds and Whitman's seventh-ranked time of 49.67 seconds. When adjusted for altitude, Wright's time of 49.51 seconds ranks first in the RMAC and Whitman's time of 49.67 ranks fourth.
Aberle has the region's sixth-fastest time in the 800-meter run at 1:55.57, and the fourth-fastest time in the conference after the adjustment down to 1:54.92. The 4x400-meter relay team of Wright, Whitman, Sam Marsh and Nathan Weeks has the fifth-fastest time in the region with 3:19.72.
UCCS will be back in action this weekend at the Joe Davis Open at Colorado Mines on Saturday. It will be the fine tune-up for the Mountain Lions before the RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships at Black Hills State Feb. 22-23.
USTFCCCA South Central Regional Team Index
| Rank | School | Conference | Points |
| 1. | Adams State | RMAC | 463.23 |
| 2. | Chadron State | RMAC | 338.52 |
| 3. | Colorado Mines | RMAC | 287.20 |
| 4. | West Texas A&M | Lone Star | 276.22 |
| 5. | Abilene Christian | Lone Star | 273.86 |
| 6. | Texas A&M-Kingsville | Lone Star | 266.32 |
| 7. | Western State | RMAC | 239.45 |
| 8. | Metro State | RMAC | 70.33 |
| 9. | UCCS | RMAC | 66.59 |
| 10. | Incarnate Word | Lone Star | 44.30 |
| Additional News Stories | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| May 7, 2013 |  | Aberle Wins 800-Meter Title | Carson Aberle set the Stermole Track Complex record with 1 minute, 51.70 seconds in the 800-meter run to win the conference championship to lead the University of Colorado Colorado Springs on the final day of the 2013 RMAC Track and Field Championships. |
| May 7, 2013 |  | Mountain Lions Will Have Strong Track Presence on Final Day | The University of Colorado Colorado Springs will field student-athletes in seven of the 10 running events today as the Mountain Lions compete in the final day of the 2013 RMAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. |
| May 6, 2013 |  | Dakin Scores First Points of Championships for UCCS | Luke Dakin recorded the first points for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs with his finish in the 10,000-meter run as action got underway at the 2013 RMAC Track and Field Championships at the Stermole Track Complex at Colorado School of Mines. |
| May 5, 2013 |  | Distance Races Open Championships for Mountain Lions | The University of Colorado Colorado Springs will have three athletes competing in four events to open the 2013 RMAC Track and Field Championships on Monday at the Stermole Track and Field Complex at Colorado Mines. |
| April 27, 2013 |  | Mountain Lions 11th in DMR at Drake Relays | The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's distance medley relay team finished No. 11 at the 104th Drake Relays this morning. |
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