GUNNISON, Colo. –
Kayla Wooten and
Molly Klotz each improved on their NCAA qualifying times in the 1,500-meter run and 400-meter hurdles, respectively, as the pair joined
Josie Eder as runner-ups at the 2017 RMAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships today. The University of Colorado Colorado Springs 63.5 points for a sixth-place team finish.
Kayla Wooten finished in 4:37.15 in one of four provisional or automatic qualifying marks in the race. Her altitude-adjusted time will lower to 4:29.95 for qualifying for the Division II championships and rank ninth in the nation with one week left in qualifying. It's the best 1,500-meter time in the nation run at altitude this season.
Klotz finished the hurdles in a season-best 1:00.64, and lowered her qualifying time to 1:00.85 for No. 25 in the national performance lists. It was her first time on the outdoor podium since she won the event as a freshman in 2015, and she finished with her best unadjusted time since her 1:00.45 in a last chance meet in 2016 that qualified her for an appearance at the national championships.
Eder cleared a season-best 11-1 on her first attempt after she started competition yesterday before action was suspended for lightning. She was one of three vaulters who were finished at 11-1, but was the only one of three to clear the height on her first attempt to claim the second-place medal. Eder improved four positions from the indoor championships and was the only freshman in the conference to score in the vault.
Chelsea Martus earned All-RMAC Second Team honors with a fourth-place finish in the 800-meter run in 2:13.85. Wooten added points with a sixth-place performance in 2:18.33. Martus joined Klotz,
Jalen Jordan and Dana Shellhorn in a fifth-place performance in a lightning-delayed 4x400-meter relay in the final track event of the day in 3:56.67.
Veronica Burney led a 4-5-6 performance by the Mountain Lions in the high jump with 5-3 today for an all-conference second team honor. Dani Cormier finished one spot behind with 5-1 ¾, and cleared the height on her first attempt to hold the tiebreaker against teammate
Morgan Barone. Cormier also scored with an eighth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.86 seconds.
The Mountain Lions will be back on the track on Sunday for the Colorado Mines Last Chance Meet in Golden, Colo. It will be the final opportunity to reach or improve marks for the national championships later this month in Bradenton, Fla.
