COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field teams competed in the Air Force Invitational on Friday and Saturday for their first meet of the new year as they entered the meet as the only Division II school.

On Friday, junior Kaija Crowe, freshman Brian Mosley Jr., and sophomore Grace Wenham were the only Mountain Lions to compete as they combined for two top-10 finishes. Crowe recorded a ninth place mark of 5.49m in the women's long jump with Mosley Jr. sprinting to a time of 6.87s to qualify for the semi-final race on Saturday. Wenham wrapped up UCCS' first day of competition as she competed in the women's 400m to record a time of 1:03.01 for 15^th place.

In the second day of competition, the Mountain Lions ramped up their performances by registering two provisional marks and 13 top-10 finishes.

Tanner Walsh got Saturday going by leaping to mark of 1.95m in the men's high jump to tie for fifth place as Dawson Hopkinson solidified a 10^th place finish in the men's pole vault with a height of 4.75m. UCCS jumps student-athletes continue to post top marks as four Mountain Lions went on to claim four of the top-10 spots in the men's triple jump. Sophomore Dakota Abbott led the way with a provisional qualifying jump of 14.83m as senior Will Ross finished right on Abbott's heels with a fourth-place provisional mark of 14.81m. Freshmen Brendan Young and Peyton Turnage held their own with Division I competition by taking sixth (14.34m) and ninth place (13.81m) respectively.

UCCS carried their momentum from the field events into the track as Brian Mosley made his way to the men's 60m final where he clocked in at 7.85s for sixth place. On the women's side, Kayla Waterman finished as the top Mountain Lion by racing to a time of 7.77s for fifth place with Brittany Fuchs taking seventh at a time of 7.84s in the women's 60m.

The Mountain Lions then transitioned into the middle distance and distance events smoothly as Ashten Loeks finished with the top of the pack as the freshman took third place with a time of 2:24.16. UCCS ended the meet with a bang as the distance runner team of Maia Austin , Layla Almasri, and Kayla Wooten earned three of the top-5 places. Austin posted the top time at 10:36.07 as Almasri trailed right behind with a second-place finish of 10:37.65. Wooten rounded out the top-5 by clocking in at 10:53.91 for a fourth-place finish.

UCCS Track & Field hit the ground running with their first meet after winter break. The Mountain Lions will look to keep their top performances rolling into next weekend as they head to New Mexico where they will compete in the two-day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Collegiate Invitational on Friday, Jan. 24 and Saturday, Jan. 25, hosted by University of New Mexico.