COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track and field teams opened their indoor season on Friday as the Mountain Lions hosted Metropolitan State University Denver for the MSU Denver vs. UCCS Dual.
The Mountain Lions scored a combined 193 points to top the Roadrunners in the first RMAC meet of the season as they added six national qualifying marks. The MSU Denver vs. UCCS Dual was scored off points of 5, 3,2, and 1 in 13 events for first, second, third, and fourth place respectively.
INSIDE THE MSU DENVER VS. UCCS DUAL
Women Final: UCCS 114, MSU Denver 21
Men Final: UCCS 79, MSU Denver 38
Location: Mountain Lion Fieldhouse | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Track Size: 200-meter
Elevation: 6,291 ft.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Friday's meet started off with throws as
Anna Holland cemented first place in both the weight throw and shot put with marks of 12.30m and 15.62m respectively. Senior
Colton Homuth bested his teammates by heaving a throw of 15.34m in the shot put as sophomore
Justyn Loper stepped in to record the best weight throw mark of 17.57m.
The Mountain Lion momentum kept rolling into the jump pits as
Peter Ackah made a splash in his UCCS debut with a monster jump of 7.75m to take the top spot in the men's long jump, while also adding an automatic qualifying mark and new facility record to his debut. Junior
Dakota Abbott had his name called in the triple jump as the Nebraska native notched a provisional mark of 14.83m to win the men's triple jump. On the women's side,
Christine Bailey leaped to an event winning mark of 5.57m in the long jump as transfer
Lydia Pavlenko took first in the triple jump by recording a mark of 11.55m.
Pavlenko continued to add to her debut in the black & gold by registering a clear of 1.67m in the women's high jump to place second and record a provisional qualifying mark. Sophomore
Faith Novess picked up where she left off last season as she took the top spot in the women's high jump with a provisional mark of 1.70m. In the men's high jump, sophomore
Skye Ciccarelli notched a mark of 1.97m to win the event as
Dawson Hopkinson vaulted to a height of 4.52m to take first in the men's pole vault.
In the sprints events, UCCS swept the 60m hurdles as
Eric Sierra claimed the top spot on the men's side with a time of 8.63s as freshman
Melissa Moreni raced to a first-place time of 9.16s. For the 200m, an event winning time of 25.69s was registered by junior
Brittany Fuchs as she bested the field of 12 student-athletes.
Angel Laca and
Dejah Glover teamed up to sweep the 400m with Laca clocking a time of 50.53s on the men's side, and Glover finishing in 59.65s in the women's race.
On the track, the women's distance runners posted stellar performances to further increase the scoring gap as
Layla Almasri got it rolling with a provisional qualifying time of 5:02.97 in the mile to take the top time.
Hannah Ellis solidified a provisional time of her own by finishing second in the 5,000m with a time of 18:07.47. Sophomore
Michela Hewitt also added to the mix as she clocked in at 2:23.49 for yet another top Mountain Lion finish.
To wrap up what was a great opening day for UCCS, the Mountain Lions' track & field teams tallied another event sweep with the winning of both the men's and women's 4x400m relay. The men's team of
Dillon Andrews,
Justice Mendoza,
Eric Sierra, and
Isaiah Escalante-Garcia raced to a winning time of 3:26.63. For the women, a time of 4:05.07 was clocked as the relay team of
Dejah Glover,
Michela Hewitt,
Nadine Almasri, and
Grace Wenham recorded the event's top time.
BEYOND THE RESULTS
- UCCS men's team won a total of nine of the scored 13 events as the women's team won 12 of the 13 scored events.
- Ackah's automatic qualifying mark in the men's long jump ranks number one in all of Division II.
- Abbott's provisional qualifying mark in the men's triple jump ranks second in DII.
- Layla Almasri's provisional mark in the women's mile ranks number one in DII and is a new PR.
- Ellis' provisional mark in the women's 5000m currently ranks as the best time in DII.
- Novess' and Pavlenko's provisional marks in the women's high jump currently ranks fourth and fifth in DII respectively.
SOCIAL
Twitter – @GoMountainLions
Instagram – @gomountainlions
Facebook – GoMountainLions
As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 16 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.
