Birmingham, Ala. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field closed out the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships on a historical note. Junior Dakota Abbot jumped his way to national champion as the Mountain Lions finished with program best finishes of eight place on the women's side and T-18^th on the men's side after earning five All-America honors on Saturday.

INSIDE THE NCAA DII INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Women Score: UCCS 21 points | 8th
Men Score: UCCS 13 points | T-18th
Location: Birmingham Crossplex| Birmingham, Ala.
Track Size: 200 meter hydraulically banked track
Elevation: 643 ft.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The third and final day of championships was a thrilling one for the Mountain Lions.

UCCS' day began at the pits with junior Dakota Abbott entering the triple jump as the No. 3 seed in the event. After registering a mark of 15.32m on his third jump, Abbott entered his last attempt sitting in second place behind West Texas A&M University's Peniel Richard who was leading with a mark of 15.49m. With a national title on the line, Abbott launched to a massive jump of 15.69m to slide up into first place and set a new PR to capture the program's first national champion in the triple jump, and become the school's second ever men's indoor national champion.

The Mountain Lions kept the momentum on their side as they headed to the track where redshirt sophomore Afewerki Zeru ran to an All-American finish in the 3000m and recorded his second PR at nationals. After clocking a PR of 14:20.52 in the 5000m on Friday, Zeru raced to an eighth place time of 8:05.34 to become an All-American and add to UCCS' team score.

After the men's team got it done at the pits and track, it was the women's turn. Senior Hannah Meek garnered her second All-American honor of the meet by leaping to a fifth place mark of 12.37m in the women's triple jump to score a total of 10 team points at nationals.

Sophomore Riley McGrath joined Meek for double All-American honors in her first trip to indoor nationals as she competed in the women's mile final to finish seventh with a time of 4:57.80.

In the final event of the day for the Mountain Lions, senior Kayla Zink sprinted her way to a podium finish. With a time of 7.47s, Zink clocked a photo finish to place second in the women's 60m and claim All-American status.

It was a historical performance by the Mountain Lions at NCAA Indoor Championships as both the men's and women's team notched program bests for team scores and team finishes. The men's team scored a program high 13 points, the most points ever scored at a national meet, and placed T-18^th for the best finish at indoor nationals. For the women, the Mountain Lions scored 21 points for the most points scored on the national stage as they placed eighth for the best finish in school history.

UP NEXT
The indoor season officially comes to a close for UCCS as they shift to the outdoor season with the two-day CSU Pueblo Early Bird Meet on Friday, Mar. 19 and Saturday, Mar. 20, hosted by Colorado State University Pueblo.

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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.