TOPEKA, Kan. – Competing at the Washburn Indoor Athletic Facility for the second time in three days, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's and women's track & field teams combined to win ten events, record ten new or improved national qualifying marks, and break six school records on Saturday at the Ichabod Invitational.
 
INSIDE THE ICHABOD INVITATIONAL
Location: Washburn Indoor Athletic Facility | Topeka, Kan.
Track Size: 200-meters
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Distance runners Layla Almasri and Riley McGrath got things started on the track for the Mountain Lions and proceeded to post a pair of provisional marks in the 3,000m race just two days after dominating the mile race at the Ichabod Mid-Week Challenge. Almasri claimed a gold medal finish and improved her standing on the national qualifying list while shattering the UCCS school record for the event with a time of 9:38.11. McGrath made her way onto the qualifying list for the 3,000m for the first time this season with a runner-up finish and indoor personal best mark of 9:43.37.
• Another UCCS program record fell at the throws ring, where Sydney Marr heaved a monster throw of 18.19m to slide into the top spot in program history for the event and improve her ranking on the Division II performance list. Marr finished first at the meet among a field of 26 competitors.
• Redshirt junior Evan Graff posted another stellar performance in the men's mile, crossing the line third at 4:07.48. Graff's raw time was a personal record and moves him into first place all-time in program history for the mile.
• Later in the evening, redshirt junior Afewerki Zeru competed in his first 5,000m race of the indoor season and took fourth place while posting a national qualifying time of 14:14.19. Zeru's mark bested his own school record in the event. 
• Redshirt freshman Kate Hedlund, the owner of provisional marks in the mile and DMR, added another national qualifying time to her resume as she clocked a personal best 2:12.82 in the women's 800m race to claim third place.
• At the 400m races, UCCS claimed the top three finishers on the men's side, led by Angel Laca who recorded an indoor personal best 49.12s to earn the gold medal. In the women's 400m race, Amber Davis registered a third-place finish and raced to a PR time of 58.71s.
• UCCS filled up the top of the results sheet in the 200m dash, accounting for each of the top four finishers in the race. Redshirt senior Kayla Zink was the first finisher for the Mountain Lions, racing to a national qualifying time of 24.79s that also tied her own UCCS school record for the event. Brittany Fuchs (2^nd, 25.11s), Margaret Gardella (3^rd, 25.29s), and Keyanda Bolton (4^th, 25.31s) rounded out the top-four in the race, with Gardella and Bolton moving into third and fourth place in the UCCS record book for the 200m, respectively.
• Zink and the Mountain Lions also posted a dominant performance in the women's 60m dash final, taking three of the top four spots in the race. Zink earned the gold medal with a time of 7.47s in the final to come up just .01 seconds shy of besting her current third-ranking mark in Division II. Freshman Victoria Farinas continued her upward trend as she established another personal record time of 7.64 seconds to provisionally qualify for Nationals.
• Hurdler Melissa Moreni maintained her supremacy in the 60m hurdles final, winning the race with a time of 8.61s to match her school record that she established earlier this season. Moreni's mark also serves as an improvement on her existing national qualifying mark that ranked eighth in the country entering today's competition.
• In the men's 60m hurdle, Chris Hudnall earned a gold medal as he raced to a personal-best time of 8.13 seconds to improve his provisional mark in the event by .08 seconds.
• Moving to the field events, senior Hannah Meek had another strong day at the pits as she claimed another first-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 6.14m, out-jumping her next closest competitor by more than half of a meter.
• At the men's long jump pits, the Mountain Lions logged a pair of top-five finishes with Daryon Wilson placing third at 7.13m, followed by Peyton Turnage in fourth place with a jump of 7.03m.
• Sophomore Skye Ciccarelli and senior Tanner Walsh posted solid performances at the men's high jump, each reaching the national qualifying threshold at 2.04m to finish tied for fourth. For Walsh, the mark ties his season-best and for Ciccarelli the mark falls shy of his season PR of 2.10m.
• Back in the sand pits, Dakota Abbott reached 14.89m in the triple jump to earn a gold medal and was followed by Peyton Turnage in second place with a mark of 14.76m. Turnage improves his provisional mark for the event and moves into fourth place all-time in program history.
• In the women's triple jump, Audrey Bloomquist and Lydia Pavlenko each reached the finals and jumped 11.33m to place in a tie for fourth.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• McGrath's outstanding mark in the 3,000m race is good for second all-time in program history, only ranking behind teammate Layla Almasri.
• Redshirt sophomore Gavin Harden's time of 4:15.95 in the men's mile improves his fourth-ranking mark in program history by just under two seconds.
• Hedlund's provisional mark of 2:12.82 also ranks as the second fastest 800m time in UCCS program history.
• Laca's 400m mark of 49.12s ranks fourth in program history on the men's side, while Davis' 400m personal record is the fifth fastest time in UCCS history.
• Hudnall remains ranked second in UCCS history for the 60m hurdle but improves his mark from 8.17s to 8.13s.
• Redshirt senior Terra Valadez claims the fifth fastest 60m hurdle time in UCCS history with her mark of 9.02s in the preliminary round of the event.

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions return to action next Friday, Feb. 18 when they make the short trip to the Air Force Academy for the Air Force Collegiate Open.

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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.