AZUSA, Calif. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track and field teams had a highly impressive day at the Bryan Clay Invitational and Mt. SAC Relays, breaking five school records and recording a total of 16 national qualifying marks.
 
INSIDE THE BRYAN CLAY INVITATIONAL
Location: APU Cougar Athletic Stadium | Azusa, Calif.
 
INSIDE THE MT. SAC RELAYS
Location: Mt. SAC Hilmer Lodge Stadium | Walnut, Calif.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mountain Lions had a huge day in Azusa, Calif., at the Bryan Clay Invitational as they saw four school records fall and posted 15 total provisional marks, including 11 marks that registered as first-time national qualifiers or improved qualifying marks.
  • Three NCAA qualifying marks were established in the women's 1500m as the UCCS trio of Riley McGrath, Layla Almasri, and Kate Hedlund raced to the three fastest times in program history for the event.
  • Racing in the sixth heat of the women's 1500m invitational, McGrath went on to break the UCCS school record with a national qualifying time of 4:21.57 that would rank in the top-five in the country entering today's action. Almasri also impressed as she won her heat with a time of 4:23.01 that registers as an improvement on her existing provisional time for the event. Finally, Hedlund put her name on the national qualifying list for the first time this outdoor season, placing third in her heat of the open 1500m with a personal best and provisional time of 4:28.73.
  • Redshirt junior Evan Graff found success of his own in the men's 1500m race running to a personal best and school record time of 3:45.18 to improve his standing on the national qualifying list.
  • Another historical mark came in the men's javelin throw, where Sawyer Christopher shattered his own school record by more than 2.50m with a toss of 64.66m. Christopher's throw placed third among a field of 35 competitors in the event and serves as an improvement on his season best provisional mark.
  • Redshirt sophomore Dillon Andrews had an impressive performance in the men's 400m hurdles, finishing fifth overall out of 59 competitors while breaking his own school record with an improved national qualifying time of 52.48s.
  • Skye Ciccarelli and Tanner Walsh represented the Mountain Lions well in the men's high jump invitational as they each came away with identical improved provisional marks of 2.11m to tie for first place in the field of 24 athletes.
  • In the men's long jump, Peterson Bohannon managed to improve his national standing as he hit a season-best mark of 7.52m to finish 7^th in the 70-athlete competition. Also placing in the top-ten for the event was redshirt sophomore Peyton Turnage with a mark of 7.34m that was good for ninth place.
  • On the women's side of the long jump, redshirt senior Hannah Meek jumped to a mark of 6.02m to place seventh and come up just shy of her season best mark of 6.12m that currently ranks in the top-ten of Division II.
  • Redshirt junior Dakota Abbott continued his impressive season at the triple jump as he posted a provisional mark of 14.81m to finish ninth. Abbott's season best mark of 15.66m in the opening week meet ranks second in the country.
  • The women's 4x100m relay team consisting of Kayla Zink, Brittany Fuchs, Keyanda Bolton, and Victoria Farinas took third place among 23 teams in the race while also narrowly improving their provisional mark to 46.11s
  • Zink and Fuchs were also in action in the women's 100m dash, impressively finishing tenth and 17^th, respectively, in a field of over 100 collegiate athletes. Zink was the first Mountain Lion to cross the line with a provisional time of 11.75s, while Fuchs notched her first 100m national qualifying time of the season at 11.86s.

• UCCS also had redshirt junior Afewerki Zeru competing in the late night 5000m race at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif.
  • Zeru did not disappoint as he broke the men's outdoor 5K program record by more than half a minute with a time of 13:44.58 to finish fifth in the field of 38 runners. Based on the NCAA Division II performance list entering the day, Zeru's provisional 5000m time ranks as the second-fastest in the nation thus far for the outdoor season.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• The top-three spots for the 1500m in the women's record book will look much different following today's action, with McGrath sliding in as the program record holder at 4:21.57, followed by Almasri in second place at 4:23.01 and Hedlund in third place all-time with a time of 4:28.73.
• With a mark of 2.11m in the men's high jump, Walsh moves up to third all-time for the event, just behind Ciccarelli who holds the second highest jump in program history with his leap of 2.12m on March 20, 2021.
• Bohannon continued his ascension in the men's long jump, improving his third-ranked mark in program history to 7.52m.

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions are set to compete at the Beach Invitational tomorrow on the campus of Long Beach State University. Redshirt senior Hannah Meek will also be in competition at the Mt. SAC relays in the elite competition of the women's long jump. 

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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.