Mountain Lions Wrap Up Day Two of Maverick Classic

4/2/2022 6:48:00 PM

By: Tyler Tvelia, Assistant Sports Information Director

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field teams wrapped up day two of the Maverick Classic on Saturday evening, claiming one event win and establishing multiple personal best marks.

INSIDE THE MAVERICK CLASSIC
Location: CMU Track & Field Complex | Grand Junction, Colo.
Elevation: 4,631 ft.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Redshirt sophomore Anna Holland laid claim to the Mountain Lions lone event win on Saturday as she hit a mark of 46.31m in the women's hammer throw to finish at the top of a field consisting of 12 competitors. Holland also posted a sixth-place finish in the women's shot put with a mark of 11.77m.
In the men's shot put, freshman Jarell Lucas posted a personal best mark of 15.89m to earn a fifth-place finish and move into third place all-time in UCCS program history for the event.
Sophomore Michael Nichols had a big day in the sprints events, posting a personal best time of 11.08s to finish eighth in the 100m dash before registering a PR in the 200m dash with a sixth-place time of 21.82s.
Freshman Amber Davis raced to a personal record time in the women's 400m as she crossed the line in third place at 56.64s. Dillon Andrews was the seventh overall finisher on the men's side, clocking a time of 51.00s.
Redshirt senior Terra Valadez was the top Mountain Lion finisher in the women's 100m hurdle, placing fifth overall with a time of 15.35m. In the women's 400m hurdle, redshirt sophomore Ashten Loeks raced to a personal best time of 1:04.71 to finish second in the race.
The UCCS group of five student-athletes competing in the women's 800m was led by redshirt sophomore Michela Hewitt, who finished seventh with a season-best time of 2:15.49. Redshirt Liz Bindert was not far behind Hewitt, finishing 13^th and establishing a new PR as she finished the race in 2:19.43.
Freshman Anna Fauske finished tenth in the women's 1500m race, running a personal best time of 4:45.24. Kelsey Rycenga also posted an impressive time of 4:56.21 to finish 14^th among the field of 38 runners.
Redshirt freshman Rachel Goodrich and sophomore Rachel Richtman ran their first 5000m races of their outdoor careers, with Richtman finishing seventh at 18:43.66 and Goodrich coming across the line at 19:05.86.
As always, the meet wrapped up on the track with the 4x400m relays as both the men's and women's relay teams recorded fourth place finishes. The women's team of Amber Davis, Lizzie Waters, Michela Hewitt, and Alyssa Lopez combined to finish the relay in 3:54.21, while Dillon Andrews, Angel Laca, Sam Repsher, and Ryan O'Neal teamed up to complete the race in 3:21.06.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

Davis' personal best time in the women's 400m ranks as the third fastest time in UCCS program history.

UP NEXT

The Mountain Lions will return to action next weekend as they split up with athletes going to both the WTAMU Jo Meaker Classic in Canyon, Texas and the Colorado Invitational in Boulder, Colo.

SOCIAL
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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.

Day 1: Mountain Lion Distance Runners Post Historic Marks at Stanford Invitational

STANFORD, Calif. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field team had a historic day on Friday as the distance trio of Afewerki Zeru, Layla Almasri, and Riley McGrath recorded record-breaking national qualifying times at the Stanford Invitational. The Mountain Lions were also in action at the Maverick Classic on Friday afternoon where they won four events.

INSIDE THE MAVERICK CLASSIC
Location: CMU Track & Field Complex | Grand Junction, Colo.
Elevation: 4,631 ft.

INSIDE THE STANFORD INVITATIONAL
Location: Cobb Track & Angell Field | Stanford, Calif.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Mountain Lions posted a trio of huge performances at the Stanford Invitational on Friday night as they established a pair of new school records and posted three national qualifying marks.
- Almasri and McGrath started things off for the Mountain Lions on the Cobb Track, competing as the only Division II athletes in the third section of the women's 5,000m race that consisted of 26 Division I runners.
- Almasri was the seventh finisher in the heat as she shattered the UCCS women's 5,000m school record with an NCAA qualifying time of 16:31.42. McGrath finished just behind Almasri with a provisional time of her own at 16:36.32, which was eleventh in the heat and ranks as the second-fastest time in program history.
- Zeru finished sixth in his heat and ahead of 22 Division I runners in the men's 10,000m as he raced to a school record and national qualifying time of 28:56.20. The redshirt junior breaks a 21-year-old 10,000m school record that was previously established by Trent Briney in 2001.
Earlier in the day, UCCS had a light group of student-athletes competing on the first day of the Maverick Classic at Colorado Mesa University and came away with first place finishes in four of the seven events that they were entered in.
- Sophomore Caroline Walters started the competition on Friday afternoon with a personal-best heave in the javelin throw, reaching a distance of 37.64m to win the event. Redshirt sophomore Kamryn Bohlken also tossed her way into a third-place finish with a mark of 32.82m. Sawyer Christopher was the lone Mountain Lion competing on the men's side of the javelin throw as he recorded an event-winning mark of 57.55m.
- Redshirt sophomore Anna Holland added another first place finish to the Mountain Lions tally in the women's discus throw, reaching a season-best distance of 41.53m. Walters, competing in her second event of the afternoon, posted a fourth-place finish in the event as she joined Holland in posting a season-best mark of 37.04m.
- First-year Mountain Lion Jarell Lucas earned a fifth-place finish in the men's discus throw as he registered a season-best mark of 47.73m that ranks fourth all-time in UCCS program history.
- In the men's pole vault, graduate student Dawson Hopkinson tied for the top spot in the event with a national qualifying mark of 5.05m. Hopkinson's mark falls just short of his season-best mark of 5.10m that he established last weekend at the Spank Blasing Open.
- Sophomore Sarah Bassett put forth a strong performance in the women's 10,000m race, posting a sixth-place raw time of 38:47.05 that registered as a personal record by more than two minutes. Also finishing in the top-10 for the event was Marissa Kuik with a 10th-place time of 40:47.32.
- At the sand pits, sophomore Ryan O'Neal was the lone UCCS athlete competing in the men's long jump as he notched a sixth-place finish with a mark of 6.61m.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

Prior to Almasri and McGrath's record-breaking performances, the previous UCCS school record for the women's 5,000m had been held since 2013 by Megan Burrell at 17:05.44.
Walters' mark of 37.64m in the women's javelin throw ranks as the third-best toss in UCCS program history.

UP NEXT

The Mountain Lions will be back in action tomorrow as they compete on day two of the Maverick Classic. The throws events will be the first to get underway at 10 a.m., followed by running events at 10:30 a.m. and field events at 11 a.m.

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