PITTSBURG, Kan. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's and women's track & field teams made the trip east to Pittsburg, Kan., on Friday to compete at the 8^th Annual Indoor Gorilla Classic hosted by Pittsburg State University and came away with two new NCAA qualifying marks in the distance medley relay races.
 
INSIDE THE 8TH ANNUAL INDOOR GORILLA CLASSIC
Location: Robert W. Plaster Center | Pittsburg, Kan.
Track Size: 300-meters (flat)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mountain Lion's first day at the Robert W. Plaster Center was highlighted by exceptional performances from both the men's and women's distance medley relay teams. On the women's side, Anna Fauske, Amber Davis, Michela Hewitt, and Kate Hedlund teamed up to win the relay race with a time of 11:35.31 that registers as an NCAA qualifying mark and currently ranks third in the nation. The time also marked the fastest DMR time in meet history, narrowly edging the previous record of 11:35.86 that was established in 2021 by Southwest Baptist.
• In the men's DMR, Jagger Zlotoff, Andrew Muncy, Joseph Hamilton, and Evan Graff finished the relay race in 9:45.02 to place third overall and shatter the previous UCCS school record by more than 20 seconds. The men's time also provisionally qualifies the group for nationals with their time also currently sitting as the third-fastest in the country.
• Redshirt junior Anna Holland added a third provisional mark in the women's weight throw competition as she notched a fifth-place finish with a toss of 17.38m. Holland's mark was just short of her season best of 18.02m that entered the weekend ranked 17^th in Division II.
• UCCS had a strong trio of distance runners competing in the women's 5,000m race as Molly Breuer, Jessica Madrid, and Mason Ingallinera each claimed top-15 finishes in a field of nearly 60 runners. Breuer was the first Mountain Lion to cross the line with a personal best time of 17:28.73 that was good for ninth place, while Madrid (17:36.57) and Ingallinera (17:40.87) also notched personal bests to finish in 12^th and 15^th place, respectively.
• Graduate student Marcus Graham led the way for UCCS in the men's 5,000m race as he tallied a personal best raw time of 14:32.49 for a sixth-place finish. Graham's time also sits as the fourth-fastest indoor 5,000m time in UCCS history. Also posting strong races in the 5K were Jack Donze (15:11.07 – 28^th), Will Young (15:20.04 – 37^th), and Sean Graff (15:28.14 – 44^th).
• The Mountain Lions had four student-athletes competing in the men's 60m dash qualifier, with redshirt sophomore Justice Mendoza clocking the seventh-fastest time among the group at 6.91s to advance to tomorrow's prelim. In the women's 60m qualifier, Keyanda Bolton was the sixth overall finisher with a time of 7.79s as she also advanced to tomorrow's prelim race.
• UCCS also had four student-athletes racing in the women's 60m hurdle qualifier as Maggie Remsberg (9.23s) and Faith Novess (9.26s) placed 11^th and 15^th, respectively, to punch their tickets to tomorrow's prelim for the event.
• Redshirt sophomore Caden Frasl put together a season and career best performance in the men's high jump, finishing first among the open group by clearing a bar height of 1.99m.
• In the men's weight throw, junior Luke Hard was the lone Mountain Lion in action as he finished 17^th in a field of 43 throwers with a mark of 16.78m.
• Redshirt junior Peyton Turnage was the top UCCS finisher in the men's long jump as he took fifth out of 36 competitors with a leap of 7.09m. Peterson Bohannon also notched a tenth-place finish with a mark of 6.87m while Richard Safoh finished 14^th at 6.78m.
• In the women's long jump, redshirt junior Audrey Bloomquist was the first Mountain Lion finisher with an 11^th place mark of 5.55m, which came up just .20m short of her season best.
• After competing in the 60m dash earlier in the day, Mendoza came back to claim a 21^st place finish in the men's 200m with a time of 21.87s. Sophomore Kymani Sterling was just behind Mendoza at 21.12s for a 39^th place finish in the 79-person field. On the women's side of the 200m, Keyanda Bolton was the top Mountain Lion finisher as she clocked a time of 25.06s for a 13^th place finish.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• The UCCS women's DMR time of 11:35.31 was less than three seconds away from the women's school record of 11:32.98 that was set at last year's Indoor National Championship meet.
• Breuer's 5,000m time of 17:28.73 ranks as the fourth-fastest time in program history for the event.

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions are back in action again tomorrow morning at the Robert W. Plaster Center for day two of the 8^th Annual Indoor Gorilla Classic.

 
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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.