COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's and women's track & field teams closed their regular season slate with a strong performance on Friday as they recorded three new or improved provisional marks and won three events at the Air Force Collegiate Open.
 
INSIDE THE AIR FORCE HOLIDAY OPEN
Location: AFA Cadet Fieldhouse | Colorado Springs, Colo.
Track Size: 268-meters (flat)
Elevation: 7,048 ft
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first of three provisional marks on Friday came at the men's weight throw ring, where redshirt junior Justyn Loper tossed a season-best mark of 18.36m for a second place finish and his first NCAA qualifying mark of the year. Junior Luke Hard also put forth a strong throw as he recorded a personal-best mark of 17.69m to finish in third place.
• UCCS had a group of four student-athletes competing in the men's 3,000m race, led by redshirt senior Afewerki Zeru who clocked a raw time of 8:33.29 to win the race. His altitude-converted time of 8:11.10 registers as an NCAA qualifying mark for the event. Crossing the line behind Zeru with strong races of their own were redshirt freshman Jack Donze (2^nd – 9:00.05) and graduate student Tim Chambers (4^th – 9:03.63).
• In the women's mile, sophomore Anna Fauske notched a first-place finish as she clocked a raw time of 5:02.73. Her altitude-converted time of 4:51.29 also marked a slight improvement over her season-best national qualifying mark that she previously established at the Colorado Invitational.
• Redshirt junior Gavin Harden joined Fauske in earning a first place win in the men's mile as he went on to notch a season-best raw time of 4:26.99. Graduate student Marcus Graham also recorded a top-five finish in his first mile competition of the season as he took fourth with a raw time of 4:31.42.
• At the women's pole vault runway, freshman Brianna Spencer had a season and career best performance as she cleared a bar height of 3.65m to finish second overall and come within just .03m of reaching the NCAA provisional standard for the event. Her mark also ties her for second all-time in UCCS program history for the women's indoor pole vault.
• Freshman Michael Roberts made a vast improvement in the men's shot put as he established a new personal best by exactly one meter with a throw of 14.11m that was tied for third overall in the competition. Freshman Savannah Jorgens was the top UCCS finisher in the women's shot put with a tenth place mark of 10.95m.
• In the men's 60m dash, redshirt sophomore Chase Monestime was the only Mountain Lion in competition, and he went on to clock a season-best time of 7.12s for an eighth-place finish. Monestime was back in action in the men's 200m as he registered a time od 22.99s to finish 11^th. Mason Pastorello joined Monestime in the men's 200m and posted a solid time of 22.14s to place fourth in the race.
• Sophomore Joseph Hamilton was the top Mountain Lion finisher in the men's 400m dash as he finished in seventh place with a time of 50.75s. Senior Angel Laca and freshman Sebastien Jean joined Hamilton in the 400m race, finishing in 10^th and 11^th place with respective times of 51.55s and 51.60s.
• UCCS had a pair of student-athletes notch top-five finishes in the men's and women's 800m races, with redshirt sophomore Adam Maal registering a time of 2:00.83 for a fifth place finish in the men's race and redshirt junior Erika Timbang also placing fifth at 2:22.02.
• In the women's 60m hurdles, freshman Leyah Martinez finished third in the field of seven competitors with a time of 9.58s.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• Hard's personal best weight throw mark of 17.69m ranks as the second-furthest throw in UCCS program history, only ranking behind Loper, who holds the school record with a toss of 18.77m that he established during the 2019-20 indoor season.

UP NEXT

• The three-time defending indoor conference champion Mountain Lions now turn their focus to the 2022-23 RMAC Indoor Championships, which will take place at the Adams State University Indoor Bubble in Alamosa, Colo., on Friday, Feb. 24 and Saturday, Feb. 25.

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.