ALAMOSA, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's and women's track & field teams put together an impressive performance on day one of the 2022-23 RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships as they combined to record seven podium finishes and 18 new or improved NCAA qualifying marks at the ASU Indoor Bubble in Alamosa, Colo. The Mountain Lions, who sit in second place on both the men's and women's sides after the first day of action, also had 18 student-athletes advance through the preliminary rounds of their races on Friday to earn the opportunity to compete in their respective final races tomorrow afternoon.  
 
INSIDE THE 2022-23 RMAC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Location: ASU Indoor Bubble | Alamosa, Colo.
Track Size: 200m (flat)
Elevation: 7,547 ft
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first day of the 2022-23 RMAC Indoor Championships got started with the multi events as the Mountain Lions had multiple athletes competing in both the women's pentathlon and men's heptathlon. In the pentathlon, UCCS wrapped up a total of 12 points for the women's team as redshirt junior Faith Novess claimed a second place finish with a personal best mark of 3,603 points and redshirt junior Maggie Remsberg finished in fifth place with a personal best mark of 3,239 points. After the conversion for altitude and track size, both marks register as NCAA qualifying marks, with Novess' converted mark of 3,624 points currently ranking among the top-15 in the nation and Remsberg's converted mark of 3,260 also crossing the provisional standard. For Novess, it was an impressive effort across the board as she notched a personal best time in the 60m hurdle portion of the multi event at 8.92s and hit an improved provisional mark in the high jump section with a season best clearance of 1.69m.
• In the heptathlon, Thorben Hast and Seth Richmond both sit in position to score points after the completion of the first four events, with Hast in fourth place at 2,744 points and Richmond in sixth place at 2,532 points. The men's heptathlon with wrap up tomorrow morning with the final three events.
• Redshirt junior Anna Holland put together a strong performance in the women's weight throw final as she tossed a personal best and school record mark of 18.29m to record a second-place finish and earn eight points for the women's team. Her mark also registered as an improvement on her existing provisional mark and moves her back inside the top-20 in the nation for the event. Redshirt junior Cassielynn Bonner also notched a personal best mark with a toss of 15.83m to earn an eighth-place finish and score one point.
• In the men's weight throw, junior Luke Hard had a personal best performance as he made his way to the podium with a third place throw of 18.61m that brought in six points for the UCCS men's team. His throw also marked a personal best and registers as a provisional mark for the event. Teammate Justyn Loper also scored three points of his own with a sixth place finish in the event after tossing to a distance of 17.77m.
• On the track, the men's and women's distance medley relay teams both found their way to the podium while also improving their existing national qualifying times. In the women's DMR, Anna Fauske, Michela Hewitt, Alyssa Lopez, and Kate Hedlund teamed up to record a raw time of 12:02.21 and earn a second place finish in the relay for eight team points. Their converted time of 11:33.61 marks a nearly two second improvement over their season best mark that was ranked No. 4 in the nation entering the day. In the men's DMR, it was Jagger Zlotoff, Alex Herman, Joseph Hamilton, and Evan Graff handing the baton to each other and finishing the race in a raw time of 10:07.74 that was good for third place overall and six points for the team. Their converted time of 9:42.02 registers as a nearly three second improvement over their existing provisional mark that was sixth in the nation prior to the start of the day.
• The Mountain Lions tallied an impressive 17 points at the men's long jump pit as four UCCS student-athletes were among the top eight finishers in the event. Redshirt junior Peterson Bohannon led the way for UCCS with a bronze medal jump of 7.50m that registered as an improvement on his season best NCAA qualifying mark. Redshirt junior Peyton Turnage also improved his existing provisional mark for the event with a fourth-place jump of 7.42m, while sophomore Daryon Wilson and redshirt sophomore Richard Safoh finished fifth and seventh with provisional jumps of 7.34m and 7.19m, respectively.
• At the women's long jump, redshirt junior Audrey Bloomquist came away with a bronze medal and six team points as she leaped to a mark of 5.66m that was just shy of her season-best for the event. Novess would continue her busy day with a personal best mark of 5.47m to finish fourth in the event and bring in five more points for UCCS.
• In the men's 5,000m race, graduate student Marcus Graham was the first Mountain Lion across the finish line as he clocked a raw time of 15:30.07 to claim fifth place in the event and score four points for the men's team. Redshirt freshman Jack Donze also ran a strong race as he was just outside of scoring range with a tenth place finish at a raw time of 15:59.07.
• Three more points for the UCCS women's team were gained in the pole vault competition, where freshman Brianna Spencer cleared a bar height of 3.53m to tie for fifth place. Sophomore Alison Van Dyke also matched her season and personal best with a mark of 3.38m as she finished in a tie for ninth place.
• The Mountain Lions had a trio of student-athletes racing in a stacked women's 5,000m competition, and it was redshirt freshman Molly Breuer that crossed the line first for UCCS with a 12^th place finish at a time of 18:55.63. Breuer was followed by freshman Jessica Madrid with a time of 19:02.96 and redshirt sophomore Mason Ingallinera at 19:48.95.
• UCCS had a strong group of six student-athletes competing in the men's 200m prelim and saw four of the six notch NCAA qualifying marks on their way to advancing to tomorrow's final race. Redshirt junior Brian Mosley Jr. was the second overall finisher among the preliminary field as he clocked a converted time of 21.44s, while redshirt sophomore Justice Mendoza took third at a converted time of 21.52s, sophomore Kymani Sterling placed sixth at a converted time of 21.66s, and freshman Mason Pastorello clocked a seventh place converted time of 21.69s.
• In the women's 200m dash prelim, both UCCS student-athletes in the competition punched their tickets to tomorrow's final while also recording NCAA qualifying marks. Redshirt sophomore Keyanda Bolton was the top Mountain Lion qualifier as she notched the second fastest time in the field at a converted 24.74s, while redshirt senior Brittany Fuchs took the fifth position at a converted time of 24.85s.
• The Mountain Lions claimed three of the top four spots in the women's 60m dash prelim, led by Bloomquist who clocked a personal best converted time of 7.55s that was good for the fastest time in the field and registers as an NCAA provisional mark. Just behind Bloomquist in second overall was sophomore Victoria Farinas with a converted time of 7.63s that also goes down as a provisional qualifying time. Finally, Fuchs came across the line at a converted time of 7.67s to claim the fourth fastest time in the field.
• On the men's side of the 60m dash prelim, Mosley Jr. clocked a converted time of 6.75s to narrowly edge out Colorado Mesa's Elijah Williams for the top spot in the preliminary field. Mendoza also made his way into the final with a personal best converted time of 6.86s for the sixth best time in the prelim.
• In the women's 60m hurdles, redshirt sophomore Melissa Moreni clocked the second fastest time in the field at 8.73s to advance to the final. Novess will join Moreni in the final after she recorded the fifth fastest time at 8.96s.
• At the men's 400m prelim, UCCS saw all four Mountain Lion runners qualify for the final as Ryan O'Neal (1^st - 49.42s), Dillon Andrews (4^th – 49.66s), Sebastien Jean (5^th – 49.84s), and Andrew Muncy (7^th – 50.09s) each placed among the top eight preliminary finishers. On the women's side, Amber Davis narrowly made her way into the final with the eighth fastest time in the field at 59.31s.

 
MEN'S STANDINGS – 5 EVENTS SCORED

1. Western Colorado – 38 points
2. UCCS – 35 points
3. Adams State – 26 points
4. Mines – 22 points
5. CSU Pueblo – 21 points
6. Colorado Mesa – 16 points
7. Chadron State – 12 points
8. Black Hills State – 10 points
9. MSU Denver – 9 points
10. South Dakota Mines – 6 points
11. Colorado Christian - 0 points

WOMEN'S STANDINGS – 6 EVENTS SCORED

1. Mines – 75 points
2. UCCS – 43 points
3. Colorado Mesa – 38 points
4. Adams State – 17 points
5. Western Colorado – 16 points
6. Chadron State – 14 points
7. New Mexico Highlands – 11 points
8. CSU Pueblo – 9 points
9. South Dakota Mines – 5 points
10. Westminster – 3 points
11. MSU Denver – 2 points
12. Black Hills State – 1 point
13. Colorado Christian - 0 points

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• With their personal best marks in the pentathlon, Novess and Remsberg each made their way up the UCCS record book for the event. Novess' mark of 3,603 points ranks second in program history, while Remsberg's performance of 3,239 points sits third all-time in UCCS history.
• Novess also moved into a tie for third-place all-time in program history for the women's 60m hurdles with her raw time of 8.92s.
• Bonner's weight throw mark of 15.83m ranks fifth all-time in UCCS indoor program history.
• Hard's personal best toss of 18.61m in the men's weight throw ranks second all-time in program history and is just .16m away from surpassing the school record for the event.
• Bohannon's long jump mark of 7.50m sits tied for the third furthest jump in UCCS indoor program history.
• With his raw time of 21.70s in the men's 200m, Mosley Jr. moves up to third all-time in program history for the event.
• Mendoza moves into fifth place all-time for the men's 60m dash with his raw time of 6.82s.
• Bloomquist climbs to number two all-time in program history for the women's 60m dash with her raw time of 7.51s, while Farinas bolsters her position as the fourth-fastest 60m runner in program history at her time of 7.59s.

 
UP NEXT

• The 2022-23 RMAC Indoor Championships will continue tomorrow morning with the men's high jump and the men's heptathlon set to kick off at 10 a.m. and the track events beginning at 12 p.m.  

 
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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.