PUEBLO, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field team had a strong start to the 2023 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl that was highlighted by a school record breaking performance by the men's 4x100m relay team.
 
INSIDE THE 2023 NCAA DIVISION II OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Location: CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl | Pueblo, Colo.
Elevation: 4,700 ft.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Junior Thorben Hast was the first UCCS student-athlete in action on Thursday as he worked through the first five events of the men's decathlon, posting a score of 3,586 points to end the first day of competition in 12^th place overall. Hast will complete the final five events of the decathlon tomorrow morning beginning with the 110m hurdles at 9:30 a.m.
• The men's 4x100m relay team of Mason Pastorello, Justice Mendoza, Kymani Sterling, and Brian Mosley Jr. put on a show in the preliminary round of the event as they joined up to shatter the previous school record with a time of 39.56s that held up as the sixth-fastest time in the field and qualified the group for the event final on Saturday at 5:20 p.m.
• Next up on the track was the preliminary round of the women's 1500m and it was junior Kate Hedlund who led a group of two Mountain Lions in the event with a fifth-place finish in her heat at a time of 4:29.33 that was good enough to qualify for Saturday's final. Sophomore Anna Fauske was also in action as she made her outdoor national championship debut and went on to clock a time of 4:35.62 for a 15^th place finish. Hedlund will compete in the women's 1500m final on Saturday at 5:35 p.m. while Fauske will now turn her attention to the women's 5,000m race set to take place on Saturday at 8:05 p.m.
• The Mountain Lions also had a pair of student-athletes racing in the men's 1500m on Thursday and saw both of them make their way through the preliminary round to earn a spot in the final on Saturday at 5:45 p.m. Redshirt freshman Jagger Zlotoff earned an automatic qualification into the final by posting a fourth-place finish in his heat with a time of 3:51.83, while redshirt senior Evan Graff secured the final qualifying spot after completing the race in 3:52.52.
• Graduate student Marcus Graham closed out day one for the Mountain Lions under the lights on the track in the men's 10,000m race, where he posted a time of 31:06.44 to finish in 14^th place overall.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• The men's 4x100m relay team broke the UCCS school record for the event by more than six-tenths of a second with their time of 39.56s easily eclipsing the previous record of 40.19s that was established earlier this outdoor season.
• After one day of competition, Pittsburg State University holds the team lead on the men's side with 16 points while Academy of Art, Adams State University, Winona State University, and Grand Valley State University sit in four-way tie for the team lead on the women's side with ten points apiece.

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions will have a small group of student-athletes competing tomorrow for day two of the outdoor national championship meet as Hast will get things started once again with the first event of the men's decathlon at 9:30 a.m. followed by Dakota Abbott in the men's triple jump final at 5:05 p.m., Justice Mendoza in the men's 200m prelim at 5:45 p.m., and Melissa Moreni in the women's 100m hurdles prelim at 6:35 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.