GOLDEN, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field team opened day one of the Mines Winter Classic on Friday, with the women's distance medley relay team providing the highlight of the evening with a first-place finish and NCAA qualifying mark in the event.
 
INSIDE THE MINES WINTER CLASSIC
Location: CSM Steinhauer Fieldhouse | Golden, Colo.
Track Size: 193-meters (flat)
Elevation: 5,675 ft
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The women's DMR was the first event on the track on Friday evening and the Mountain Lions relay team of Kate Hedlund (1200m), Alyssa Lopez (400m), Trinity Dixon (800m), and Anna Fauske (1600m) did not disappoint as they went on to earn a first-place finish in the race with a converted time of 11:31.40. Running the DMR for the first time this season, UCCS' time easily surpassed the NCAA provisional qualifying threshold (12:04.59). Their time also would have ranked as the fourth fastest time from the final 2022-23 NCAA DII Indoor Qualifying list, which includes all qualifying times from last season except for those that were clocked at the indoor national championship meet.
• The Mountain Lions added four more NCAA qualifying marks in the men's long jump, where Richard Safoh was the top finisher for UCCS with a third-place mark of 7.31m. Peterson Bohannon (7.24m), Grant Haskins (7.23m), and Peyton Turnage (7.22m) also managed to reach the provisional qualifying threshold for the event while finishing in sixth, seventh, and eighth place overall, respectively. On the women's side, redshirt sophomore Madissyn Moore led a group of four UCCS student-athletes in the long jump as she finished fourth overall with a leap of 5.55m.
• A pair of Mountain Lions made their collegiate debuts in the women's 3,000m race and it was redshirt freshman Kaya Pillivant who crossed the line first for UCCS and eighth overall with a converted time of 10:12.64. Redshirt freshman Maddie Ruszkiewicz also had a strong outing as she recorded a converted time of 10:26.97 for a 12^th place finish.
• In the men's 3,000m, Logan Cole was the top finisher from UCCS as he posted a converted time of 8:34.49 to finish tenth overall. Crossing the line just behind Cole in 12^th and 13^th place were Jack Donze with a converted time of 8:40.98 and Michael Burke Jr. at a converted time of 8:41.38.
• Freshman Brayden Shaw put forth a personal and season best effort in the men's pole vault as he finished eighth overall after clearing a bar height of 4.25m.
• At the men's shot put, sophomore Kyle Demos was the lone competitor in action from UCCS as he earned a sixth-place finish with a season best mark of 13.85m. On the women's side, Savannah Jorgens was the top UCCS finisher with an eighth-place toss of 11.82m.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• The Mountain Lion's converted time of 11:31.40 in the women's DMR narrowly edged out the raw time of 11:31.45 that Fauske, Hedlund, Amber Davis, and Michela Hewitt clocked for a fifth place finish overall at the 2023 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships.

UP NEXT

• The Mines Winter Classic will continue tomorrow at the Steinhauer Fieldhouse with the men's weight throw kicking off the field events at 9 a.m. and the preliminary round of the men's 60m hurdles getting things started on the track at noon.

 
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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.