GOLDEN, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field team closed out day two of the Mines Winter Classic on Saturday with a combined five event wins and six additional NCAA qualifying marks, including three new marks for the indoor season from the men's and women's mile races.
 
INSIDE THE MINES WINTER CLASSIC
Location: CSM Steinhauer Fieldhouse | Golden, Colo.
Track Size: 193-meters (flat)
Elevation: 5,675 ft
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mountain Lions had a large contingent of women running the mile race on Saturday afternoon, but it was the duo of Kate Hedlund and Anna Fauske that lit up the track for UCCS as they both recorded NCAA provisional qualifying times in the event. Hedlund was the first competitor overall to cross the line at a converted time of 4:43.49, while Fauske finished third overall with a converted time of 4:48.10. Two additional Mountain Lion runners also finished inside the top-five of the field as Rachel Richtman (4:57.52c) and Molly Breuer (4:59.73c) crossed the line in fourth and fifth place, respectively, while narrowly missing the NCAA qualifying threshold of 4:56.85.
• In the men's mile race, Jagger Zlotoff flew around the track in a national qualifying converted time of 4:01.14 to finish in second place overall for the event. Joseph Impellitteri and Brett Davis also posted strong efforts in their first mile competitions of their collegiate careers as they both came within ten seconds of reaching the NCAA qualifying time (4:09.80), with Impellitteri crossing the line ninth overall at a converted time of 4:17.97 and Davis earning a tenth-place finish with a converted time of 4:19.97.
• UCCS had group of five student-athletes competing in the preliminary round of the women's 60m hurdles, but it was senior Melissa Moreni and freshman Krissie Sanders that led the way for the Mountain Lions as Moreni won her heat with a national qualifying time of 8.74s (8.76c) and Sanders qualified for the final on time with a time of 8.87s (8.89c). In the final race, Moreni improved her time to 8.57s (8.59c) and cruised to a first-place finish in the event, while Sanders also slightly improved her time as she crossed the line in 8.86s (8.88c) for a third-place finish. Sanders' personal best raw time also gave her sole possession of third place overall for the event in the UCCS women's indoor record book.
• At the men's 60m hurdles, freshman Nigel James was the leader in the clubhouse for the Mountain Lions as he qualified for the final with a time of 8.50s (8.52c) in the preliminary round before going on to finish sixth overall in the final race while crossing the line in 8.45s (8.47c).
• UCCS put together a dominating performance in the preliminary round of the men's 60m dash as seven of the eight positions in the final race were filled up by Mountain Lions, with Justice Mendoza leading the way for the group with the top time in the prelim field at 6.86s (6.88c). Mendoza carried his momentum into the final race as he slightly improved his time for the day to a national qualifying time of 6.82s (6.84c) while winning the event. UCCS also saw Peterson Bohannan (6.96c) place third overall along with Mason Pastorello (6.96c), Daryn Ofori-Kuragu (6.97c), Gunnar Betts (7.08c), TJ Nissen (7.15c), and Donovan Mini (7.21c) finishing in the Nos. 4-8 positions, respectively.
• Redshirt junior Keyanda Bolton led the way for UCCS in the women's 60m dash on Saturday afternoon as she won her heat in the preliminary round with a time of 7.78s (7.80c) to advance to the final. In the final race, Bolton crossed the line at 7.82s (7.84c) for a third-place finish overall.
• Redshirt senior Anna Holland was the top overall finisher in the women's weight throw competition as she recorded an NCAA provisional qualifying toss of 18.01m. Her throw, however, was short of her season-best provisional mark of 19.00m that entered the weekend ranked second in the nation.
• At the men's weight throw, Luke Hard was the top finisher for the Mountain Lions as he recorded a throw of 17.42m to finish third overall in the competition. Freshman Hayden Cuevas put forth a strong effort on Saturday as well as he improved on his personal best by more than one full meter with a toss of 16.80m, which now places him fifth all-time in indoor program history for the event.
• Peyton Turnage was the top finisher in a men's triple jump field that consisted of six competitors as he posted a mark of 14.11m. Freshman Jeffrey Franquemont was also in action as he finished fourth overall with a leap of 13.52m. On the women's side of the triple jump, sophomore Kathryn Carroll was the lone Mountain Lion in competition, and she went on to claim second place overall with a jump of 10.96m.
• In the women's high jump, Dallis Robinson reached a season best height of 1.61m to finish fourth overall in the event, while Lilyana Delagarza claimed eighth place with a mark of 1.56m.
• Redshirt senior Skye Ciccarelli was the top finisher for the Mountain Lions in the men's high jump as he cleared a bar height of 2.02m and claimed fifth place overall in the competition. Caden Frasl took eighth place at 1.92m while Thorben Hast reached a height of 1.82m to finish 12^th.
• The Mountain Lions had three student-athletes finish inside the top four in the women's 400m dash, led by redshirt freshman Trinity Dixon in second place with a converted time of 59.46s. Crossing the line in third place overall was freshman Addie Wilson at a converted time of 59.64s, while redshirt senior Erika Timbang was the fourth overall finisher with a converted time of 59.92s.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• The Mountain Lion's national qualifying times in the mile this afternoon made a statement on the national scale as Zlotoff's converted time of 4:01.14 currently ranks second overall in the event on the NCAA DII Indoor Qualifying list for this season while Hedlund (3^rd) and Fauske (8^th) both rank inside the top-ten in the nation on the women's version of the provisional qualifying list.
• After this weekend's meet, the UCCS men's and women's track & field teams have combined to record a total of 33 NCAA qualifying marks for the indoor season, including 18 from the men's side and 15 from the women's side.

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions will make their way to Gunnison, Colo., on Saturday, Feb. 3, to compete at the Big Red Machine Open on the campus of Western Colorado University. The meet is tentatively scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. from the Mountaineer Fieldhouse.

 
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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.