GOLDEN, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track and field team had a handful of distance runners competing at the Mines Pre-Conference in Golden, Colo., on Saturday afternoon in the team's final competition prior to the 2023-24 RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships.
 
INSIDE THE MINES PRE-CONFERENCE
Location: CSM Steinhauer Fieldhouse | Golden, Colo.
Track Size: 193-meters (flat)
Elevation: 5,675 ft
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mountain Lions had a pair of student-athletes place inside the top-five of a 12-person field in the women's 5,000m race, led by redshirt sophomore Molly Breuer in third place with a raw time of 18:20.12. Sophomore Kseniya Nikanorov also made her UCCS track and field debut and went on to cross the line just behind Breuer with a raw time of 18:21.85 for a fourth-place finish. For Breuer and Nikanorov, their altitude-converted times of 17:34.77 and 17:36.42, respectively, sit just under 20 seconds away from the NCAA DII provisional qualifying threshold.
• In the men's 5,000m, redshirt sophomore Jack Donze put together a season-best effort in the event as he crossed the line first overall among a small field of five runners with a time of 15:41.27 (14:57.18c). Redshirt freshman Koy Cunningham also had a strong race as he posted a personal best mark of 16:05.74 (15:20.51c) to claim third place overall.
• Redshirt freshman Megan Ericksen continued the positive trend in the women's 3,000m race, posting a personal best time of 11:29.73 (11:01.68c) to finish in third place.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• With their converted times in the women's 5,000m race, Breuer and Nikanorov moved into the top-25 in the RMAC for the event, which will likely qualify them to compete at next weekend's indoor conference championship meet.

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions will head to Spearfish, S.D., for the 2023-24 RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, which will take place on the campus of Black Hills State University on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-24.

SOCIAL
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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.