SPEARFISH, S.D. – After a strong first day of action at the 2024 RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's and women's track & field teams are both situated in second place in the standings, with the men's team holding 33.33 points and the women's team locking up 35 points. The Mountain Lions put themselves in a good position for Saturday's action with strong performances in the preliminary rounds of the shorter distance races on the track as 13 student-athletes combined to secure a total of 18 spots in the final races taking place tomorrow.
 
INSIDE THE 2023-24 RMAC INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
UCCS Men's Day 1 Score: 33.33 points – 2^nd Place
UCCS Women's Day 1 Score: 35 points – 2^nd Place
Host School: Black Hills State University
Location: Donald E. Young Center | Spearfish, S.D.
Track Size: 200m (flat)
Elevation: 3,593 ft
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The UCCS men's long jump event group put together an impressive outing on Friday evening as they combined to rack up 22 points for the men's team. Redshirt senior Peterson Bohannon was the top finisher for UCCS as he earned second place with a national qualifying leap of 7.41m to score eight points. Fresh off being named the Week 8 RMAC Men's Field Athlete of the Week, redshirt junior Richard Safoh picked up six more points and joined Bohannon on the podium with a third place and national qualifying jump of 7.23m. Redshirt freshman Grant Haskins and redshirt senior Peyton Turnage rounded out the scoring in the event for the Mountain Lions with Haskins hitting an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 7.20m to secure five points with a fourth place finish and Turnage recording a leap of 7.10m that was good for sixth place overall and three points.
• The Mountain Lions saw big points on the women's side of the long jump as well as redshirt senior Audrey Bloomquist and redshirt sophomore Madissyn Moore claimed the top two spots in the competition to tally a combined 18 points. Bloomquist earned the individual conference title for the event for the second consecutive year with an NCAA qualifying jump of 5.82m to score ten points, while Moore unleashed a provisional qualifying leap of 5.72m to finish second overall and tally eight points. Redshirt junior Christine Bailey also added one more point in the event with an eighth place jump of 5.24m.
• Redshirt senior Anna Holland landed on the podium in the women's weight throw as she secured a second-place finish in the event and scored eight points for the women's team with a national qualifying mark of 17.99m.
• In the men's weight throw, junior Luke Hard scored six points with an NCAA provisional qualifying toss of 18.57m that was good enough to get himself on the podium with a bronze medal. Sophomore Michael Roberts tacked on one more point in the event as he finished eighth overall with a personal best toss of 16.91m. Roberts' slight PR improves on his fourth-ranked mark for the event in the UCCS men's indoor record book.
• The UCCS women's squad added five points in the distance medley relay as Emma Montoya, Alyssa Lopez, Ashten Loeks, and Rachel Richtman teamed up to record a fourth-place raw time of 12:27.68. On the men's side of the distance medley relay, it was Joseph Impellitteri, Dillon Andrews, Alex Herman, and Brett Davis passing the baton to each other for a raw time of 10:30.54 that landed the group in fifth place and secured four points for the men's squad.
• In the women's pentathlon, redshirt senior Faith Novess was the lone point scorer for UCCS as she finished sixth overall with an NCAA provisional qualifying score of 3,263 points to tally three points for the women's team. Novess started her day with a time of 9.27s in the 60m hurdles before going on to post marks of 1.55m in the high jump, 10.19m in the shot put, 5.08m in the long jump, and a time of 2:36.99 in the 800m.
• Freshman Brayden Shaw cleared a bar height of 4.31m in the men's pole vault competition, putting him a three-way tie for eighth place that earned the Mountain Lions a fraction of a point (0.33 points).
• Redshirt junior Thorben Hast completed the first four events of the men's heptathlon on Friday and currently sits in third place overall with a point total of 2,700. Hast recorded a time of 7.41s in the 60m dash along with marks of 6.52m in the long jump, 11.66m in the shot put, and 1.85m in the high jump. The first of the final three events of the heptathlon will get underway at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning.
• The Mountain Lions also found success in the preliminary rounds of the 60m, 60m hurdles, 200m, 400m as 13 student-athletes combined to lock up a total of 18 spots in their respective final races that will take place tomorrow. 
• In the preliminary round of the women's 60m hurdles, the Mountain Lions saw a pair of student-athletes advance to tomorrow's final. Senior Melissa Moreni earned automatic qualification to the final by virtue of being the top finisher in heat three with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 8.69s (8.71c), while freshman Krissie Sanders also punched her ticket for tomorrow with a time of 8.88s (8.90c) that was good for second in her heat and fifth overall in the preliminary field.
• Freshman Nigel James was the lone UCCS student-athlete to advance through the preliminary round of the men's 60m hurdles as he secured his place in tomorrow's final race for the event with a personal best time of 8.24s (8.26c) that placed him second in his heat and third overall in the field. His time also moved him into fourth-place all-time in UCCS indoor program history for the men's 60m hurdles.
• Three Mountain Lions safely advanced through the preliminary round of the women's 60m dash, led by Bloomquist who qualified for the final race by virtue of winning the third heat at an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 7.54s (7.56c) that was also good for second overall in the field. Junior Victoria Farinas and redshirt junior Keyanda Bolton also raced their way into tomorrow's final with times inside the top-eight of the field as Farinas placed fifth overall with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 7.60s (7.62c) and Bolton grabbed seventh overall at a time of 7.70s (7.72c).
• On the men's side of the 60m dash prelim, UCCS had a large group of nine student-athletes in competition and saw four of them advance to tomorrow's final race. Redshirt senior Brian Mosley Jr. was the top overall finisher and the winner of heat three with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 6.75s (6.77c), while junior Kymani Sterling won heat one and place third overall in the preliminary field with a provisional qualifying time of 6.82s (6.84c). Qualifying for the final by virtue of time were redshirt seniors Donovan Mini and Justice Mendoza, with Mini clocking the fifth-best mark in the field at a season-best time of 6.85s (6.87c) and Mendoza earning the seventh-fastest time in the field at 6.88s (6.90c).
• UCCS advanced three student-athletes through the preliminary round of the men's 400m, led by freshman Ashton Whisler, who posted a personal best time of 49.13s to take the top overall spot in the field. His converted time of 48.47s also registered as an NCAA provisional qualifying mark, the first of the season for Whisler. In addition to Whisler's strong performance, sophomores Andrew Muncy and Sebastien Jean secured spots in tomorrow's final race as Muncy clocked a time of 50.17s (49.49c) to finish fourth and Jean crossed the line in 50.84s (50.15c) for the seventh-fastest time.
• In the preliminary round of the women's 200m dash, Bolton was the top overall finisher in the field as she posted a personal best raw time of 24.73s to advance to tomorrow's final race, while her converted time of 24.42s registered as a season-best national qualifying mark for the event. Joining Bolton as a qualifier for tomorrow's final in the event was Farinas, who clocked a time of 25.54s (25.22c) that was good for seventh overall in the preliminary field.
• On the men's side of the 200m dash prelim, UCCS saw three student-athletes advance through to tomorrow's final. Sterling led the way for the Mountain Lions as he clocked the third-fastest mark in the field at a national qualifying time of 21.88s (21.57c). Mendoza and Mosley Jr. battled it out as the top two finishers in heat three with both earning qualification for the final with respective times of 22.13s (21.81c) and 22.27s (21.95c).

DAY ONE STANDINGS (MEN) – 5-OF-17 EVENTS SCORED

1. Colorado School of Mines – 71 points
2. UCCS – 33.33 points
3. CSU Pueblo – 23 points
4. Colorado Mesa – 17 points
5. Black Hills State – 12.66 points
6. Colorado Christian – 11 points
7. Chadron State – 9 points
8. Fort Lewis – 6 points
9. Western Colorado – 4 points
10. MSU Denver – 3 points
11. Westminster – 3 points
12. South Dakota Mines – 2 points
13. Adams State – 0 points

DAY ONE STANDINGS (WOMEN) – 6-OF-17 EVENTS SCORED

1. Colorado School of Mines – 80 points
2. UCCS – 35 points
3. Colorado Mesa – 34 points
4. Western Colorado – 21 points
5. CSU Pueblo – 18 points
6. Chadron State – 11 points
7. MSU Denver – 9 points
8. Black Hills State – 8 points
9. New Mexico Highlands – 6 points
10.  Westminster – 6 points
11. Fort Lewis – 4 points
12. Colorado Christian – 0 points
13. Adams State – 0 points

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• Bolton's raw time of 24.73s in the women's 200m moves her into a tie for second place in the UCCS women's indoor record book with former teammate Brittany Fuchs.
• The Mountain Lion men's and women's teams combined to post 16 NCAA provisional qualifying marks on day one of this season's RMAC Indoor Championships.
• UCCS posted a total of six podium finishes on Friday, including one gold medal, three silver medals, and two bronze medals.

UP NEXT

• The 2024 RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships will continue tomorrow morning with action from the Donald E. Young Center set to begin at 10 a.m.

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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.