PUEBLO, Colo. – Competing on day two of the Spank Blasing Invitational at the CSUP ThunderBowl, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs recorded nine NCAA provisional qualifying marks and a multitude of program record book updates.
 
INSIDE THE SPANK BLASING INVITATIONAL
Location: CSUP ThunderBowl | Pueblo, Colo.
Elevation: 4,848 ft.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• UCCS tallied three NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the men's long jump, with senior Richard Safoh pacing the team with a fourth-place mark of 7.36m. Sophomore Grant Haskins finished directly behind Safoh in fifth place with a mark of 7.32m, while junior Daryon Wilson uncorked a jump of 7.31m to finish sixth overall.
• The Mountain Lions put together an impressive effort in the men's 4x100m relay as Daryn Ofori-Kuragu, Kymani Sterling, Donovan Mini, and Brian Mosley Jr. teamed up to edge out Colorado Mesa University's relay team for a first-place finish in the event. The group's time also registered as an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the event and currently sits as the second-fastest time in the nation in the early-going of the outdoor season.  
• In the women's 100m hurdles, senior Melissa Moreni posted an NCAA provisional qualifying mark with a converted time of 13.95s that was the fastest overall in the 28-person field. Coming off being named the RMAC Women's Track Athlete of the Week on Wednesday, freshman Krissie Sanders also put together a strong effort as she finished fourth overall with a converted time of 14.53s.
• Junior Victoria Malaki made a large improvement over last week's performance in the women's discus throw as she added more than four meters to her season-best, posting a first place and NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 46.31m. Her mark moved her into second place all-time in UCCS program history for the event, and she was joined in the record book by teammate Casey Moran, who posted a personal best throw of 41.06m to finish sixth in the competition and move into fifth all-time in UCCS history for the event.
• Senior Nadine Almasri led a group of five student-athletes competing in the women's 3,000m Steeplechase as she posted a massive personal best with a raw time of 11:18.24 that was good for first place overall in the event. After the conversion for altitude, Almasri's time of 11:02.13 also registered as an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the event.
• In the men's 400m hurdles, redshirt senior Dillon Andrews recorded his first NCAA provisional qualifying mark of the outdoor season as he clocked a converted time of 53.20s to finish fifth overall in the competition.
• Redshirt senior Skye Ciccarelli added another NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the men's high jump as he cleared a mark of 2.05m to finish second overall in the event.
• After her strong finish in the 100m hurdles earlier in the day, Sanders returned to the track in the 400m hurdles and went on to post a personal best converted time of 1:02.43 to finish fourth overall in the competition. Her converted time was less than one-tenth of a second away from the NCAA provisional qualifying threshold (1:02.36) and her raw time of 1:02.32 sits second all-time in program history.
• Junior Victoria Farinas put forth a personal best effort in the women's 100m dash as she clocked a converted time of 11.82s to finish second overall in the field of 35 sprinters while also coming up just one-hundreth of a second shy of matching the NCAA provisional qualifying threshold for the event. Her raw time of 11.79s moves her into third all-time in the UCCS women's outdoor record book for the 100m dash.
• In a large field of 59 competitors in the men's 100m dash, Mosley Jr. posted a strong converted time of 10.53s in his outdoor season debut to finish in sixth place overall. Ofori-Kuragu also had a strong race with a personal best converted time 10.72s to finish 11^th overall, while Mini claimed 14^th place with a converted time of 10.76s.
• Freshman Nigel James made an improvement on his season-best in the men's 110m hurdles as he clocked a converted time of 14.68s to claim fourth place overall in the competition, only crossing the line behind a trio of NCAA Division I student-athletes from the Air Force Academy. His raw time of 14.64s also moved him into sole possession of third all-time in UCCS outdoor program history for the event.
• In the women's pole vault, freshman Phia Edwards made her outdoor collegiate debut and made a strong first impression as she finished first overall in the competition with a mark of 3.49m. Her mark also moved her into fourth-place all-time in UCCS outdoor program history for the event.
• Freshman Ashton Whisler and sophomore Sebastien Jean put together a strong showing in the men's 400m dash with Whisler posting a converted time of 48.27s to claim fourth place overall and Jean crossing the line in a converted time of 48.33s to finish in fifth place. The duo also made a mark on the UCCS men's outdoor record book, with Whisler's raw time of 48.16s ranking fourth all-time in program history and Jean's raw time of 48.22s sitting fifth all-time.
• On the women's side of the 400m dash, UCCS placed three student-athletes inside the top-five of the 19-person field with junior Alyssa Lopez leading the pack at a converted time of 58.11s to finish third overall. Junior Amber Davis was right on the tail of Lopez with a fourth-place finish at a converted time of 58.13s, while freshman Addie Wilson posted a converted time of 59.53s to finish fifth overall.
• The Mountain Lions had a solid group of competitors in the men's 800m that was highlighted by junior Joseph Hamilton posting a personal best converted time of 1:52.58 to finish sixth overall in a field of 52 runners. Redshirt sophomore Alex Maline recorded a season-best converted time of 1:54.03 to finish 11^th overall, while freshman Jayr Almeida took 15^th place overall with a personal best converted time of 1:55.54.
• Redshirt senior Michela Hewitt paced the Mountain Lions in the women's 800m as she clocked a converted time of 2:15.48 to finish eighth overall in the field of 36 runners. Redshirt senior Ashten Loeks also finished inside the top-15, placing 11^th overall at a converted time of 2:16.54.
• Mosley Jr. returned to the track for a third time in the men's 200m dash and once again paced the Mountain Lions as he posted an 11^th place finish with a converted time of 21.61s. Ofori-Kuragu also continued his busy day with a personal best effort in the event as he finished 16^th overall in the 55-person field with a converted time of 21.77s.
• Senior Keyanda Bolton led the Mountain Lions in the women's 200m dash, posting a converted time of 24.56s to finish fourth overall in the race. Freshman Taryn Fettig also made an improvement on her season-best time, recording a personal best converted mark of 25.82s to finish 16^th.
• Redshirt junior Christine Bailey was the top Mountain Lion finisher in the women's long jump as she posted a mark of 5.64m to finish fourth overall in the field of 34 jumpers. Redshirt senior Faith Novess also finished in the top-ten, recording an eighth place finish with a mark of 5.50m.
• In the men's 5,000m race, freshman Brett Davis was the first Mountain Lion across the finish line as he clocked a converted time of 14:44.19 to claim ninth place overall in the field of 47 runners. Not far behind Davis were freshman Isaac Higareda and redshirt freshman Joseph Impellitteri as Higareda posted a converted time of 14:48.37 to finish in 14^th place and Impellitteri recorded a converted time of 14:52.15 to take 17^th place.
• UCCS had a trio of student-athletes making their outdoor debuts in the women's 5,000m and the group was led by redshirt freshman Kaya Pillivant, who clocked a converted time of 17:52.16 to finish seventh overall. Coming across the line after Pillivant was redshirt freshman Abby Bartel in tenth place with a converted time of 18:07.18 followed by freshman Emma Montoya in 12^th place at a converted time of 18:19.64.
• As always, the meet concluded with the 4x400m relay races and both teams posted top-five finishes with the women's team of Lopez, Wilson, Davis, and Loeks claiming second place with a converted time of 3:54.81 and the men's team securing fourth place at a converted time of 3:17.29.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• For a second straight week, the Mountain Lions saw multiple updates to the outdoor school record book across the two-day meet in Pueblo, Colo., with those coming in the women's 100m, men's 400m, men's 110m hurdles, women's 400m hurdles, women's pole vault, women's triple jump, and women's discus throw.
  • Victoria Farinas – 100m (3^rd all-time)
  • Ashton Whisler – 400m (4^th all-time)
  • Sebastien Jean – 400m (5^th all-time)
  • Nigel James – 110m Hurdles (3^rd all-time)
  • Krissie Sanders – 400m Hurdles (2^nd all-time)
  • Phia Edwards – Pole Vault (4^th all-time)
  • Christine Bailey – Triple Jump (5^th all-time)
  • Victoria Malaki – Discus Throw (2^nd all-time)
  • Casey Moran – Discus Throw (5^th all-time)

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions will head back to Pueblo, Colo., for a third consecutive weekend as they prepare to compete at the Chuck Hearing Open Invitational on Friday and Saturday, March 29-30 inside the CSUP ThunderBowl.

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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.