GOLDEN, Colo. – In their final meet prior to the 2024 RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field team travelled to Golden, Colo., to compete at the Kit Mayer Classic on the campus of Colorado School of Mines.
 
INSIDE THE KIT MAYER CLASSIC
Location: CSM Stermole Track & Field Complex | Golden, Colo.
Elevation: 5,739 ft.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Junior Luke Hard and sophomore Michael Roberts tied atop the standings for the men's hammer throw as they each posted marks of 55.83m. For Roberts, the mark registered as a personal best in the event and ranks third all-time in program history for the event, while the toss was just shy of Hard's personal and season best mark of 57.28m. Freshman Hayden Cuevas also put forth a personal best effort in the event with a mark of 50.58m that was good for fifth overall and fifth place in the UCCS men's outdoor record book for the hammer throw.
• UCCS placed two student-athletes inside the top-three in the women's 5,000m race as sophomore Kseniya Nikanorov finished first overall in the nine-person field with a personal best converted time of 17:26.01 while redshirt freshman Kaya Pillivant earned a third-place finish with a personal best converted time of 17:38.55.
• In the men's 5,000m, the Mountain Lions also had a pair of student-athletes inside the top-three of the 14-person field with freshman Brett Davis clocking a personal best converted time of 14:40.91 to take first place overall and redshirt freshman Koy Cunningham tallying a third-place finish at a converted time of 15:06.89.
• Senior Mason Pastorello was the top overall finisher in the men's 100m dash as he clocked a converted time of 10.99s. Freshman Gunnar Betts also finished inside the top-five in the event with a third-place finish at a converted time of 11.05s. On the women's side, freshman Taryn Fettig earned a second-place finish in the 100m dash as she clocked a converted time of 12.38s while freshman Emma Chambers recorded a personal best converted time of 12.95s to finish eighth overall.
• Sophomore Savannah Jorgens put together a personal best performance in the women's shot put, where she posted a mark of 13.07m to finish second overall. Her mark also ranks second all-time in UCCS women's outdoor program history for the event.
• In the men's discus throw, sophomore Kyle Demos recorded a personal best mark of 50.42m to finish second overall in the competition. His mark further bolstered his hold on the No. 3 spot in program history for the event and was just shy of surpassing the second-ranked mark of 50.43m.
• Junior Kymani Sterling competed in the outdoor 400m dash for the first time in his career and went on to post a strong converted time of 48.16s to finish second overall and lead a pack of three Mountain Lions in the event. Following Sterling across the finish line were freshman Ashton Whisler in third place at a converted time of 48.30s and sophomore Sebastien Jean in fourth place at a converted time of 49.06s. Sterling's raw time of 48.05s also moved him into fifth place all-time in outdoor program history for the men's 400m dash.
• The women's 400m dash saw junior Alyssa Lopez as the first Mountain Lion across the finish line in fourth place overall at a converted time of 58.31s. Coming across the line next for UCCS were freshman Addie Wilson in sixth place with a converted time of 58.68s followed by junior Amber Davis in seventh place with a converted time of 59.23s.
• In the women's long jump, freshman Zane Bullock earned a second-place finish overall as she posted a personal and season best mark of 5.38m. Freshman Brielle Bracken finished in seventh place overall with a jump of 5.17m.
• Redshirt senior Caroline Walters claimed second place in the women's javelin throw with a heave of 36.87m, while freshman Lanette St. John took seventh place overall with a toss of 33.47m.  
• At the women's discus throw, freshman Casey Moran was the top finisher for UCCS as she posted a toss of 41.96m to finish in third place overall.
• Freshman Emma Montoya paced the Mountain Lions in the women's 1500m as she posted a converted time of 4:47.86 to finish sixth overall of 19 runners. Redshirt freshman Maddie Ruszkiewicz also finished inside the top-ten, coming in eighth place with a converted time of 4:50.47. On the men's side, redshirt freshman Joseph Impellitteri ran the first 1500m race of his collegiate career and went on to lead a group of four Mountain Lions in the event with a tenth-place finish at a converted time of 3:57.74.
• In the women's 10,000m, redshirt freshman Madison Chavez made her outdoor season debut and put forth a solid effort with a ninth-place finish at a converted time of 40:04.51.
• Redshirt senior Cassielynn Bonner paced the Mountain Lions in the women's hammer throw as she recorded a mark of 46.32m to finish seventh overall. She was followed directly in the standings by Jorgens in eighth place at a mark of 44.94m and sophomore Harlee Santistevan with a personal best toss of 37.97m.
• Freshman Nigel James led the Mountain Lions in the men's 110m hurdles as he clocked a converted time of 15.22s to finish in fifth place overall. On the women's side in the 100m hurdles, UCCS had a trio of student-athletes finish inside the top-ten, led by sophomore Sydney Samuels in fourth place with a converted time of 15.51s. She was followed across the finish line by sophomore Leyah Martinez in fifth place at a converted time of 15.87s and redshirt senior Faith Novess in sixth place at a converted time of 15.99s.
• James returned to the track in the men's 400m hurdles, where he clocked a converted time of 56.16s to claim seventh place overall. On the women's side, redshirt sophomore Gigi Douillard led a group of three UCCS student-athletes in the 400m hurdles as she recorded a personal best converted time of 1:04.87 to finish fourth overall.
• Sophomore Kathryn Carroll was one of just two student-athletes in the meet to compete in the women's triple jump and she went on to post the best mark in the small group with a leap of 11.18m.
• Senior Alex Herman was the first UCCS student-athlete to cross the finish line in the men's 800m as he finished tenth overall with a converted time of 1:57.58. In the women's 800m race, redshirt senior Michela Hewitt and redshirt junior Rachel Goodrich were the top two finishers for UCCS with Hewitt coming across the line in eighth place at a converted time of 2:17.22 and Goodrich finishing ninth overall with a converted time of 2:17.32.
• In the men's 200m dash, freshman David Maldonado posted a personal best converted time of 22.98s to finish third overall.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• The Mountain Lions recorded updates to the outdoor record book in four different events on Friday, including the men's 400m, women's shot put, men's discus throw, and men's hammer throw.
  • Kymani Sterling – 400m (5^th all-time)
  • Savannah Jorgens – Shot Put (2^nd all-time)
  • Kyle Demos – Discus Throw (3^rd all-time)
  • Michael Roberts – Hammer Throw (3^rd all-time)
  • Hayden Cuevas – Hammer Throw (5^th all-time)

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions will now turn their attention to the outdoor conference championships as they will travel to Grand Junction, Colo., to compete at the 2024 RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on April 26-28. 

 
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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.