CANYON, Texas – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field program was in action at a pair of meets on Friday as the Mountain Lions combined to post a total of nine NCAA qualifying marks while competing on day two of the Jo Meaker Classic & Multi and at the Colorado Invitational in Boulder, Colo.
 
INSIDE THE JO MEAKER CLASSIC & MULTI
Location: WTAMU Track & Field Complex | Canyon, Texas
Elevation: 3,534 ft.
 
INSIDE THE COLORADO INVITATIONAL
Location: Potts Field | Boulder, Colo.
Elevation: 5,260 ft.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED | JO MEAKER CLASSIC & MULTI DAY TWO

• As was the case yesterday, the Mountain Lion multi athletes kicked off the action for the Mountain Lions on Friday. Senior Thorben Hast completed the final five events of his men's decathlon and proceeded to post a final point total of 7,056 points to finish third overall in the competition and surpass the NCAA provisional qualifying threshold. Hast, who is also now one of just five student-athletes in the country to surpass the 7,000 point threshold in the decathlon this season, recorded a personal best mark of 4.30m in the pole vault event while clocking times of 15.81s and 4:36.57 in the 110m hurdles and 1500m, respectively, and marks of 34.71m and 53.25m in the discus throw and javelin throw.
• UCCS had a pair of student-athletes record NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the men's 100m dash as redshirt junior Donovan Mini posted a converted time of 10.46s to finish tenth in the field of 59 sprinters and sophomore Daryn Ofori-Kuragu clocked a converted time of 10.48s for a 12^th place finish. The duo also made waves in the UCCS men's outdoor program record book, with Mini now ranking third all-time in program history for the event and Ofori-Kuragu holding the fifth-fastest time in school history.
• In the women's 4x100m relay, Audrey Bloomquist, Keyanda Bolton, Zane Bullock, and Victoria Farinas teamed up to earn a first-place finish in the event with a national qualifying converted time of 46.47s.
• Senior Melissa Moreni made an improvement on her existing NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the women's 100m hurdles as she finished second place overall in the event at a converted time of 13.91s. Freshman Krissie Sanders posted a fifth-place finish in the event with a converted time of 14.62s.
• In the men's triple jump, redshirt senior Peyton Turnage earned his first NCAA provisional qualifying mark of the outdoor season as he recorded a mark of 14.82m to finish first overall in the event. Freshman Jeffrey Franquemont also put together a personal best effort in the event with a fifth-place mark of 14.13m.
• Redshirt senior Audrey Bloomquist posted an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the women's triple jump as she finished second overall with a wind-aided (+6.5) mark of 12.12m. Freshman Brielle Bracken also put forth a strong but wind-aided (+5.3) mark of 11.67m to finish in fifth place.
• Redshirt senior Sawyer Christopher was the top overall finisher in the men's javelin throw, where he recorded a slight season-best with a toss of 57.77m.
• The Mountain Lions recorded event wins in both the men's and women's pole vault competitions with freshman Phia Edwards clearing a personal best bar height of 3.67m to win the women's flight and freshman Brayden Shaw finishing atop the men's group with a personal best mark of 4.40m. Edwards' mark also improved on her third-ranked mark in program history for the outdoor pole vault.
• After recording a provisional mark in the 4x100m relay to start the day, Farinas came back to lead the Mountain Lions in both the 100m and 200m dashes. In the 200m, the junior sprinter posted a career-best converted time of 24.77s to finish tied for ninth in the 37-person field. Her raw time of 24.70s also moved her into the No. 5 position in program history for the event. In the 100m dash, Farinas finished seventh overall of 27 competitors with a converted time of 11.92s.
• Sophomore Kyle Demos posted a personal best mark of 14.84m in the men's shot put to finish third overall in a field of 15 throwers. His mark also moves him into fifth place all-time in UCCS program history for the event. Demos also paced the Mountain Lions in the men's discus throw with a fifth-place toss of 44.82m.
• In the men's 200m dash, Mini notched a tenth-place finish in a field of 56 sprinters with a season-best converted time of 21.38s. He was followed across the line by Ofori-Kuragu in 13^th place at a converted time of 21.52s and senior Mason Pastorello in 14^th place at a converted time of 21.55s.
• The Mountain Lions had a pair of student-athletes finish inside the top-five of a 21-person field in the women's discus throw as junior Victoria Malaki claimed third-place with a mark of 42.19m and redshirt senior Anna Holland secured fifth-place with a season-best mark of 39.80m.
• In the heptathlon, redshirt senior Faith Novess finished the two-day event with a point total of 4,419 to finish in fourth place overall. She was followed by freshman Lilyana Delagarza with 3,669 points and Lanette St. John with 3,088 points.

HOW IT HAPPENED | COLORADO INVITATIONAL

• The Mountain Lions posted a pair of NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the women's 1500m with junior Anna Fauske finishing first overall in the 34-person field at a converted time of 4:26.99 and senior Kate Hedlund taking fourth place at a converted time of 4:27.92. Three additional UCCS student-athletes finished inside the top-ten, including freshman Emma Montoya in 12^th place at a converted time of 4:43.01, redshirt sophomore Molly Breuer in 13^th place at a converted time of 4:45.81, and senior Kelsey Graff in 15^th place at a converted time of 4:47.82.
• Junior Joseph Hamilton raced to a first-place finish among 30 runners in the men's 800m with a converted time of 1:54.67. He was joined inside the top-ten by redshirt sophomore Alex Maline and senior Alex Herman as Maline finished sixth overall at converted time of 1:57.17 and Herman took eighth overall at a converted time of 1:58.55.
• In the men's 3,000m steeplechase, freshman Isaac Higareda made a nearly 20-second improvement on his season-best for the event as he placed second overall with a converted time of 9:21.11. Redshirt sophomore Jack Donze also posted a personal best converted time of 9:25.05 to claim third place in the event.
• Redshirt sophomore Brooke Moss paced the Mountain Lions in the women's 3,000m steeplechase, posting a personal best converted mark of 11:12.93 to take fourth place overall in the event. Redshirt freshman Audrey Brunken also notched a slight season-best in the event as she recorded a converted time of 11:25.57 to finish in sixth place.
• Freshman Brett Davis was the first UCCS student-athlete to cross the finish line in the men's 1500m as he clocked a season-best converted time of 3:55.57 to take fourth place in the field of 25 competitors. Redshirt junior Justin Banta was not far behind Davis, posting a personal best converted time of 3:57.62 to finish in sixth place.
• Redshirt senior Ashten Loeks led the Mountain Lions in the women's 800m as she clocked a converted time of 2:16.69 to finish fourth overall in a field of 24 runners. She was followed across the finish line by redshirt senior Michela Hewitt in sixth place at a converted time of 2:16.90, redshirt junior Rachel Goodrich in eighth place at a converted time of 2:17.21, and redshirt freshman Trinity Dixon in ninth place at a converted time of 2:17.29.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• The Mountain Lions notched outdoor record book updates in four events on day two of the Jo Meaker Classic & Multi, including the men's 100m dash, women's 200m dash, women's pole vault, and men's shot put.
  • Donovan Mini – 100m (3rd all-time)
  • Daryn Ofori-Kuragu - 100m (5th all-time)
  • Victoria Farinas - 200m (5th all-time)
  • Phia Edwards - Pole Vault (3rd all-time)
  • Kyle Demos - Shot Put (5th all-time) 

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions will travel to the west coast next week to compete at Azusa Pacific University's Bryan Clay Invitational along with multiple other meets from Thursday, April 11 through Saturday, April 13. 

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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.