KEARNEY, NEB. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field team notched 13 NCAA provisional qualifying marks on Saturday while competing at the Loper Twilight in Kearney, Neb., and the APU Franson Last Chance in Azusa, Calif.
 
INSIDE THE LOPER TWILIGHT
Location: Kearney High School | Kearney, Neb.
 
INSIDE THE APU FRANSON LAST CHANCE
Location: APU Cougar Athletic Stadium | Azusa, Calif.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED | LOPER TWILIGHT

• Sophomore Kyle Demos put together a personal best and school record showing in the men's discus throw as he reached an NCAA provisional qualifying distance of 51.96m to finish first overall in the 14-person field. In addition to the program record, Demos becomes the first UCCS male student-athlete to record a provisional qualifying mark in the discus throw since Conor Bertles achieved the feat during the 2018 outdoor season.
• In the men's 4x100m relay, UCCS' group of Donovan Mini, Kymani Sterling, Daryn Ofori-Kuragu, and Brian Mosley Jr. managed to post an improvement on their season-best time by nearly two-tenths of a second as they raced around the track in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 40.06s to finish fourth overall out of seven teams.
• Three-quarters of the UCCS men's 4x100m relay team returned to the track in the open men's 100m dash, with Mosley Jr. leading the way at a season-best NCAA provisional qualifying time of 10.40s that was good for third place overall in the field of 32 competitors. Mini and Ofori-Kuragu also doubled down in the event with Mini claiming 11^th place at a time of 10.51s and Ofori-Kuragu taking 14^th place at a time of 10.59s. Senior Mason Pastorello also joined in on the competition as he secured a 17^th place finish with a time of 10.67s.
• In the men's 400m hurdles, redshirt senior Dillon Andrews crossed the finish line in first place while clocking an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 52.47s. Freshman Krissie Sanders also hit the NCAA provisional qualifying threshold in the women's 400m hurdles as she raced around the track in a time of 1:01.19 to claim a third-place finish.
• Senior Melissa Moreni cruised to an event win in the women's 100m hurdles, clocking an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 13.91s to secure a first-place finish by more than two-tenths of a second.
• The women's 4x100m relay team of Audrey Bloomquist, Victoria Farinas, Zane Bullock, and Taryn Fettig made their way around the track in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 45.99s to finish second overall among four finishers in the event.
• Redshirt senior Sawyer Christopher came up just short of his season-best (62.56m) in the men's javelin throw as he recorded an NCAA provisional qualifying toss of 62.29m to finish second overall among 13 competitors in the event.
• In the women's discus throw invitational section, junior Victoria Malaki recorded a seventh-place finish with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 46.12m. Her toss was just shy of her season-best mark in the event of 46.82m, which entered the weekend ranked 20^th in the nation.
• Sophomore Grant Haskins led a group of five Mountain Lions in the men's long jump as he placed second overall with an NCAA provisional qualifying leap of 7.30m. He was followed in the event by redshirt senior Peyton Turnage in third place (7.24m), freshman Jeffrey Franquemont in fourth place (7.19m), senior Richard Safoh in sixth place (7.14m) and junior Daryon Wilson in seventh place (7.13m).
• Redshirt freshman Joseph Impellitteri earned an event win in the men's 3,000m steeplechase as he posted a personal best time of 9:16.18. His time also moved him into second all-time in program history for the event. Two additional Mountain Lion student-athletes finished inside the top-five in the event with freshman Isaac Higareda taking fourth place at a time of 9:24.12 and redshirt sophomore Jack Donze claiming fifth place at a time of 9:27.23. Higareda's time also moved him inside the top-five all-time in program history for the men's 3,000m Steeplchase as he now ranks No. 5. 
• Farinas paced the Mountain Lions in the women's 100m dash as she clocked a time of 11.88s to finish second overall in the field of 13 sprinters. Three other UCCS student-athletes finished inside the top-seven of the race, with Bullock taking fifth place at 12.25s, Moreni claiming sixth place at 12.45s, and Fettig finishing in seventh place at 12.46s.
• Farinas and Bullock made their way back to the start line for a third time in the women's 200m dash with Farinas securing a fourth-place finish with a time of 24.95s and Bullock posting a personal best time of 25.14s to take sixth place.
• UCCS had a pair of student-athletes competing in the mid-distance events with junior Joseph Hamilton earning a tenth-place finish in the men's 800m at a time of 1:53.02 and freshman Brett Davis finishing second overall in the men's 1500m with a personal best time of 3:56.15.
• Bloomquist continued her day at the women's long jump pit, where she recorded a mark of 5.74m to finish fourth overall among 11 competitors. She was followed in the standings by redshirt sophomore Madissyn Moore, who posted a leap of 5.58m to claim sixth place.
• UCCS had a pair of student-athletes competing in the men's 400m dash as Sterling clocked a time of 48.26s to finish fourth overall in the field of 16 participants and Sebastien Jean raced to a time of 48.52s to take sixth place overall.
• After competing in the long jump earlier in the day, Turnage and Franquemont returned to the runway in the men's triple jump with Turnage posting a third-place mark of 14.32m and Franquemont recording a tenth-place leap of 13.27m.

HOW IT HAPPENED | APU FRANSON LAST CHANCE

• Junior Anna Fauske opened the competition for the Mountain Lions on Saturday evening racing in heat six of the women's 1500m as she clocked an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:27.10 to finish third overall in the field of 77 runners. Fauske's time also moved her into fifth-place all-time in outdoor program history for the event.
• Racing in the men's mile invitational, redshirt sophomore Jagger Zlotoff earned a second-place finish among 14 competitors with a time of 4:03.20. His mile time converts to a 1500m time of 3:45.18, which registers as an NCAA provisional qualifying mark and matches the school record for the event that is held by himself and former UCCS student-athlete Evan Graff.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• UCCS recorded outdoor record book updates in four events on Saturday at the Loper Twilight and APU Franson Last Chance, including the men's and women's 1500m, men's 3,000m steeplechase, and men's discus throw.
  • Jagger Zlotoff – 1500m (T-School Record)
  • Anna Fauske – 1500m (5^th all-time)
  • Joseph Impellitteri – 3,000m Steeplechase (2^nd all-time)
  • Isaac Higareda - 3,000m Steeplechase (5th all-time)
  • Kyle Demos – Discus Throw (School Record)
• The Mountain Lions finish the 2024 outdoor season with a total of 39 NCAA provisional qualifying marks, including 21 from the men's team and 18 from the women's team.
• According to the NCAA Division II all-time list for the men's mile, Zlotoff's time of 4:03.20 places him as the fifth all-time performer in the division for the event.  

UP NEXT

• Qualifiers for the 2024 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be announced on Tuesday, May 14, at approximately 4 p.m. (MT).

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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.