COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) announced the 2025-26 Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches' Poll and Preseason All-Conference Teams on Thursday morning, with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's and women's team both being selected to finish No. 2 in the conference for the indoor track & field season.
The Mountain Lion women's team tallied seven first-place votes for 184 points as the runner-up in the poll, while the men's team garnered six first-place votes for 136 points as the No. 2 team on the men's side.
Colorado School of Mines was narrowly selected as the preseason favorite for both the men's and women's indoor track & field season, with the Oredigger men's team earning six first-place votes for 138 points and the Mines women's squad securing five first-place votes for a total of 188 points.
The Mountain Lions are coming off an outstanding performance as the host school of the 2024-25 RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships as the UCCS men's team scored 191 points to secure their fifth indoor conference title in the last six years and the women's team notched 131.5 points to finish as the runner-up behind Colorado School of Mines (140.5 points). UCCS put together a multitude of exceptional individual performances as the men's and women's teams combined to record a total of 28 podium finishes across the two-day conference championship meet, including nine gold medals, nine silver medals, and 10 bronze medals. Junior
KJ McInnis was tabbed as the Dr. Randy Rhine Men's Athlete of the Meet after scoring the most points of any student-athlete competing at the indoor championship with 23. Competing in his first indoor championship as a member of the Mountain Lions after transferring from CSU Pueblo, McInnis was the individual champion in the men's high jump while finishing second in the triple jump and fourth in the men's long jump.
The UCCS men's and women's track & field teams also combined to place five student-athletes on the 2025-26 RMAC Preseason All-Conference teams, with
Brooke Peterson and
Paige Cordero earning the honor on the women's side and
KJ McInnis,
Nigel James, and
Michael Roberts being recognized on the men's side.
Brooke Peterson collects Preseason All-Conference accolades as the top returning women's pole vaulter in the RMAC. A native of Cottonwood, Ariz., Peterson put together an incredibly consistent 2024-25 indoor campaign as she reached the NCAA Provisional Qualifying threshold in the women's pole vault in six of her seven appearances in the event and finished with a season-best mark of 3.80m that ranked third in the RMAC and tied for the 34
th in NCAA Division II. The senior pole vaulter contributed 5.5 points to the Mountain Lions' runner-up finish on the women's side at the conference championship meet as she finished tied for third in the women's pole vault competition with a bar clearance of 3.78m.
Paige Cordero joins Peterson in securing Preseason All-Conference honors as the reigning women's indoor long jump conference champion. In her first season as a member of the Mountain Lions last year, the junior jumper established herself as one of the premier women's jumpers in the league as she hit the NCAA Provisional Qualifying threshold in the long jump on three different occasions, including a season-best mark of 5.79m that earned her a gold medal at the RMAC Indoor Championships.
KJ McInnis notches Preseason All-Conference accolades in the men's high jump coming off a 2024-25 indoor season that saw him post a season-best NCAA Provisional Qualifying mark of 2.05m in the event. A senior from Denver, Colo., McInnis cruised to the individual conference title in the men's high jump at the RMAC Indoor Championships as he cleared a bar height of 2.04m to secure 10 points for the men's team. In addition to his success at the high jump pit, McInnis will have a major impact on the Mountain Lion men's squad in the long jump and triple jump as he earned All-RMAC honors and posted NCAA Provisional Qualifying marks in both events during the 2024-25 indoor season.
Nigel James brings home Preseason All-Conference accolades in the men's 60m hurdles after a strong performance last indoor season that saw him post a season and personal best converted time of 8.01s that finished the campaign ranked tied for 25
th in the country. At the 2024-25 RMAC Indoor Championships, the junior hurdler surged to a runner-up finish in the men's 60m hurdles with a converted time of 8.04s, scoring eight points for the men's team.
A senior thrower from Arvada, Colo.,
Michael Roberts collects Preseason All-Conference honors in the men's weight throw after a breakout performance in the event last indoor season. Roberts hit the NCAA Provisional Qualifying threshold five times in the event with a season-best mark of 18.74m coming at the Colorado Running Company UCCS Invite on Jan. 25, 2025. Roberts went on to score five points for the UCCS men's conference champion team at the RMAC Indoor Championships as he finished fourth overall in the weight throw with a mark of 18.54m.
The Mountain Lions are set to open the 2025-26 indoor track & field season tomorrow afternoon as they head to Golden, Colo. for day one of the Mines Alumni Classic inside the CSM Steinhauer Fieldhouse.
| 2025-26 Men's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches' Poll |
|
2025-26 Women's Indoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| PL |
Team |
1sts |
2nds |
3rds |
Points |
|
PL |
Team |
1sts |
2nds |
3rds |
Points |
| 1. |
Colorado School of Mines |
6 |
6 |
- |
138 |
|
1. |
Colorado School of Mines |
5 |
8 |
- |
188 |
| 2. |
UCCS |
6 |
5 |
- |
136 |
|
2. |
UCCS |
7 |
3 |
2 |
184 |
| 3. |
Adams State |
1 |
2 |
5 |
111 |
|
3. |
Adams State |
2 |
- |
5 |
154 |
| 4. |
CSU Pueblo |
- |
- |
3 |
104 |
|
4. |
New Mexico Highlands |
- |
3 |
1 |
145 |
| 5. |
Colorado Mesa |
- |
- |
3 |
100 |
|
5. |
Colorado Mesa |
- |
- |
4 |
142 |
| 6. |
Western Colorado |
- |
- |
2 |
97 |
|
6. |
Western Colorado |
- |
- |
1 |
140 |
| 7. |
MSU Denver |
- |
- |
- |
76 |
|
7. |
CSU Pueblo |
- |
- |
1 |
128 |
| 8. |
Chadron State |
- |
- |
1 |
70 |
|
8. |
MSU Denver |
- |
- |
- |
99 |
| 9. |
Fort Lewis |
- |
- |
- |
52 |
|
9. |
Chadron State |
- |
- |
- |
84 |
| 10. |
South Dakota Mines |
- |
- |
- |
50 |
|
10. |
Black Hills State |
- |
- |
- |
80 |
| 11. |
Black Hills State |
- |
- |
- |
45 |
|
11. |
Fort Lewis |
- |
- |
- |
79 |
| 12. |
Colorado Christian |
- |
- |
- |
33 |
|
12. |
South Dakota Mines |
- |
- |
- |
57 |
| 13. |
Westminster |
- |
- |
- |
14 |
|
13. |
Colorado Christian |
- |
- |
- |
49 |
| -- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
14. |
Westminster |
- |
- |
- |
24 |
| -- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
15. |
Regis |
- |
- |
- |
23 |
| 2025-26 Preseason All-RMAC: Men's Track & Field |
|
2025-26 Preseason All-RMAC: Women's Track & Field |
| Event |
Top Returnee |
School |
Yr. |
|
Event |
Top Returnee |
School |
Yr. |
| 60m |
Zachary Gaumont |
Fort Lewis |
Jr. |
|
60m |
Ashley Barrett |
New Mexico Highlands |
Jr. |
| 200m |
Kenny Greene |
MSU Denver |
R-Jr. |
|
200m |
Ashley Barrett |
New Mexico Highlands |
Jr. |
| 400m |
Jonah Fallon |
Colorado School of Mines |
R-Jr. |
|
400m |
Jordan Burnett |
Colorado Mesa |
R-Sr. |
| 800m |
Tim Thompson |
Colorado School of Mines |
Sr. |
|
800m |
Helen Braybrook |
CSU Pueblo |
Sr. |
| Mile |
Housen Hrabi |
Adams State |
Sr. |
|
Mile |
Ava O'Connor |
Adams State |
Sr. |
| 3,000m |
Kidus Begashaw |
Adams State |
Jr. |
|
3,000m |
Ava O'Connor |
Adams State |
Sr. |
| 5,000m |
Kidus Begashaw |
Adams State |
Jr. |
|
5,000m |
Tristian Spence |
Adams State |
R-Jr. |
| 60m Hurdles |
Nigel James |
UCCS |
Jr. |
|
60m Hurdles |
Patreece Clark |
New Mexico Highlands |
Sr. |
| High Jump |
KJ McInnis |
UCCS |
Sr. |
|
High Jump |
Nykole Meshew |
Western Colorado |
Jr. |
| Long Jump |
Chayton Bynes |
Chadron State |
R-So. |
|
Long Jump |
Paige Cordero |
UCCS |
Jr. |
| Triple Jump |
Chayton Bynes |
Chadron State |
R-So. |
|
Triple Jump |
Rojrika Campbell |
New Mexico Highlands |
Jr. |
| Pole Vault |
Aidan Bennett |
Colorado School of Mines |
Sr. |
|
Pole Vault |
Brooke Peterson |
UCCS |
Sr. |
| Shot Put |
Sam Dirkes |
Adams State |
Gr. |
|
Shot Put |
Febe Wessels |
CSU Pueblo |
Sr. |
| Weight Throw |
Michael Roberts |
UCCS |
Sr. |
|
Weight Throw |
Jennifer Jarnagin |
Colorado School of Mines |
Sr. |
| Heptathlon |
Nicholas Stade |
Colorado School of Mines |
Sr. |
|
Pentathlon |
Avery Wright |
Colorado School of Mines |
Sr. |
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