GUNNISON, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field team put together another strong effort on Saturday at the Big Red Machine Open in Gunnison, Colo., as the men's and women's teams combined for nine NCAA Division II provisional qualifying marks, 11 event wins, and two school records.
INSIDE THE BIG RED MACHINE OPEN
Location: Mountaineer Fieldhouse | Gunnison, Colo.
Track Size: 200 meters (flat)
Elevation: 7,723 ft
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Senior Luke Hard made waves in the men's weight throw as he shattered his own school record in the event with a personal best and NCAA provisional qualifying toss of 19.70m. In addition to Hard earning a first-place finish in the event, junior Michael Roberts claimed second place with an NCAA provisional qualifying toss of 18.35m and sophomore Hayden Cuevas took third place with a throw of 17.93m.
- Another school record fell in the men's shot put as junior Kyle Demos broke his own record with a personal best and NCAA provisional qualifying toss of 16.97m that was good for first overall in the competition.
- In the women's weight throw, junior Savannah Jorgens surpassed the NCAA provisional qualifying threshold for the first time in her collegiate career as she earned a first-place finish in the event with a personal best mark of 17.27m. Jorgens returned to the throws ring later in the afternoon for the women's shot put and claimed another first place finish with a mark of 12.17m.
- The Mountain Lions filled up the top two spots in the standings of the women's triple jump with freshman Payton Rodgers earning a first-place finish with a personal best and NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 11.83m. Junior Kathryn Carroll, the reigning RMAC Women's Field Athlete of the Week, also put up a strong performance with a second-place mark of 11.67m.
- Junior Brooke Peterson posted a season-best NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the women's pole vault as she cleared 3.80m to finish first overall in the competition.
- A pair of UCCS student-athletes posted NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the men's high jump with junior KJ McInnis and freshman Alex Emers each clearing 2.05m to finish tied for first in the competition.
- Sophomore Nigel James recorded an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the men's 60m hurdles as he clocked a converted time of 8.11s to finish first in the race. His converted time was just shy of his season-best provisional qualifying mark of 8.10s that he notched at the Mines Alumni Classic and his raw time marked a personal best by one-hundredth of a second.
- Junior Daryn Ofori-Kuragu paced the Mountain Lions in the men's 200m as he sprinted to a first-place finish with a converted time of 21.92s. Junior Sebastien Jean was the second competitor across the line in a converted time of 21.97s, while sophomore Luke Trinrud finished third overall at a converted time of 22.18s.
- UCCS claimed the top three positions in the women's 60m hurdles race with sophomore Krissie Sanders racing to commanding first place finish at a converted time of 8.86s. Junior Abigail Frey took second overall in the field at a converted time of 9.15s, while freshman Payton Rodgers was the third-place finisher with a converted time of 9.34s.
- In the men's 400m dash, freshman Peyton Nelson earned a first-place finish in the seven-person field with a converted time of 50.05s. Freshman Sean Donelson took fourth place in the race with a personal best converted time of 50.75s.
- Senior Victoria Farinas had a busy day on the track as she earned a pair of second place finishes while competing in the 60m and 200m. Farinas posted a converted time of 7.67s in the 60m before notching a season-best converted time of 25.34s in the 200m.
- Sophomore Lilyana Delagarza had a strong showing in the women's high jump as she cleared a personal best bar height of 1.63m to finish third in the competition.
- The Mountain Lions saw strong efforts from two of their women's distance runners making their collegiate debut in the 3,000m race with sophomore Emma Montoya taking second place at a converted time of 10:12.75 and redshirt freshman Madison Brosig claiming third place with a converted time of 10:17.58.
- A pair of student-athletes recorded season-best efforts in the women's 800m, led by redshirt senior Rachel Goodrich in third place overall with a converted time of 2:16.82. She was followed across the finish line by redshirt freshman Olivia Sargent in fifth place with a converted time of 2:18.28.
- Redshirt sophomore Audrey Brunken reeled in a second-place finish in the women's mile as she completed the race in a converted time of 5:11.59.
- Redshirt junior Gigi Douillard led the way for UCCS in the women's 400m dash as she claimed a second-place finish with a personal best converted time of 59.56s.
- Junior Willie Tran posted a huge season-best in the men's triple jump as he added more than a full meter to his previous best with a third-place mark of 13.41m.
BEYOND THE RESULTS
- UCCS recorded updates to the top five lists in the indoor record book for five different events at the Big Red Machine Open on Saturday, including the men's 60m hurdles, women's pole vault, men's shot put, and men's and women's weight throw.
- After five weekends of competition for the 2024-25 indoor season, UCCS has recorded a total of 31 NCAA Division II provisional qualifying marks, including 21 on the men's side and 10 on the women's side.
UP NEXT
- The Mountain Lions will send a select group of elite student-athletes to a pair of NCAA Division I meets next weekend with the 200m/400m runners going to Kansas State University's Steve Miller Invitational on Friday, Feb. 7 and the distance runners heading to the Boston University's Bruce Lehane Scarlet & White Invite on Saturday, Feb. 8.
SOCIAL
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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.
