PREVIEW | Mountain Lions Head to Indianapolis for 2025 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships

3/12/2025 5:35:00 PM

By: Tyler Tvelia, Sports Information Director

THIS WEEK'S ACTION

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's and women's track & field teams will travel to Indianapolis, Ind., this weekend for the 2025 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships. The three-day national championship meet is set to take place on March 13-15 at the Fall Creek Pavilion in Indianapolis, Ind., as part of the 2025 NCAA Division II Winter Championships Festival.

MEET INFORMATION

Meet day coverage for the 2025 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships can be found at the links below as well as on the respective schedule pages for UCCS Men's and Women's Track & Field.

NATIONAL QUALIFIERS

The Mountain Lions will have a total of 14 student-athletes representing the black and gold at this season's indoor national championship meet competing across nine individual entries and two relay entries.

Men's Qualifiers:
Ashton Whisler: 400m – 3:55 p.m. on Thursday, March 13 (Prelim)
Jagger Zlotoff: Mile – 3:15 p.m. on Thursday, March 13 (Prelim)
Jagger Zlotoff: DMR – 4 p.m. on Friday, March 14 (Final)
Brett Davis: DMR – 4 p.m. on Friday, March 14 (Final)
Sebastien Jean: DMR – 4 p.m. on Friday, March 14 (Final)
Joseph Hamilton: DMR – 4 p.m. on Friday, March 14 (Final)
Caiden Macktinger: Pole Vault – 12:35 p.m. on Saturday, March 15 (Final)
Richard Safoh: Long Jump – 10 a.m. on Friday, March 14 (Final)
Luke Hard: Weight Throw – 1:30 p.m. on Friday, March 14 (Final)
Thorben Hast: Heptathlon – 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 13 (Final)

Women's Qualifiers:
Kate Hedlund: Mile – 2:55 p.m. on Thursday, March 13 (Prelim)
Anna Fauske: 3,000m – 2:40 p.m. on Saturday, March 15 (Final)
Anna Fauske: 5,000m – 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, March 13 (Final)
Kate Hedlund: DMR – 3:40 p.m. on Friday, March 14 (Final)
Krissie Sanders: DMR – 3:40 p.m. on Friday, March 14 (Final)
Rachel Goodrich: DMR – 3:40 p.m. on Friday, March 14 (Final)
Rachel Richtman: DMR – 3:40 p.m. on Friday, March 14 (Final)
*All times MT

2024-25 INDOOR TRACK & FIELD SEASON IN-REVIEW

The UCCS men's and women's teams combined to record a total of 45 NCAA provisional qualifying marks throughout the 2024-25 indoor season. Click HERE to view a breakdown of each provisional mark and where they rank among NCAA Division II competition.
The Mountain Lions are coming off an outstanding performance as the host school of the 2025 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 had a plethora 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 Mountain Lions have combined to break indoor school records in seven different events throughout the season:
- Ashton Whisler: Men's 400m – 47.84
- Jagger Zlotoff: Men's Mile – 4:00.62
- Kate Hedlund: Women's Mile – 4:40.53
- Anna Fauske: Women's 5,000m – 16:15.34
- Caiden Macktinger: Men's Pole Vault – 5.32m
- Kyle Demos: Men's Shot Put – 17.08m
- Luke Hard: Men's Weight Throw – 20.01m
The Mountain Lions secured eight RMAC Athlete of the Week awards throughout the 2024-25 Indoor Track & Field season:
- Week 1 (Dec. 12): Jeffrey Franquemont – RMAC Men's Field Athlete of the Week
- Week 2 (Jan. 16): Victoria Farinas – RMAC Women's Track Athlete of the Week
- Week 2 (Jan. 16): Brooke Peterson – RMAC Women's Field Athlete of the Week
- Week 2 (Jan. 16): Thorben Hast – RMAC Men's Field Athlete of the Week
- Week 4 (Jan. 30): Kathryn Carroll – RMAC Women's Field Athlete of the Week
- Week 4 (Jan. 30): Jagger Zlotoff – RMAC Men's Track Athlete of the Week
- Week 5 (Feb. 6): Luke Hard – RMAC Men's Field Athlete of the Week
- Week 6 (Feb. 20): Caiden Macktinger – RMAC Men's Field Athlete of the Week
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced their All-Region honors for the 2024-25 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field season on Tuesday, March 11, with 20 student-athletes from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's and women's track and field teams combining to collect a total of 22 All-South Central Region accolades. Click HERE to read more about the 2024-25 USTFCCCA All-Region honorees.
The RMAC is set to formally announce the 2024-25 Indoor Track & Field Major Awards and All-RMAC honorees on Thursday, March 13. The conference will release their All-Academic teams for the indoor season on Thursday, April 3.

USTFCCCA NATIONAL RANKINGS

UCCS concluded the 2024-25 indoor season with the women's team ranked at No. 11 and the men's team at No. 14 in the seventh and final edition of the USTFCCCA NCAA DII National Indoor Track & Field Rating Index.

2025 USTFCCCA IT&F National and Regional Rankings
Week 1 (1/28):     MEN: #9 (#1 South Central Region)
WOMEN: #16 (#3 South Central Region)
Week 2 (2/4): MEN: #8 (#3 South Central Region)
WOMEN: #25 (#3 South Central Region)
Week 3 (2/11): MEN: #11 (#3 South Central Region)
WOMEN: #13 (#3 South Central Region)
Week 4 (2/18):     MEN: #10 (#2 South Central Region)
WOMEN: #13 (#3 South Central Region)
Week 5 (2/25):     MEN: #10 (#2 South Central Region)
WOMEN: #13 (#3 South Central Region)
Week 6 (3/4):    MEN: #11 (#2 South Central Region)
WOMEN: #12 (#3 South Central Region)
Week 7 (3/11): MEN: #14 (#2 South Central Region)
WOMEN: #11 (#3 South Central Region)

UCCS UNDER HEAD COACH ROSS FELLOWS

The 2024-25 season marks Ross Fellows' ninth season as the head coach of the UCCS men's and women's track & field programs. Under his leadership, the Mountain Lions have won a total of 17 RMAC Championship trophies (9 Indoor, 8 Outdoor), including the first indoor and outdoor conference titles in both men's and women's program history.
A 15-time RMAC Coach of the Year recipient, Fellows has coached a total of 117 RMAC individual event champions, eight RMAC Track Athletes of the Year, nine RMAC Field Athletes of the Year, and four RMAC Freshman of the Year. The Mountain Lions have become perennial contenders on the national stage under the supervision of Fellows, earning 187 individual entries and 16 relay entries to the indoor and outdoor national championship meets since the start of the 2016-17 season while also recording 13 top 25 team finishes, earning 153 All-America honors, and winning six individual national championships in the same period.
In addition, UCCS track & field has performed well in the classroom with Fellows at the head of the program, compiling 56 RMAC All-Academic First Team honorees, five RMAC Academic Athletes of the Year, and 21 CoSIDA/CSC Academic All-America accolades.

UPCOMING MEET

After the conclusion of the indoor national championship meet, the Mountain Lions will roll directly into the outdoor season as they will compete at the Dr. Dan Caprioglio Invitational on the campus of Colorado State University Pueblo on March 21-22.

SOCIAL
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Instagram - @gomountainlions
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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.

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