EMPORIA, Kan. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field team opened the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday with eight student-athletes garnering All-America distinction across five different events, headlined by redshirt sophomore Josiah Billington securing First Team All-America accolades in the men's long jump.
 
INSIDE THE 2026 NCAA DIVISION II OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
UCCS Men's Day One Score: 1 point – 20^th (3-of-21 events scored)
UCCS Women's Day One Score: N/A (4-of-21 events scored)
Host: Emporia State University
Location: Francis G. Welch Stadium | Emporia, Kan.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Billington landed First Team All-America accolades in the men's long jump as he finished eighth overall in the event and scored one point for the Mountain Lions with a leap of 7.29m. After opening the competition with jumps of 7.07m and 6.88m, Billington recorded a mark of 7.29m on his third attempt to move into seventh place and secure his spot in the event final before ultimately landing in eighth place.
• Senior Michael Roberts earned Second Team All-America distinction in the men's hammer throw as he came up less than a meter shy of his personal best in the event with a toss of 62.71m that placed him 11^th overall in the competition.
• The Mountain Lions added another Second Team All-America honor in the men's 4x100m relay as senior Daryn Ofori-Kuragu, freshman Noah Brown, junior Luke Trinrud, and redshirt junior Broden Cahoon carried the baton around the track in a time of 40.51s to finish sixth in their heat and 11^th overall in the preliminary round of the event.
• In the preliminary round of the men's 3,000m steeplechase, redshirt junior Joseph Impellitteri surged to a personal best and school record time of 8:55.88 for a seventh-place finish in his heat and 11^th-place finish overall in the field, earning him one of the 12 qualifying spots in tomorrow evening's event final.
• Freshman Kate Henderson advanced through the preliminary round of the women's 3,000m steeplechase, earning an automatic qualification to tomorrow's event final with a time of 10:34.59 that registered as the top time in heat two and the eighth-fastest time in the field. Redshirt senior Molly Breuer joined Henderson as a competitor in heat two of the event and finished sixth in the heat and 15^th overall with a time of 10:40.71. Despite narrowly missing the qualifying cut for the event final, Breuer notched Second Team All-America accolades in the event for the first time in her collegiate career.
• Junior Krissie Sanders brought home one final Second Team All-America honor for day one of the outdoor national championship meet in the preliminary round of the women's 400m hurdles as she clocked a time of 59.91s, which was good for fourth in her heat and 10^th overall in the field.
• Junior Evan Atkin completed the first five events of the men's decathlon on Thursday and compiled a score of 3,518 points, putting him in 13^th place out of 16 competitors after one day of action. The native of Craig, Colo. opened the day by scoring 791 points with a time of 11.32s in the 100m dash before adding 734 points in the long jump (6.66m), 499 points in the shot put (10.23m), 740 points in the high jump (1.93m), and 754 points in the 400m (51.33s).

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• Billington becomes the second student-athlete in program history to collect First Team All-America honors in the men's long jump, joining Peterson Bohannon, who finished fifth overall in the event at the 2022 outdoor national championship meet.
• The Mountain Lions garnered All-America distinction in the men's 4x100m relay for the fourth time in program history after recording First Team accolades in 2018 and 2023 and Second Team honors in 2021.
• Breuer becomes the first UCCS student-athlete to collect All-America accolades in the women's 3,000m steeplechase since the 2006 season. Henderson will have her chance to join Breuer as an All-American in the event after competing in the event final tomorrow night.
• Sanders and Roberts became the first student-athletes in program history to earn All-America distinction in their respective events with Sanders earning Second Team accolades with a 10^th place finish in the women's 400m hurdles and Roberts collecting Second Team honors with an 11^th place finish in the men's hammer throw.
• With his time of 8:55.88 in the men's 3,000m steeplechase, Impellitteri broke his own school record in the event for the third time this season and shaved nearly 14 seconds off his previous personal best mark.

UP NEXT

• Atkin will get the action started once again for the Mountain Lions tomorrow on day two of the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships as the men's decathlon 110m hurdles is set to begin at 8:30 a.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.