The 2026 RMAC Indoor Track and Field Championship took place on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28 in Gunnison, CO and both the men’s and women’s teams took home a first-place finish.
Saying that they won would be underselling it as the men’s team scored 124 points compared to second place Colorado School of Mines’ 84 points.
The women’s team racked up 157.5 points, which is more than the combined points of second place New Mexico Highlands, who scored 76.5 and third place Colorado School of Mines, who scored 70.
While this type of dominance was a welcome stat to many, the writing has been on the walls leading up to the event.
At the Colorado Running Company Mountain Lion Open meet on Feb. 14, three athletes set school records which set the tone for the kind of day the Mountain Lions had during the conference meet.
Senior Kyle Demos in men’s shotput, senior Michael Roberts in men’s weight throw and senior Savannah Jorgens in women’s weight throw all broke records at this meet, giving the team a shot of momentum headed into the conference meet.
“It’s a really big confidence booster for us and it definitely brings a lot of energy to practices recently,” Demos said.
All the talk was backed up as UCCS did not settle after one great performance. Not only did our record breakers go out and have another memorable meet, but five UCCS athletes etched their name in the school record books.
- Junior Krissie Sanders- Women’s 400m (second all time)
- Senior Abigail Frey- Women’s 60m hurdles (third best all time)
- Redshirt Junior Grace Solarin- Women’s weight throw (fifth best all time)
- Senior Dillon Arvayo- Men’s heptathlon (third best all time)
- Senior Savannah Jorgens- Women’s weight throw (school record)
The keys to the game headed into postseason action was consistency and recovery and while that worked to perfection at the conference meet the national meet still awaits where the same mentality applies.
“We have to go in feeling our best. I feel like everyone’s on top of recovery and making sure everything feels good. Our trainer Ashley is fully booked so everyone is making sure their bodies are okay because that’s the biggest thing,” Jorgens said.
Roberts echoed this, saying that “feeling recovered and sharp for the meet. One challenge going into late season is that injuries are everywhere, so it’s important that we recover well and feel ready to go.”
The performance of the team looks more impressive considering that they did it in the RMAC. This is a conference that has been the gold standard for track and field at the Division II level, and many athletes even have the ability to hold their own against Division I competition which was shown during meets that featured both Division I and Division II schools.
Despite the daunting competition and nervousness headed into the RMAC meet, UCCS made it a point to let their confidence shine during that meet and there is no reason to believe that they won’t take that same mentality to nationals.
“We have a really good team, we worked really hard, we’re very well coached, I feel like we are the team to beat. We kind of have a chip on our shoulder,” Demos said.
“There’s nervousness in the air, but I feel like our confidence overwhelms it. We have so many athletes, but each one is so confident in themselves and in the person next to them that I feel like we can do it,” Jorgens said.
UCCS is sending 11 athletes to the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in Virginia Beach, VA on March 13 and March 14 and the momentum the team is carrying with them into the meet is enough to run through a brick wall.
Follow the Mountain Lions on their quest to capture their first national championship on the NCAA website which provides stats and updates as the events happen.
Men’s RMCA Track and Field sweeps the championships. Picture by Rocky Mountain Althetic Conference.
Editor’s Note: Joseph Impellitteri is on the UCCS track and Field team and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Scribe