Mountain Lions put in seven winning efforts at the UCCS Invite 

The Mountain Lions won seven event finals on Jan. 25. at the Colorado Running Company UCCS Invite in the UCCS Fieldhouse. 

Distance senior Anna Fauske put in a winning performance in the women’s 3,000-meter final. Fauske dominated the competition, breaking away to secure first place. Fauske’s converted NCAA final time of 9:22.53 was a provisional qualifier, and the non-converted time 9:48.58 set a new benchmark at the Mountain Lion Fieldhouse. 

In the men’s mile, distance redshirt junior Jagger Zlotoff surged to a first-place finish in the final with an NCAA provisional qualifying converted time of 4:02.30 in a 37-athlete field.  

The dominance of UCCS distance runners extended to the men’s 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter races. Senior Logan Cole secured a first-place finish in the 3,000-meter race with a time of 8:36.94, while redshirt sophomore Koy Cunningham led the way in the 5,000-meter race, clocking a time of 14:45.16. 

The women’s 800-meter race saw redshirt senior Kate Hedlund add another NCAA provisional mark to her name. Hedlund clinched first in the final with a converted time of 2:11.36, narrowly missing her season-best mark of 2:11.15, achieved the previous weekend at the Colorado Classic. 

In the men’s 800-meter race, redshirt junior Joseph Hamilton converted a time of 1:54.08 to claim first place. Close behind was freshman Jacob Silvis, who finished in second place with a season-best time of 1:54.57. 

Sophomore hurdler Krissie Sanders delivered a dominant performance in the women’s 60-meter hurdles. Sanders clocked the fastest preliminary time of 8.86 seconds before claiming victory in the finals with a converted time of 8.87 seconds. 

Redshirt senior Richard Safoh excelled in the men’s long jump final, where he achieved a first-place leap of 7.09 meters. 

In addition to the seven event wins, UCCS put up competitive performances in other categories. Throwing junior Kyle Demos delivered a historic performance in the men’s shot put. Demos recorded an indoor school record toss of 16.95 meters, a mark that set a personal best and earned him second place in the event. The throw marked Demos’s first NCAA provisional qualifying toss of the indoor season. 

The men’s weight throw event saw a pair of Mountain Lions secure NCAA provisional qualifying marks. Junior Michael Roberts achieved a personal best toss of 18.74 meters, earning third place in the event. Close behind him was senior Luke Hard, whose season-best mark of 18.30 meters secured fourth place.  

Junior KJ McInnis finished third in two jump finals. In the men’s triple jump, he improved on his season-best performance with an NCAA provisional qualifying leap of 14.69 meters, placing him in a third-place finish. In the men’s high jump McInnis tied for third place with a season-best clearance of 2.04 meters, marking his first NCAA provisional qualifying jump of the indoor season. 

On the women’s side, junior Kathryn Carroll posted her first NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Competing in the women’s triple jump, Carroll achieved a personal best leap of 12.00 meters, earning her second place in the event. 

Four Mountain Lions advanced to the men’s 60-meter dash. Senior Kymani Sterling led the way with an NCAA provisional qualifying converted time of 6.81 seconds during the preliminary round, earning the second-fastest time in the final field. In the finals, Sterling again finished second overall with a converted time of 6.85 seconds.  

Junior Daryn Ofori-Kuragu followed closely, claiming third place in the final with a personal best converted time of 6.90 seconds. In addition to his long jump win, Safoh finished in fifth for the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.93 seconds. Sophomore Gunnar Betts rounded out the finalists, finishing in eighth place with a time of 7.13 seconds. 

In the women’s pole vault, junior Brooke Peterson vaulted 3.72 meters to secure fourth in the final. The effort achieved an NCAA provisional qualifying mark for the fourth consecutive meet. 

The Mountain Lions next compete on Jan. 31 at the Colorado School of Mines Winter Classic. The next home meeting is the Feb. 15 Colorado Running Company Mountain Lion Open. 

Editor’s Note: Logan Cole is a photographer for The Scribe.  

Gigi Douillard (center) in heat four of the women’s 60-meter hurdles prelims. Photo by Taylor Villalpando.
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