With roughly a month left in the spring semester, the Mountain Lions continue to break records and win games on the road.
Last week, the men’s and women’s track and field teams broke 3 throwing records. Lacrosse added a win and loss to their record as they near the end of the regular season. The softball team maintained their winning record by splitting a series against Black Hills State.
Track and Field throwers break three records in Texas
The Mountain Lions were back in action across the west with athletes split between the Jo Meaker Classic at West Texas A&M and the Kit Mayer Classic at Colorado School of Mines.
In Texas on April 11, junior thrower Kyle Demos broke the school record for the third time this outdoor season in men’s shot put with a 17.65m throw, finishing second in the event.
The next day, junior thrower Savannah Jorgens crushed the school record for women’s hammer throw with a mark of 56.71m. Senior thrower Luke Hard was the final record breaker of the weekend, with a NCAA provisional qualifying throw of 60.11 in men’s hammer throw.
Redshirt sophomore distance runner Audrey Brunken was the lone event winner for the Mountain Lions at the Kit Mayer Classic. She won the women’s 3,000m steeplechase with a provisional qualifying time of 11:13.91.
The Mines Midweek Meet #2 on April 17 is likely the final meet of the men’s and women’s track and field team’s regular season. The 3-day RMAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships will begin on April 25 at Colorado School of Mines.
Lacrosse beaten by Colorado Mesa, narrowly win over Westminster
The lacrosse team was unable to get their first victory against Colorado Mesa on April 11. After scoring 7 goals in the first half, 12-7, the lacrosse team wasn’t able to keep pace with Colorado Mesa. The game ended 20-9 in favor of Colorado Mesa.
In Salt Lake City on April 13, UCCS narrowly defeated Westminster 16-15. After graduate student midfielder Rylie Maready scored the first goal of the game, UCCS trailed throughout the remainder of the first half, 9-5.
In the second half, UCCS shifted into high gear. They outscored Westminster in the third, ending the quarter down 2 goals, 13-11. In the fourth, with 14 minutes to go, sophomore midfielder Sarah Urbanic’s second goal of the game tied up the score, 13-13. Urbanic prevented the game from going into overtime with a final minute goal, 16-15.
One regular-season game remains for the lacrosse team, who will likely be the no. 3 seed in the 4-team RMAC championship tournament off their 6-3 conference record. The Mountain Lions play next at home on April 18 against Regis, who have won the RMAC tournament for the last 5 years.
Softball splits series against Black Hills State
Softball dropped the first games and won the second games of their April 12 and 13 doubleheaders against Black Hills State in South Dakota.
In game 1 on April 12, UCCS was beaten 6-3. In game 2, pitcher Hannah Hunt made short work of the Yellow Jackets. Hunt faced just three batters in each of the first 5 innings, striking out them all. Black Hills State wasn’t able to put a run on the board until the sixth, but by then UCCS already led by 5. UCCS secured the game in the seventh with 2 more runs, 7-1.
Game 1 on April 13 was won by a single home run by Black Hills State, 3-1. UCCS won game 2 on April 13. The Mountain Lions got away to an early lead with 3 runs in the first inning, 3-0. They continued to rack up the runs, concluding the game at 7-5.
Their RMAC record is now 20-15. Softball has two series remaining in the regular season. They face Regis for their final home series beginning on April 18.
Attacker #27 Sydnee-Anne Moeller on April 6. Archive photo by Lillian Davis.