UCCS men’s and women’s track and field teams hosted the Colorado Running Company UCCS Invite on Jan. 22 at the Mountain Lion Fieldhouse, where both teams combined earned 16 event wins, registered 15 NCAA qualifying marks and broke four school records.
UCCS started the day off strong at the long jump pits as they took three of the top four spots in the event. Sophomore Peyton Turnage was the Mountain Lions’ top finisher in the event, taking second place with a jump of 7.50 meters also grabbing the fifth best jump in Division ll.
Freshman Daryon Wilson and redshirt sophomore Peterson Bohannon weren’t far behind in the event, taking the third and fourth spots. Wilson earned his first provisional mark of the season with a jump of 7.38 meters and Bohannon improved his provisional mark to 7.20 meters.
Redshirt freshman and reigning RMAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week Melissa Moreni continued to shine, not only winning the 60-meter hurdle but also setting a new program record of 8.61 seconds.
Sophomore Brain Mosley Jr., who was named RMAC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week last week, continued to show his talent as he clocked a new school record of 6.73 in the 60-meter dash to improve his national qualifying mark to a tie for the seventh fastest in Division ll.
Senior Dawson Hopkinson grabbed the first-place spot in pole vaulting, breaking his own school record of 4.98 meters. Hopkinson’s mark now ranks seventh in the nation and is tied for first in the RMAC.
Redshirt sophomore Emily Arseneau, competing in the throws event, took third place with a personal best mark of 15.83 meters. She then continued to go on to blow away the competition in shot put with a national qualifying toss of 13.79 meters.
Justyn Loper made his indoor season debut for UCCS taking a third-place spot, redshirt sophomore Gavin Harden joined the national qualifying list on the track with a time of 8:17.48, and sophomore Chris Hudnall claimed a second-place finish in 60m hurdles.
Redshirt junior Dakota Abbott would jump to a gold medal mark of 15.15 meters in the long jump to improve his provisional mark to eighth in the nation.
UCCS’ record book welcomed many new names in new places with Turnage moving into second place all-time in long jump, Wilson moving into fourth and Bohannon moving into fifth.
Hudnall earned the second fastest time in program history in the 60 hurdles, and Bloomquist’s personal record of 11.90 meters in triple jump moves into third all-time.
The Mountain Lions hosted their third and final indoor meet of the season from Jan. 28-29 at the Mountain Lion Fieldhouse.