While we were sipping hot chocolate by the Christmas tree and not getting out of bed until 2 p.m. over break, our winter sports were hard at work progressing through their seasons.
I don’t blame anyone who checked out as soon as break started, as finals week has a gift for making people want to completely disassociate themselves from everything school for a month.
For UCCS fans, they might have just checked back in and seen that the records don’t look the same as the last time they saw them.
So, here’s what we missed in the sports world and how our winter teams looking heading into the rest of the season.
Track and Field
The men’s and women’s teams competed in the Potts invitational on Jan. 17 and the Colorado Running Company UCCS invite on Jan. 24.
At the Potts invitational, the women’s team dominated the 200-meter event with four runners in the top 10. Junior Danaya Kinnard led the charge with a time of 24.90 seconds, which was good for second place overall.
On the men’s side, senior Sebastien Jean stole the show by setting a school record in the 400-meter event with a time of 47.23 seconds.
Jean not only got first place in the event, but did so against runners from division I schools, including CU, Colorado State University and Air Force Academy.
At the UCCS invite, both teams dominated and the leaderboards were filled with UCCS athletes in seemingly every event.
On the women’s side, a UCCS athlete placed first in the 800 meters, 3000 meters, 60 hurdles, pole vault, shot put and weight throw events.
The performance of senior Savannah Jorgens earned her a NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the weight throw event, meaning that she qualified for the NCAA Division II national championship meet.
The men’s team had someone place first in the 200 meters, 800 meters, mile, 5000 meters, 60 hurdles and weight throw events.
Senior Michael Roberts earned his NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the weight throw event.
During the weekend, the track and field teams will split up their troops. The Mines Winter classic in Golden, CO, the New Mexico Team Open in Albuquerque, NM, and the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston, MA will see the Mountain Lions scatter across the country.
Men’s Basketball
Men’s basketball played seven games over break and the first week of the semester.
Their record was 3-4, beginning with a 98-89 win over Western Colorado and ending with a 90-84 loss against Fort Lewis.
UCCS currently sits at ninth in the RMAC, just outside of the championship tournament with a 5-5 conference record.
This season, the team lives and dies by their offense. They have the best offense in the RMAC, but are lacking on defense, being ranked 14th in the conference.
This high-powered offense has been led by junior point guard Xavier Martinez who averages 12.9 points a game.
While the team sits right outside of the RMAC tournament, there are still 10 conference games left to play and all it would take is a few more outstanding offensive showings for the team to clinch their spot in the tournament.
Women’s Basketball
Women’s basketball began their run with a 70-68 loss against Texas Permian Basin.
This would not be a bad omen moving forward though. The team went on a five-game winning streak right after, picking up a win last weekend against Fort Lewis, which gave them a 5-2 record.
The Mountain Lions sit at fourth in the RMAC, and the stats showcase the team’s balance, having the sixth-ranked offense and sixth-ranked defense in the conference.
Redshirt senior guard Amyah Moore-Allen is the best scorer on the team and the fourth best in the RMAC, averaging 18.8 points per game.
The Mountain Lions are the defending champions in the RMAC and are looking like they are going to be contenders in the tournament once again. With 10 conference games left in the season, the team could still move up or down in the standings.
Regardless of standings, it is looking like the RMAC championship will run through Colorado Mesa once again, as they are undefeated in conference play and already handed UCCS their most lopsided loss this season.
If last year’s team taught us anything, it is that you have to believe no matter the odds.
Bring on the rest of the season
All of the winter sports have serious hopes of competing in the postseason.
Each team held it down over break, which gives fans the joy of watching the rest of the season with excitement as each team fights for their postseason spot.
Their journeys do not look the same, but it is a good year to be a UCCS sports fan. All of the fall sports made their respective postseasons and now we have the chance to see the same happen with winter sports. If this happens and our springs sports can also have great seasons, we could possibly be looking at one of the best years ever for UCCS sports.
Guard #2 Ellie Reynolds. Photo by Ryan Alexandar on GoMountainlions.