2019-2020 #RMACtf Weekly Recap - Week 3

2019-2020 #RMACtf Weekly Recap - Week 3

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RMAC Media, Ryan Cruz

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo – The Rocky Mountain Athletic (RMAC) Men’s and Women’s track and field teams start the new year with numerous invitationals.

TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

MEN
  • No. 6 Western competed at the prestigious National Pole Vault Summit where the Mountaineers sent four pole vaulters. The four men competed through three divisions, College Men 1,2 & 3, which resulted in a provisional mark, PRs and program top 5s. Kyle Downey led the way for the Mountaineers as he jumped the farthest of his teammates with a provisional mark of 4.90m, which beats his previous mark set at UCCS back in December.
  • No. 16 UCCS competed at the Air Force Invitational where they were the only Division II school competing in the whole meet. On the track, a provisional mark was set in the 60m twice which occurred in the prelims and semis of the meet. Brian Mosley Jr. recorded the time of 6.87s through the first two qualifying races before taking sixth in the finals. In the field, two provisional marks were achieved in triple jump as Dakota Abbott leaped to mark of 14.83m and Will Ross was right behind him with a jump of 14.81m.
  • Chadron State hosted their first home meet of 2020 where the freshmen soared to the spotlight. The Eagles’ four true freshmen took home four event wins on their own turf. These wins came in the following events: long jump, triple jump, high jump and shot put. On the track, Javan Lanier was able to pick up the win in the 60m posting a time of 6.97 to capture the win.
  • Westminster men traveled to BYU to compete in the three-day invitational to start the new year where they ran well and claim several top 10 finishes. The following weekend, the team traveled to Idaho State where two men, Aiden Urban and Tony Nickerson, went first and fourth in the 800 where they both claim indoor PRs to move up to second and fourth in the RMAC performance list.
  • MSU Denver shook off the rust at the University of Colorado where they competed in the Potts Invitational. The Roadrunners were able to attain new PRs including some top 10 finishes in a Division I favored meet. The team traveled to Chadron State to continue their 2020 campaign where they achieved five event wins including an RMAC leading time of 3:19.83 in the 4x4.
  • Black Hills State took a trip to Chadron, Nebraska to compete at the Chadron State Open. The Yellow Jackets kicked off the their 2020 with PRs and three event wins.
  • South Dakota Mines’ men had a strong showing at Chadron State where they ran well with a bunch of top 10 finishes as well as one event win in the pole vault.
WOMEN
  • No. 11 UCCS traveled down the road to Air Force where they competed over the duration of two days. The Mountain Lions competed in numerous track events and in the long jump. In the field, a top-10 finish was achieved in the long jump. In the 60m, two Mountains Lions placed top eight as Kayla Waterman took fifth with a time of 7.77s and her teammate, Brittany Fuchs, clocked in 7.84s for seventh. The UCCS trio in the 3k took the event win as Maia Austin ran to a winning time of 10:36.07 while her teammates Layla Almasri and Kayla Wooten ran to times of 10:37.65 and 10:53.91.
  • No. 18 Western traveled to the National Pole Vault Summit where two women competed in two divisions. Choying O’Brien earned a new PR as she cleared the height of 4.90m.
  • Black Hills State were at the Chadron State open where they took home half of the events contested, a meet record, a provisional mark and a few PRs. The Yellow Jackets won the following events: 60m hurdles, 200m, 400m, mile, 3000m, shot put and weight throw. Kyla Sawvell won weight throw with a mark of 17.60m which is a NCAA Division II provisional mark. Abbie Fredrick ran 5:14.06 which was a new meet record and .09 faster than the previous one set back in 2012.
  • South Dakota Mines competed at CSC Open where Erica Keeble hit a NCAA Automatic Mark to book her ticket to the NCAA Division II National Championship in Birmingham, Alabama. She cleared a height of 4.05m which is tied for the second-best mark in the nation, a school record, and a CSC meet record. It doesn’t stop there as Jayla Jarnagin hit a NCAA provisional mark in the weight throw with a toss of 17.20m and took second at the meet.
  • Chadron State women had a great meet as they hosted a home meet. The Eagles were able to grab two events which came in the high jump and the 4x4 relay.
  • MSU Denver had two meets to begin the new year as they took their squad to the Potts Invitational and the CSC Open. In Boulder, the team had a well-rounded outing as they were able to record new personal bests and improve their times on the RMAC performance list. At the CSC Open, the Roadrunners were able to climb the ranks in the RMAC performance list in the distance events.
  • Westminster competed at the BYU Invitational and the Stacy Dragila Open where they had numerous PRs and top performing times at both meets.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
  • Erica Keeble of South Dakota Mines has earned RMAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week. Erica Keeble won the women's pole vault and auto qualified for the NCAA Div. II Indoor Championships after clearing a height of 13-feet-3.5-inches Saturday at the Chadron State College Meet in Chadron, Nebraska. The junior is now tied for the second-best mark in the nation. She also broke her own school record and set a CSC Meet record as well. 
  • Abbie Fredrick of Black Hill State has earned RMAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week. Frederick broke an eight-year-old Chadron State College meet running 5:14.06 in the mile. With the track and altitude conversion, she now sits at 4th in the RMAC with her 5:06.31 converted time. 
  • Dakota Abbott of UCCS has earned RMAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Week. Abbott and the Mountain Lions competed in the Air Force Invitational this past weekend where they were the only Division II school in a field of primarily Division I teams. Abbott did not miss a beat in his first competition of the new year as the sophomore leaped to a provisional mark of 14.83m in the men's triple jump, good for a strong third place finish and a provisional mark. 
  • Said Moreno of MSU Denver has earned RMAC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week. Said Moreno won the 400 meters, ran on the winning 4x400 relay and finished second in the 200 with times that rank 2nd, 1st and 6th on the RMAC Performance List at the Chadron State Open. Moreno, who earlier this season set the school record in the 500 meters, ran the 400 in 50.43, which converts to 49.26 for 2nd-best in the RMAC this year. He also ran on the 4x400 that improved upon its previous RMAC season-best with a winning time of 3:24.58, which converts to an RMAC-best 3:19.83. And his second-place time in the 200 of 23.10 converts to 22.48 for 6th in the league.
INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
  • Sabrina Rautter raced to a first-place finish in the 800 meters at the Chadron State Open, which put her in the RMAC's Top-6 this season in 3 events: the 800, the mile and the 5,000. Rautter, a 2018 All-American in cross country, just missed her indoor personal best in the 800 with a time of 2:22.28, which converts to 2:19.57 and ranks 6th in the RMAC. Rautter also ranks 5th in the mile at a converted 5:08.21, and fourth in the 5,000 with a converted 18:13.61.
  • Competing in a field of all Division I student-athletes at the Air Force Invitational, Maia Austin of UCCS bested all 12 student-athletes with a first place time of 10:08.57 in the women's 3000m. Austin's time gives her the second best time in the RMAC.
  • Kyla Sawvell of Black Hills State won both the shot put and weight throw at the Chadron State College open. Her 17.45m in the weight is a NCAA Provo mark, however she already leads the conference in that event with a previous toss of 17.60 meters.
  • Hoyt's Nicholas of Black Hills State toss of 16.90 meters in the weight throw won the Chadron State Open meet by over 2 feet and now leads the RMAC.
  • Brant Killmon of MSU Denver finished second in the long jump and fifth in the high jump at the Chadron State Open. Killmon went 21-feet, 8 3/4 inches in the long jump and 6-2 3/4 in the high jump. Killmon ranks 8th in the RMAC in the long jump at 22-5 and tied for ninth in the high jump at 6-4 ¾.rv