Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of Colorado Colorado Springs’ Melissa Moreni and Black Hills State’s Kyla Sawvell are the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women’s Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, the league announced Wednesday. The pair repeat as RMAC Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week after claiming the same honors in week three.
 
Moreni capped another remarkable performance for the Mountain Lions over the weekend at UCCS’ Colorado Running Company Invite. The redshirt freshman took gold and broke her school record in the 60-meter hurdles with a raw time of 8.61. She has now competed in the 60m hurdles for the Mountain Lions at three meets this season and has finished in first place each time, preliminary and final races included.
 
UCCS is back in action at home this weekend, this time for the Colorado Running Company Mountain Lion Open. The two-day event is slated to begin Friday, Jan. 28, inside Mountain Lion Fieldhouse. Masks are required for the duration of the event for anyone in attendance.
 
Sawvell claims Field Athlete of the Week after tabbing a pair of first-place finishes for the Yellow Jackets last weekend at the Dave Little Alumni Mile in Spearfish, S.D. The junior opened with a gold medal in the weight throw, claiming a career-best mark of 19.12m (62-08.75 ft) and earning BHSU’s second-best mark in program history. She then earned her second gold medal of the meet with a 14.34m toss in the shot put event, earning a provisional mark along the way.
 
Black Hills State travels to Chadron, Neb., this weekend to compete in the Don Holst Open, hosted by Chadron State. The Yellow Jackets will compete in the two-day event, which is slated to begin Friday, Jan. 28, inside the Eagles’ Nelson Physical Activity Center.
 
Women’s Track Athlete of the Week: Melissa Moreni, UCCS – Fr. – Helena, Mont.
Moreni had another historic day at the UCCS Invite, where she broke her school record in the 60m hurdles with a raw time of 8.61 to claim first place in the event. Her altitude-converted mark of 8.65 stands as the fastest 60m hurdle time in the RMAC this season and leads the league by nearly half a second. She currently sits in a tie for seventh on a national level.
 
Women’s Field Athlete of the Week: Kyla Sawvell, Black Hills State – Jr. – Wall, S.D.
Sawvell tossed a bomb in the women's weight throw over the weekend, landing a career-best mark of 19.12m. She now ranks sixth in the nation in the women’s weight throw this season and improved five spots on the 2021-22 NCAA indoor performance list with her latest performance. Further, Sawvell now stands second on BHSU’s all-time weight throw performances. The Wall, S.D., native also earned first place in the women's shot put with a provisional mark of 14.34m. She currently ranks 11th nationally in the shot put event, following last weekend’s performance.