After hosting their first home meet of the season, the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) track and field teams traveled to Chadron, Nebraska to compete in the conference championships. Both the men’s and women’s team had great weekends, as both teams set program records over the weekend.
On the men’s side, they placed second as a team, recording 125.5 points over the 21 scored events. The University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS) took first at the meet, totalling 180 points.
The field events is where the Maverick men found their most success. In the javelin throw, redshirt freshman Cameron Kalaf recorded a distance of 62.1 meters, which was good enough for a school record and a gold medal. Kalaf is now in the bubble to qualify for the NCAA championships in May.
Redshirt junior Zace Buckhold contributed to the team success all weekend in several jumping events. He placed fourth in the long jump, third in the high jump and second in the triple jump, giving 18.5 team points to the Mavericks.
The Mavericks also racked up points at the event via the 110 meter hurdles. Redshirt junior Dawson Heide went from throwing the javelin to running in the hurdles race and fared well, finishing the race with a time of 14.977, good enough for fourth place.
Also at the hurdles, football/track and field star Zayden Davis won a medal for the second straight season. The redshirt sophomore turned in a time of 14.68, and was awarded a bronze medal.
For the women’s track and field program, they recorded a program-best 102 team points and placed fourth at the meet. UCCS also dominated on the women’s side with 130.5 points, which allowed them to win both the men’s and women’s team championships.
Although UCCS shined over the weekend, redshirt senior Sierra Arceneaux put on a show herself, as she successfully defended her title as the fastest woman in the conference. The sprinter won both the 100 meter and 200 meter races for the second year in a row, recording times of 11.61 and 23.51, respectively.
At the longer sprints, redshirt freshman Jordan Burnett had a great weekend, winning the preliminary 400 meter race and then winning the silver medal at the same event. With Burnett’s time of 55.63, she is likely to qualify for nationals later in the season.
In the distance running events, redshirt sophomore Kira MacGill carried the momentum from her outdoor cross-country season. The All-American placed third at the 5,000 meter race, winning the bronze medal. With her time of 16:59.99, MacGill should be able to join Arceneaux and Burnett at the national championships.
In the field, redshirt senior Kiana Jackson had the best day for the women’s team. The all-around athlete took home a bronze medal in the triple-jump, finishing her career with 11 total medals.
At the time of writing, many track and field athletes will be competing in the “Last Chance” meets. At these meets, athletes are able to compete one final time, in order to turn in a time or distance to qualify for the NCAA championships, which will be hosted here in Colorado, at the campus of Colorado State University- Pueblo.
