GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. It was a great weekend for the Western Colorado track & field team, leading to the Mountaineers recording 25 top-three finishes - seven of those being first-place finishes – and one NCAA provisional qualifying mark at the Maverick Invite #2.

MAVERICK INVITE #2 HIGHLIGHTS

• The men's team led the charge in first-place finishes, as they had five athletes - Jeremy Killoy, Simon Kelati, Zachary Witman, Andrew Jorgenson, Tyler Nelson – win their respective event.
• In the 800-meter, Killoy was the first runner to cross the finish line (1 minute and 56.81 seconds), while Colton Stice wasn't too far behind coming in third-place (1:58.44). ­­
• Kelati represented Western well in the 1500m, cruising to a 3:56.28 victory.
• The Mountaineers dominated in the 3000m steeplechase, taking the top-two spots. Witman was first to cross the line (9:37.96) and was followed by Albert Hesse (9:47.62).
• The next first-place finisher was Jorgenson, who cleared a height of 4.51m (14-feet and 9.50-inches) in the pole vault.
• Rounding things out for first-place finishers, Nelson tossed the discus to a distance of 45.68m (150-05) to earn the win. Karter Evans also competed in the event and came in third-place with a toss of 39.83m (130-08). Additionally, Evans also came in second-place in the hammer throw with a mark of 51.92m (170-04), which bumps him up to ninth all-time in Mountaineer outdoor top-10 records.
• Riley Howard (5000m, 15:25.00), Jacob Stroup (110m hurdle, 15:06), Christian Byrtus (400m H, 54.45) and Ethan Beevers­­ (triple jump, 12.94m (42-05.50)) also earned themselves a second-place finish in their respective event.
• Also making the podium coming in third-place for the jumpers, were Brian Kenebrew in leaped to a mark of 12.77m (41-10.75) in the triple jump and Hayden Ell who also flew through the air an recorded a mark of 6.72m (22-00.75).
• Last and certainly not least, Bryce Kizewski recorded a third-place finish in the 400m (49.53) and Michael Morgan earned a third-place finish in the javelin with a toss of 48.72m (159-10).
• Eireann Donohoe didn't just earn a first-place finish in the high jump with a clearance of 1.68m (5-06) – which is a provisional qualifying mark – she also moved to ninth all-time.
• The final first-place finisher for Western was Shynesti Johnson, who was slightly faster (12.31) in the 100m, than her teammates Mikayla Hutchison and Treslynn Robinson who finished in second (12.38) and third-place (12.55). Hutchison also competed in the 200m where she came in third-place with a time of 25.63.
• Similar to Hutchison, Clara Tuti also earned a third-place finish in the 100m H, crossing the finish line in a time of 15.45.
• For the jumpers, Sammie Bretz and Dani Socarras recorded third-place finishes of their own. Bretz cleared a height of 1.60m (5-03) in the high jump, while Soccarras leaped to a mark of 5.47m (17-11.50) in the long jump – which puts her in a three-way tie for ninth all-time.

 
FOURTH PLACE FINISHERS
Men

• Braydon O'Neill, 400m (1:59.95).
• Dominic Anselmo, high jump (1.87m (6-01.50)).
• Caden Church, high jump (1.87m (6-01.50)).
• Aidan Grant, pole vault (4.21m (13-09.75)).
• Scott Grable, long jump (6.72m (22-00.75)).
• Nelson, javelin (48.64m (159-07)).
• Tim Franke, discus (45.68m (128-10)).
• Evans, shot put (13.50m (44-03.50)).

Women

• Bella Miller, 400m (1:03.33).
• Lauren Smith, pole vault (3.49m (11-05.25)).
• Johnson, 200m (25.72).

UP NEXT
The Mountaineers are scheduled for one final tune-up before the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship meet (April 28-29), heading to Golden, Colorado, on April 22-23 for the Pre-Conference Invite hosted by Colorado School of Mines.