CHADRON, Neb. Western Colorado went out with a bang on the final day of the 2023 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships - coming eight-points shy of pulling off a team win for the women. But, overall the Mountaineers wrapped up the final day on an impressive note, recording four RMAC champions, 17 all-conference honors, ten personal best performances and one school record broken.

As a whole, the women came in second-place with 123-points, 7.5-points behind first-place University of Colorado Colorado Springs who finished with 130.50-points. The men finished in fifth-place with 106.50 points. UCCS won it for the men as well, finishing with 180-points.

The top-three finishers in each event are named all-conference first-team selections, while the fourth, fifth and sixth-place finishers are tabbed all-conference second-team. For relay events, the first-place team is named to the first team and the second-place team is named to the second team.
 
RMAC CHAMPION

• Ali Aldrich historic season continued on the final day of the 2023 RMAC Outdoor Track and Field championships, as she was crowed RMAC Champion in the women's shot put by recording a school record heave of 14.84m (48-08.25). Aldrich once again breaks her own school record of 14.44m (47-04.50).
• Ismael Dembele became a two-time RMAC Champion on the final day of the track and field championships, bounding to a distance of 14.96m (49-01.00) in the men's triple jump.
• Kaiya Firor was the flying down the track in the women's 400m hurdles, leading to her crossing the finish line first, with a time of 1:01.17.
• Earning the Mountaineers fourth RMAC Champion honors of the day, Katie Doucette recorded an RMAC championship meet record of 16:28.45 in the women's 5,000m.

FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE

• Right behind Firor in the women's 400m hurdles, was Kelia Portis who came in second-place in a personal best time of 1:01.72. That time moves Portis to third all-time.
• Eireann Donohoe picked up a second-place finish in the women's triple jump, leaping to a distance of 12.13m (39-09.75). Donohoe also earned Western one-point in the women's 100, hurdles, coming in eighth-place (18.29).
• Picking up a pair of first team all-conference honors in the men's 5,000m. Aidan Scott was the first Mountaineer to cross the finish line, coming in second-place (14:46.70). Right behind Scott was Will Johnson who crossed the line in third-place (14:49.33).
• Lauren Smith earned all-conference honors in the women's pole vault, by clearing a height of 3.71m (12-02.00) which tied for second-place.
• Moving to ninth all-time in the women's 1,500m, Leah Taylor crossed the finish line in third-place in a personal best time of 4:28.81. Taylor also earned second team all-conference honors in the women's 5,000m, coming in fifth-place with a time of 17:16.74.
• Similar to Taylor in the women's 1,500m, Ethan Coyhis ran a personal best time of 1:53.10 in the men's 800m earning him third-place.

SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE

• Improving her seventh all-time mark in the women's pole vault, Laura Brignoli cleared a personal best height of 3.56m (11-08.00) earning her fourth-place.
• Very similar to Coyhis, Jeremy Killoy had an impressive race in the men's 800m, by recording a personal best time of 1:53.10 which resulted in him coming in fourth-place.
• Earing a pair of second team all-conference honors in the men's 1,500m – Simon Kelati led the way coming in fifth-place (3:53.76) and was followed by Tyler Nord who finished in sixth (3:53.89).
• Caden Church earned all-conference honors in the men's high jump, by clearing a height 1.94m (6-04.25).

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

• Karter Evans earned two-points for Mountaineers in the men's shot put, with a heave of 14.74m (48-04.50), which earned him seventh-place.
• Myia Dantzler earned Western two-points in the women's 100m, coming in at a time of 12.23 which earned her seventh-place.
• Dominic Anselmo earned the Mountaineers 1.5-points in the men's high jump, clearing a height of 1.89m (6-02.25).
• Allison Beasley scored one-point for the Mountaineers in the women's 1,500m, crossing the finish line in eighth-place (4:31.89).
• Earning a point for Western in the men's 5,000m, Kyle Partin came in eighth-place with a time of 15:04.90.
• The women's 4x100 relay – Portis, Firor, Olson, Dantzler – picked up six-points for the Western, crossing the finish line in third-place (48.29).

TOP TEN ALL-TIME

• The women's 4x400m relay – Firor, Lapp, Portis, Sakara Harrison – moved all the way up to fifth all-time, crossing the finish line with a time of 3:49.60. That time earned them third-place and six-points.
• The men's 4x100m relay – Nate Jackson, Ja'Warren Smith, Eric Fike, Kennedy Martinez – came up just short of earning all-conference honors coming in third-place. But, their time of 41.47 is now tied for ninth all-time. They also earned six-points for the Mountaineers.
• Similar to the men's 4x100m relay, the men's 4x400m relay – Smith, Coyhis, Killoy, Kennedy Martinez – came in third-place (3:15.64) while moving up eighth all-time. They also earned six-points for Western.
• Emma Kjellsen picked up the Mountaineers a point in the women's 800m and moved to tenth all-time, by crossing the line in eighth-place in a personal best time of 2:12.42.

PROVISIONAL MARKS EARNED DURING RMAC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
*Times converted for altitude 

• Men's 800m: Ethan Coyhis with a time of 1:51.28.
• Women's 800m: Emma Kjellsen with a time of 2:12.01
• Women's 1,500m: Leah Taylor, with a time of 4:25.34, Allison Beasley with a time of 4:26.68, Kjellsen with a time of 4:27.59
• Women's 5,000m: Katie Doucette with a time of 16:13.73.
• Women's 400m hurdles: Kelia Portis with a time of 1:01.83.
• Women's 3,000m steeplechase: Beasley with a time of 10:25.72.
• Men's Long Jump: Ismael Dembele with a mark of 7.35m (24-01.50).
• Women's Triple Jump: Eireann Donohoe with a mark of 12.13m (39-09.75).
• Women's Shot Put: Ali Aldrich with a mark of 14.84m (48-08.25).

UP NEXT
 The Mountaineers will now wait to find out which athletes will be heading to Pueblo, for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.