SPEARFISH, S.D. Western Colorado concluded the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday afternoon as the women's team took fourth and then men's team took sixth in the teams' standings.
Western Colorado's Leah Taylor set a new facility record with her time of nine minutes, 43.40 seconds in the women's 3,000m run. Taylor's time bested the field of 15 other competitiors and is an NCAA Division II Provisional time. The sophomore also earned her second, first team all-conference honor of the meet after being a part of the Mountaineers winning Distance Medley Relay on Friday.
Simon Kelati set not only a facility record on Saturday in the 3,000m, his time of 8:14.10 tied the RMAC record in the event. Kelati was one of three runners to break the old facility record including Tyler Nord.
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.
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Eireann Donohoe registered an NCAA Division II Professional mark of 12.00m (39 feet – 4.25 inches) in the women's triple jump finals Saturday morning. Donohoe placed second with the mark .08m off her season best. The second-place finish marks Donohoe second all-conference honor of the meet after placing fourth in the pentathlon on Friday.
Nord earned a first-team all-conference nod after placing third in the event with a time of 8:18.65. THe sophomore was four seconds behind his teammate, Kelati, who earned the event's top spot.
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
Sammie Bretz started the final day of the 2024 RMAC Indoor Track and Field Championships with a fifth-place finish in the women's high jump competition. The junior hit a height of 1.64 meters (5 – 4.50) on Saturday morning. Bretz cleared the height on her first try and was just one of two athletes to clear that height on their first attempt.
Regan Thorne placed fifth in the 60m hurdles final with a time of 8.91 seconds earning her first all-conference nod of her collegiate career. Thorne was just .36 seconds behind the events winner from New Mexico Highlands. In the men's 60m hurdles final, Sam Burns earned second team all-conference honors after placing fifth with a time of 8.28 seconds.
In the men's mile Esteban Deniz placed sixth with a time of 4:16.10. The sophomore was only six seconds off the first-place finisher and had a split time of 33 seconds.
In the women's 400m, Kaiya Firor finished sixth earning her first all-conference honor of the meet. She finished the race with a time of 58.20, just 1.09 seconds behind the winner. Landon Gary earned fifth place in the men's 400m with a time of 49.81.
Emma Kjellsen represented the Mountaineers in the 800m run and placed fifth and earned an NCAA Provisional time of 2:12.80. She was two seconds off the facility record, broken by the top four athletes in the race.
UP NEXT
The Mountaineers will take next week off before a select group of athletes to the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships in Pittsburg, Kans., on Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9.
