GUNNISON, Colo. Western Colorado's track & field program began its 2025-26 indoor season Friday at home in the Mountaineer Field House, hosting the first day of the two-day Mountaineer Open.
It took only the fourth race of the season for Western to claim an event win as
Meghan Benkendorf raced to the front and crossed the finish line first in the women's 600-meter run, posting a winning time of 1 minute, 41.42 seconds.
The opening event, the men's 5,000, nearly earned that accolade as Jan Thewes was the runner-up by just two seconds, taking second place in a time of 14:56.77, while teammate
Esteban Reyes (15:05.10) finished third.
Another strong event for the Mountaineers was the women's weight throw, in which Western earned six places within the top eight, including a second place throw of 15.81 meters (51 feet-10.25 inches) by
Johanna Brown.
Hayley Eacret (14.55, 47-8.75) was fourth, followed by
Rylee Blanton (14.53, 47-8) and
Charlotte Heberlie in fifth and sixth with the same distance.
Abigail Nehring (13.95, 45-9) and
Katrina Trahan (13.93, 45-8.25) were seventh and eighth, respectively.
Heading into the second and final day of the Open, Western has the opportunity for another event win as
Alexander Taylor has the lead after four events of the men's heptathlon, scoring 2,479 points Friday night with the 60m hurdles, pole vault, and 1,000m run remaining on Saturday.
Taylor will be fighting off a challenge from second place and teammate
Bridger Lynch, who totaled 2,419 points on Friday.
Saturday's events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in the Field House.
