GUNNISON – The Colorado School of Mines outdoor track and field teams continued their recent string of strong showings, totaling five wins and several high finishes at the two-day Western State Open at the Mountaineer Bowl in Gunnison.
The Orediggers went 1-2 in both the men's pole vault and hammer throw on Friday. Sophomore Ben Timmer earned his second win and fourth top-five finish of the outdoor season in the pole vault with a height of 14-11.00 (4.55 meters) and senior Cody Walega matched his season-best effort of 14-5.25 (4.40 meters).
Sophomore Austin Roup recorded his second triumph in the hammer throw, topping the nine-thrower field with a toss of 173-3 (52.81 meters) and junior Ryan Ewen set a new personal-record, throwing the implement 168-2 (51.25 meters).
Roup led all Division II participants in the discus, placing fourth with the second-farthest throw in program history of 157-2 (47.90 meters). Senior Jarrod Sparks ranked fifth with a career-best of 149-2 (45.46 meters).
Ewen took fifth in the shot put at 41-1.75 (12.54 meters) and red-shirt freshman Jace Warren claimed third with a personal-record of 43-9.25 (13.34 meters).
Freshman James Lewis clocked season-bests in the 100 and 200, placing seventh out of 16 runners in the 100 in 11.54, before capturing his first collegiate win in the 15-runner, 200 field with a time of 22.80. Classmate Nicholas Masching was fifth in the 200 in 23.20, his second top-five result in the event.
Seniors Erin Beach and Bailey Hoover each bettered 11 competitors for their first wins of the season as Beach won the long jump with a leap of 17-7.00 (5.36 meters) and Hoover claimed the discus behind a distance of 130-3 (39.71 meters), third-best in school lore. Hoover was also third out of 15 in the hammer throw, twirling a mark of 147-9 (45.04 meters).
Freshman McKenzie Zeman posted a season-high finish in the 400 hurdles, finishing second in a personal-record time of 1:07.89 and classmate Margarita Schvachko crossed third in the 400 in 1:00.86.
Junior Kayla Johnson had her fourth top-five finish in the triple jump, staking third place with a distance of 36-11.50 (11.26 meters), and anchored the 4x100 and 4x400 relays to respective second- and third-place results.
She joined Beach, Zeman and sophomore Michelle Rigsby for a time of 50.20 in the 4x100 and teamed with Beach, Zeman and Schvachko for a mark of 4:13.13 in the 4x400.
Freshman Emily Lathen was third in the discus with a season-best of 123-6 (37.65 meters), while junior Casie Ratzlaff placed fourth in the shot put (34-9.50; 10.60 meters), fifth in the hammer (140-1; 42.70 meters) and eighth in the javelin (87-5; 26.65 meters).
Sophomore Kodi Burns took second and fifth in the 400 and 800, respectively, with times of 51.90 and 2:03.30, both season-bests.
Senior Matt Schroeder posted a personal-record in the long jump with a fifth-place effort of 19-8.75 (6.01 meters), then combined with Masching, Lewis and sophomore Marc Leachman for second place in the 4x100 in 43.78.
The Orediggers return to Golden next Saturday for the CSM Pre Conference Meet, the first of three consecutive home meets before the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships on May 23-24 in Pueblo. Mines will also send runners to the three-day Hillsdale College Gina Relays in Hillsdale, Mich., beginning on Thursday, April 25.
