Results

ALAMOSA, Colo. - Colorado School of Mines claimed three champions to open the 2023 RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships as the women's team notched a big Friday at Adams State.

Hannah Miller and Hunter Potrykus won the pole vault and Lexye Wood captured a dramatic long jump gold to lead the Orediggers on day 1. The women jumped out to an early lead with 75 team points ahead of UCCS' 43 through six events, while the men sit fourth on 22 points through five events scored.

Mines vaulters won five of six medals on offer between the men's and women's events, including a sweep of the top five spots in the women's competition. Potrykus captured the first gold medal of the meet with a clean run through 5.10m, not missing an attempt until trying a would-be personal best of 5.20m after already securing the win over Western Colorado's Tim Ellis (5.00m). It marked the second straight year that Potrykus won the RMAC championship indoors. Noah Kelly matched his collegiate best of 4.65m to snag bronze, and Shane Conley's 4.50m was fifth with Aidan Bennett eighth at 4.20m. 

Miller led a dominating display by the Mines women with her second straight RMAC Indoor gold, clearing a facility-record 4.13m on her final attempt at that height before trying what would've been a program-record 4.27m. Avery Herbold and Dale Thompson joined her on the podium as Herbold cleared 3.93m and Thompson 3.68m, while Gabbi Varela and Ava Kowalski each finished at 3.53m with Varela judged fourth and Kowalski tying for fifth. In all, the Mines women scored a massive 32 team points in the event. 

Wood closed the first day with one of the most exciting performances anywhere inside the bubble at ASU, sitting in third through five attempts in the long jump with New Mexico Highland's Chisom Obioha leading at 5.70m. With her final jump, Wood hit 5.73m and Obioha 5.60m, flipping the lead her way and securing her first conference title and 10 team points. Sidney Walshaw also got into the scoring with a 5.37m third jump to place eighth. 

The Oredigger women continued to pile on team points in the 5K, finishing 2-4-5-6-7 led by Zoe Baker's silver-medal 17:42.84 pace. Jenna Ramsey was fourth in 17:51.71 followed by Brin Strouse (17:59.48), Holly Moser (18:04.52), and Molly Maksin (18:07.44) consecutively, with Grace Strongman coming in ninth (18:32.79), Margaux Basart 11th (18:53.44), and Ashleigh Loe 16th (19:39.36). Jeremiah Vaille was the lone Oredigger man in the 5K, finishing ninth in 15:54.09.

The women's DMR added five more points to close the night on the track as Alex Raichart, Allison Comer, Mackenzie Duck, and Clare Peters ran an NCAA-provisional 12:06.24, the new #8 all-time performance in program history.

In the pentathlon, Avery Wright earned fourth (3,320 points) and Sidney Walshaw 11th (2,903) as the two freshmen made their RMACs debuts. Both Wright and Walshaw began the championships with personal bests in the 60m hurdles, with Wright running 9.06 and Walshaw 9.61, and the two had steady performances from there including Wright's 5.39m long jump mark and Walshaw's 2:35.51 800m time. 

Arvid Veidmark IV scored a team point finishing eighth in the weight throw at 17.33m as Mines' lone thrower in action on Friday. 

In track prelims, Everett Delate qualified atop the men's 60m hurdles with a 7.94 time, just two-hundreths off his program record, and Avery Wright ran the open event in addition to her pentathlon participation and qualified sixth in 9.09 seconds.

Jonah Fallon cruised through to Saturday's 400m final with a 49.54 time, the third-fastest, while the women took three through with Amena Nelson (3rd, 58.10), Grace Galvin (4th, 58.25), and Randi Higashi (7th, 59.15) all qualifying. Garrett Halbrooks finished 14th (6.94) and Zack Raake 16th (7.00) in the men's 60m dash, and Grace Galvin was 19th in the women's 60m in 8.00 flat.

The second and final day of the RMAC Championships begins Saturday at 10 a.m.