Results

CHADRON, Neb. - Hunter Potrykus won the pole vault gold medal to highlight the second day of the 2023 RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships for Colorado School of Mines. 

Potrykus and Noah Kelly earned the top two spots in the pole vault, Avery Wright claimed silver in the heptathlon, and Mines snagged three medals overall in the steeplechase thanks to Alex Shaw, Max Bonenberger, and Alex Raichart. With seven events scored the Mines men lead the team competition with 65 points ahead of Western Colorado (45); the Oredigger women are fifth at 30.5 through eight events, with UCCS leading at 48.5.

Potrykus won his third career RMAC title, swept the 2023 indoor and outdoor golds, and stood on the podium for fifth time overall as he won the competition by a half-meter at 5.03m. Potrykus cleared three bars beyond any other competitor before gapping up to 5.31m, trying it once before passing in windy conditions. Meanwhile Kelly was second on fewest misses at 4.53m, with Shane Conley fifth at the same height.

Leading by a point through four events after Friday's start to the heptathlon, Wright ultimately scored 4,824 points to place second in a back-and-forth battle with all-America Mica Jenrette of Colorado Mesa, who won with 4,884 points. In only her second career heptathlon, Wright hit 5.29m in the long jump, 30.83m in the javelin, and ran 2:27.80 to wrap up in the 800m to finish just 76 points off her program record. 

The only track finals on Saturday were the 3,000m steeplechase races, and the Oredigger men scored big points as the trio of Shaw, Bonenberger, and Max Sevcik went second through fourth. Shaw claimed silver in 9:14.36 just ahead of Bonenberger's bronze-medal pace of 9:18.82 as he outraced Sevcik to the line at 9:19.08. Meanwhile Raichart was the women's silver medalist with a new collegiate-best 10:43.66, a time that will improve her standing on the national performance list. Margaux Basart added team points with her fifth-place 11:01.93, an impressive 29-second PR. 

In the throws, Kitt Rupar hit a big personal best of 42.22m to take sixth place in the women's discus, while Arvid Veidmark IV scored a point with his eighth-place 46.07m performance in the men's event as Davin Kiesby was 12th (43.52m). Claire Kintzley finished out the day in the field events with a seventh-place bar of 1.56m, her collegiate best by a centimeter, in the high jump. 

Saturday's track prelims saw a number of Orediggers move through to Sunday finals topped by Everett Delate, who was second-fastest in the 110m hurdles at 14.27 to move through with Coulton Chan (15.06). Tim Thompson got through in the 800m (1:54.43) as Andy Gebhardt finished 10th (1:55.31), and the women qualified two with Mackenzie Duck winning her heat in 2:12.74 and Aryelle Wright a tick slower in 2:12.75 in the same race; Miranda Manfre finished 17th in 2:22.53.

Sunday's final day of the meet begins at 9:30 a.m. with the men's javelin, with the track program starting at 12:30 p.m.