Results

COLORADO SPRINGS - Personal and season bests were the order of the day as Colorado School of Mines picked up the indoor track & field season at the UCCS Invitational. 

The Orediggers, competing for the first time in 2024, picked up seven event wins on the day as they returned to action for the first time since early December.

MEN'S MEET
In the field, the pole vaulters once again dominated with the top six spots led by Hunter Potrykus' new indoor best of 5.21m, the #2 performance in D-II this season. Noah Kelly cleared a PR of 4.91m for second with Aidan Bennett also over his personal-best bar of 4.81m for third; both of those are NCAA provisional marks as Kelly moves to 12th in D-II and Bennett 22nd. Behind them, Kai Miller (4.66m), Shane Conley (4.51m), and Jackson Wray (4.36m) rounded out the top six.

Grant Redmond had a great early-season mark of 2.07m to win the high jump in an NCAA provisional performance, his season best height. Nicholas Nijkamp hit 13.25m for fifth in the triple jump, and Prince Owusu-Ansah made his Mines debut with a 5.84m long jump mark for 16th. 

Brody Welch led a good day for the throwers with his second-place 14.98m performance in the shot put, with Franklin Rambo fifth at 13.48m. Davin Kiesby was seventh in the weight throw (15.13m) a spot ahead of Welch (14.92m). 

Mines had only a handful of track entries led by Tim Thompson, who won the 800m run out of a large field in a time of 1:56.34. Coulton Chan was the 60m hurdles runner-up in 8.37 seconds, while Rhett Cullers made finals in his collegiate debut and finished sixth in 8.48, which immediately slots him in at eighth on the Mines all-time list. Garrett Halbrooks ran 7.06 for seventh in the 60m dash finals after an identical prelim. 

WOMEN'S MEET
Multi-time 800m All-American Aryelle Wright tried something new, running the mile for the first time in her decorated career and winning handily in 5:14.97, more than two seconds faster than the field. 

Two Orediggers made the 60m hurdle finals and both ended up with new personal bests and Mines all-time top-10 performances. Aani Hardesty finished fifth in 9.24 and Andrea Walser was a spot behind in 9.27 seconds; that puts them sixth and eighth all-time at Mines, respectively. 

Grace Galvin (59.22) and Randi Higashi (59.94) ran third and fourth, respectively, in the 400m, and Avary Catchings ran a personal all-conditions best of 2:19.84 for fourth in the 800m. 

Those solid performances would combine into an event win and NCAA provisional time in the 4x400 as Galvin, Higashi, Hardesty, and Wright ran 3:54.41, which becomes the third-fastest at-elevation 4x400 in program history. The B relay of Avery Wright, Catchings, Walser, and Allison Comer was pretty quick as well, finishing fourth in 4:05.01. 

In the field, it was the same story as the men as Mines' women took the top three and five of the top seven slots in the pole vault. Hannah Miller won with a best bar of 4.02m ahead of Avery Herbold (3.92m) and Dale Thompson (3.82m); Ava Kowalski was fifth at 3.57m and Madeline Obuchowski improved her season and personal best with a seventh-place 3.42m performance. 

Kitt Rupar unloaded a big personal best to win the shot put, her first career win thanks to an all-conditions best 13.35m throw on her fourth attempt. Rupar went over her previous PR of 12.88m twice in her series. Abbi Gillespie would PR in the weight throw at 15.41m for third, tied for sixth all-time with Rupar who was fifth (15.12m) ahead of Jennifer Jarnagin (14.80m). 

Lexye Wood cleared 1.60m for third in the high jump and then had a 5.63m best mark for fourth in the long jump; Avery Wright joined her in the latter event placing 11th in 5.19m. Claire Kintzley marked 11.10m for third in the triple jump.

NEXT UP
Mines will host the Winter Classic next Friday and Saturday at Steinhauer Fieldhouse.