SPEARFISH, S.D.— Freshman Josie Coffey continued her strong collegiate debut season as she won a thrilling high jump competition while Chian DeLoach and Shaya Chenoweth took third and fourth in the long jump, to lead the Colorado Mesa University Maverick women's indoor track and field team on Saturday, the second of three days of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships here at Black Hills State University's Donald E. Young Center Field House.
 
Those efforts have lifted the Mavericks up one spot to third amongst 11 squads in the team standings 36 points through nine scored events.  UCCS leads the way with 120 while Black Hills State is in second with 47.  Westminster, which has 30 points, and Colorado Christian, which has 26, are closest to the Mavericks.
 
Coffey was one of three athletes to clear 1.67 meters (5 feet, 5 ¾ inches) but earned the high jump win, her third during this brief indoor season, by doing so on her first attempt that height helping her pass UC-Colorado Springs sophomore Faith Novess, who had been clean on three earlier efforts before missing on her first attempt at what ended up being the winning height.  Novess' Mountain Lion teammate Lydia Pavlenko took third after needing three attempts to get over the winning height as all three jumpers could not clear 1.70 meters (5-7).
 
In the long jump, DeLoach earned the bronze medal with a jump of 5.53 meters (18-1.75) while Chenoweth finished just behind with a mark of 5.50 meters (18-0.5) giving the Mavericks 11 team points in the event.
 
Teammates Kiana Jackson and Kaley St. Peter also contested it.  Jackson finished ninth with a mark of 5.37 meters (17-7.5) on her final attempt while St. Peter took 12^th with a safe leap of 4.80 meters (15-9) after fouling on her opening two efforts.
 
In the other field event of the day, freshman Meleeah Holmes-McKown finished 13^th in the shot put with a heave of 10.19 meters (33-5.25).
 
The Mavericks were also successful in preliminary heats of the 60-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash, qualifying two sprinters in both for Sunday's finals.
 
In the hurdles, Jackson posted a personal-record of 9.07 seconds to qualify fifth and is now tied with Molder for sixth in Maverick history for the discipline.  Molder finished in 9.22 seconds on Saturday as she qualified sixth.
 
In the 200, Sierra Arceneaux was the top qualifier as she finished in a personal-best 25.07 seconds to improve her No. 4 position in Maverick history.  Teammate Haley Golden will join her in the final after she finished eighth in the preliminaries with a time of 25.98 to become just the sixth Maverick to go under 26 seconds indoors.
 
The Maverick men also had a high jump win from Justin Thompson and also stand third in the team standings.
 
Sunday's all-finals portion of the meet will begin at 9 a.m.