GUNNISON, Colo.— Led by a school and field house record-smashing and national-leading triple jump effort by
Gunner Rigsby, an NCAA qualifying heptathlon win by
Dawson Heide and a double-sprint win from
Elijah Williams, the Colorado Mesa University Maverick men's indoor track & field team won four events and claimed their best ever team finish at a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday here at Western Colorado University's Mountaineer Field House.
Thanks to those efforts and four other bronze medal-winning performances throughout the day, the Mavericks finished the 2-day meet with a school-record 101 team points and a second place team finish amongst 12 conference teams.
The Mavs had begun the day in seventh place.
The four individual titles are also a school-record while the overall team score surpassed the program's former record of 82, set in 2019, when the Mavs' had finished in a tie for fourth.
Williams, the only 2-individual event winner in the entire men's meet, won the 60 meters in 6.77 seconds while teammate
Sterling Brassfield claimed the bronze medal with a personal-best time of 6.79 seconds.
Beau Thornton also set a PR of 6.89 to finish sixth while
Jeremiah Wilson had a PR time of 6.93 to place seventh, giving the Mavericks 21 points in the event.
Later, Williams won the 200 in 21.51 seconds, a time that converts to 21.26 at sea-level and on a banked track. He will rank as high as eighth nationally and likely booked a trip to the national champonships.
Meanwhile, Rigsby turned in a mark of 15.91 meters (52-2.5) to take the triple jump by 86 centimeters (2 feet, 10 inches) to take over the NCAA Division II Performance List lead. He also bettered his own school and facility record of 15.27 meters (50-1.25), set in December.
Teammate
Spencer Purnell also had a solid effort, finishing fourth while moving into second place on the Mavs' all-time performance list behind Rigsby at 14.90 meters (48-10.75), a NCAA provisional qualifying distance that will rank him as high as 21
st nationally.
Zace Buckhold took 12
th at 13.74 meters (45-1)
In the heptathlon, Heide maintained his Day 1 lead, finishing with a score of 5,307 points to claim his first career RMAC title and move into the No. 2 position in Maverick history behind only 2018 NCAA Division II National Champion Spencer Jahr (5,552). With the altitude and track-size conversions, he will rank as high as eighth on the national performance list at 5,331 points, almost guaranteeing him a spot in next month's national meet in Pittsburg, Kansas, the same place Jahr won his title.
On Saturday, Heide won the 60-meter hurdles in 8.17 seconds before clearing a career-best 4.40 meters (14-5.25) in the pole vault, fourth best in the 13-man multi-event field. That clearance ranks him ninth in program history. He then closed out the win with a time of 3:02.94 in the 1,000 meters.
Elsewhere,
Kelsey Montague took third in the 400 meters with a 2-lap time of 50.16 seconds. He also led-off the Mavs 4x400-meter relay team, which placed fourth in 3:24.39, sixth fastest in school-history.
Jake Valdez,
Austin Reese and Williams also handled the baton for CMU.
In the 3,000 meters,
Tony Torres finished sixth in 8:41.42, an improved NCAA provisional qualifying time that adjusts to 8:09.66 with the altitude and track-size conversions.
Mark Testa finished 12
th in 9:01.96.
The Mavs also picked up seven team points and a third place finish in the 60-meter hurdles as
Zayden Davis posted a career-best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 8.10 seconds to earn the bronze medal.
Nate Hanson finished eighth in 8.35.
Freshman
Eddie Kurjak also claimed a bronze in the high jump, clearing 2.04 meters (6-8.25). Buckhold tied for fifth after clearing a career-high 1.98 meters (6-6) to move into a tie for No. 7 on the Mavs' all-time performers chart with Jahr.
In the shot put,
Hayden Riley finished fifth with a solid performance of 16.72 meters (54-10.25).
UCCS won the men's team title with 168 ½ points while Adams State was third with 75, 26 fewer than the Mavs. CSU Pueblo was fourth with 71 while the Colorado School of Mines finished fifth with 68.
The Maverick women also matched their best-ever finish, taking second for the second straight year as Josie Coffey and Chian DeLoach swept the Saturday jumping events.
