GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— After a handful of athletes got their seasons off to a strong start, the Colorado Mesa University indoor track and field teams will send much bigger contingents to two different meets this weekend in Colorado Springs and Gunnison.
 
The Mavericks will send a group of 29 (13 men, 16 women) mostly jumpers and multi-event athletes to the Colorado Running Company Pre-Holiday Invite & Multi at UCCS on Friday and Saturday and will send an even larger group of 42 (23 men, 19 women) sprinters, throwers and middle/distance runners to Western Colorado's Alumni Open in Gunnison on Saturday.
 
Both meets will be live streamed on the RMAC Network and live results for both can be accessed at the links above.
 
A listing of all of the Mavericks entered in each meet can be found below.
 
Meet Details/Schedules
 
Colorado Running Company Pre-Holiday Invite & Multi
 
Seven Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams are scheduled to compete in what is slated to be a rather large meet, featuring athletes from 11 different programs, including Division I Colorado, Colorado State and Northern Colorado.  The host Mountain Lions, Colorado Christian, Colorado School of Mines, CSU Pueblo and Western Colorado will join the Mavericks from the RMAC contingent.  Cal State San Marcos has also entered women.
 
The Mavericks have entered five athletes in the men's heptathlon another two in the women's pentathlon, which will get the 2-day meet going at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, per the final meet schedule.
 
A slate of field events will then begin at 3 p.m. while preliminary heats of the 60-meter hurdles and dashes begin the running event schedule at 4:20 p.m.
 
The second day of the heptathlon will begin at 10 a.m., which will be followed by more field events at 11 a.m.  Saturday's running event schedule will begin at 12:30 p.m. while the 4x400-meter relays will wrap up the meet, slated to go off at 3 p.m.
 
Live results can be found at: https://www.goinguplive.com/rapid/colorado-running-company-pre-holiday-invite-and-multi/meet-14/schedule.html
 
Mountaineer Open
 
Saturday's meet will include six women's and five men's teams and handful of unattached athletes.  Joining the Mavericks and the host Western Colorado Mountaineers, will be Adams State, Fort Lewis, Trinidad State Junior College and New Mexico Highlands, which only has a women's team.
 
Field events are scheduled to get underway at 11 a.m.  Action should wrap up shortly before 4 p.m., according to the meet information packet.
 
Live results can be found at: https://www.rapidresultslive.com/2023/MountaineerOpen/
 
Who's Competing
 
Here is a complete list of the Maverick entries for each meet, listed by event.
   
Men
60m (1)- Justin Thompson
High Jump (2)- Trey Briggs, Eddie Kurjak
Pole Vault (1)- Garrett Searls
Long Jump (4)- Zace Buckhold, Miller Jones, Rese McClinton-El, Thompson
Triple Jump (4)- Salem Brunk, Buckhold, Jones, Kurjak
Heptathlon (5)- Evan Atkin, Logan Hafey, Dawson Heide, Levi Hoenninger, Jameson Moore
 
Women
60m (2)- Venesa Handzhiyska, Mia Munoz
5K (1)- Kirstin Williams
High Jump (4)- Jordan Brockman, Josie Coffey, Kaelea Gibson, Sophie Lindauer
Long Jump (7)- Brockman, Handzhiyska, Kylee Kielian, Addy Kirkpatrick, Lily Nieslanik, Munoz, Alyssa Pedraza
Triple Jump (7)- Handzhiyska, Kielian, Kirkpatrick, Nieslanik, Pedraza, Natalie Smythe, Katie Thomson
Pentathlon (2)- Hope Matteson, Thomson
   
Men
60m (11)- Justin Blanton, Teo Casados, Kade Christensen, Marik Cummings, Quentin Hartel, Walker Mathews, Amaris Mora, Zach Musso, Jeremiah Reed, Beau Thornton, Elijah Williams
200m (10)- Blanton, Mason Bowles, Christensen, Cummings, Hartel, Mathews, Mora, Musso, Reed, Thornton
400m (1)- Kelsey Montague
800m (6)- Casey Amori, Dylan Campbell, Edgar Hernandez, John McGill, Jayden Thulson, Kyle Towne
60m Hurdles (1)- AJ Iarusso
4x400m Relay- 2 Teams
Shot Put (2)- Nathan Jones, Austin Schultz
Weight Throw (3)- Jones, Cameron Kalaf, Schultz
 
Women
60m (3)- Jordan Burnett, Serenity Burnett-Perry, Gaby Horton
200m (6)- Rimari Facey, Emily Fowler, Horton, Sadie Smilanich, Lexie Williams, Jade Wimmer
400m (4)- Burnett, Fowler, Smilanich, Williams
800m (2)- Gianna Kirking, Brooke Miller
Mile (1)- Jessie Beck
3K (1)- Lauren Hodges
60m Hurdles (1)- Facey
4x400m Relay- 1 Team
Shot Put (7)- Aaliyah Bos, Augustine Hancock, Grace Layton, Christina Palmer, Lynn Stonner, Virginia Tomon, Heather Yackey
Weight Throw (6)- Bos, Hancock, Layton, Palmer, Stonner, Yackey
 
A jumping start
 
The Mavericks sent nine athletes to compete in the jumping events at last week's Mines Alumni Classic, which served as the season-opener for the Mavs.  Many of those also competed in the 60-meter dash and hurdles.
 
The Maverick men combined for four NCAA Division II Championship provisional qualifying marks as Justin Thompson and freshman Miller Jones set such marks in the long jump last Friday before Eddie Kurjak and Zace Buckhold set NCAA marks in the high jump on Saturday.
 
Thompson and Kurjak won their respective events while Buckhold placed second behind Kurjak.
 
The Mavs also had five women at the meet, a group led by Josie Coffey, who set a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference co-leading mark of 1.64 meters (5-4.5) to finish third on tie-breaking procedures which saw the top four finishers all go out on the same height.

Complete recaps from both days can be found at the links below.

Day 1- Friday (Nov. 30)
Day 2- Saturday (Dec. 1)

Top Ten Updates
 
The small group of nine Maverick athletes combined to set five new marks on the CMU's all-time top-10 performers lists.
 
Here's a more detailed look of the new marks on the top-10 lists, which can be accessed in full at the links below.
 
Men
High Jump- T2. Eddie Kurjak (2.11m/6-11); 4. Zace Buckhold (2.08m/6-9.75)
Long Jump- 3. Miller Jones (7.17m/23-6.25); T4. Zace Buckhold (7.12m/23-6.25); 7. Eddie Kurjak (7.00m/22-11.75)
 
Women
Long Jump- 10. Katie Thomson (5.43m/17-9.75)

NCAA Qualifiers
 
As has been the case for the past two years, there are no longer any automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Division II Championships , rather athletes will be gunning for marks well above the provisional qualifying standards determined by a 5-year average of the 40^th place performer on the national performance list.
 
Thus, coaches and athletes will be regularly checking on their position on the national qualification lists, especially as the season moves into the later weeks.
 
A total of 540 athletes (270 men & 270 women) will be selected for the national meet with desired minimum field sizes of 16 for individual events, 14 for combined events and 12 for relays.
 
The Mavericks had four men set provisional qualifying marks in last weekend's meet.
 
Here's a look at the current Maverick NCAA Championship provisional qualifiers by event with their early season rank. (altitude-adjusted if applicable in parenthesis).
 
Men
High Jump
3. Eddie Kurjak- 2.11m (6-11)
5. Zace Buckhold- 2.08 (6-9.75)
Long Jump
2. Justin Thompson- 7.56m (24-9.75)
12. Miller Jones- 7.17m (23-6.25)
 
Thompson ended up sixth on last year's national performance list with his school-record mark of 7.59 meters (24-11).  For informational purposes, his 7.56 meter mark from last week would have also ranked him sixth on last year's list and is thus likely to secure what would be a sixth career national championship qualification although there are no guarantees as each year's rankings process starts anew.  It took a mark of 2.12 meters to get into the national championship field in the high jump last year.
 
Athlete of the Week
 
Thompson's long jump performance of 7.56 meters (24-9.75) from last week would also rank him fourth on the NCAA Division I early-season performance list and is one of the best five in all of collegiate track and field from the opening week of the season.
 
His effort was also good enough to earn him RMAC Field Athlete of the Week honors for the seventh time in his illustrious career.  That award was announced by the conference on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Strong Form
 
Maverick newcomer Kirstin Williams, who qualified for the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships last month, will make her Maverick track & field debut in Colorado Springs and is entered in Saturday's 5,000 meter run.  The St. George, Utah native and Utah Tech transfer earned First Team All-RMAC and U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-South Central Region honors during the cross country season while qualifying as an individual for the national meet, where she took 61^st and well within the top quarter of the 264-runner field.
 
Williams set the Utah Tech Indoor 5K record of 18:17.08 in her last track meet, the 2023 Western Athletic Conference Championships.
 
Debutants
 
Williams is one of seven new Mavericks, who are expected to get their collegiate careers underway at the UCCS meet.  Freshman jumpers Kylee Kielian, Mia Munoz and Alyssa Pedraza will join her on the women's side Evan Atkin, Salem Brunk and Levi Hoenninger will make their collegiate debuts on the men's side.  Atkin and Hoenninger are amongst the Mavs' five heptathlon entries.  Notably, they will be joined by converted thrower Jameson Moore, contesting a multi-event for the first time.
 
Meanwhile, freshman Marik Cummings, Rimari Facey, Emily Fowler, Walker Mathews, Amaris Mora, Sadie Smilanich will all get their collegiate careers underway in the sprinting events at the Mountaineer Open.
 
Additionally, redshirt freshman Aaliayh Bos, Grace Layton and Lynn Stonner are all entered in the throwing events for the Mountaineer Open after redshirting last year, which is the same story for Gianna Kirking, who is entered in the 800 meters.
 
Division I transfer Christina Palmer, who threw at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina, will also make her CMU debut as will freshman Austin Schultz on the men's side.
 
The Mavs will also have five new runners in the men's 800 meters in true freshman Dylan Campbell as well as redshirt freshman Edgar Hernandez, John McGill Jayden Thulson, Kyle Towne, who all redshirted last year.
 
In the Polls
 
Both Maverick squads were picked fourth in the RMAC Preseason Polls, that were released last week.  The Maverick women claimed a first place vote as well.
 
To see the complete polls, please click here.
 
Up Next
 
The Mavericks will be off for the holidays following this weekend's meets.  They will return to competitive action in late January (Jan. 26-27) with meets at Mines and New Mexico.