PITTSBURG, Kan.— Colorado Mesa University heptathlete Dawson Heide sits in a solid fourth place position after four events while Josie Coffey and Justin Thompson earned second team all-America honors while narrowly missing out on first team honors and team points as the trio represented the Maverick track & field squads on the first day of the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships.
 
Thompson, a fifth-year senior from Carbondale, Colorado, made Maverick men's track & field history with his ninth place finish in the long jump.  He recorded two jumps of 7.29 meters (23 feet, 11 inches) and earned his sixth career all-America certificate, surpassing Nolan Ellis' total of five for the program -record while matching current graduate assistant coach Mica Jenrette, who won six for the Maverick women.
 
Meanwhile, Coffey tied for 11^th in the high jump to earn her fourth career all-America certificate.
 
Heide, a sixth-year senior from Bayfield, Colorado, scored 3,139 points in the first four events of the 2-day, 7-event heptathlon and is just 209 off the lead heading into Saturday's 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000-meter run.
 
He got the meet off to a great start winning Friday's 60-meter dash discipline in 6.92 seconds, just off his season-best of 6.91.  That was worth 911 points.  He then fouled his first two long jump attempts before posting a solid effort of 7.06 meters (23-2) on his third and final attempt to tally 828 more points.  He was the third best jumper in the 14-man field.
 
He was just eight points off the lead at that point and then went on to post a solid shot put mark of 13.16 meters (43-2.25), just off his career-best of 13.21 meters (43-4.25), accumulating 677 more points but slipped back to third overall.
 
Heide then wrapped up his Friday by clearing a season-best 1.91 meters (6-3.25) in the high jump, good for 723 points.  That mark was just two centimeters shy of his career-best of 1.95 meters (6-4.75).
 
Hunter Jones of meet host Pittsburg State leads the heptathlon standings with 3,348 points, 18 ahead of Lee (Tenn.) sophomore Cale Kassen.  Angelo State's Elvis Kryukov is third with 3,180 while Harding's Kelmen deCarvalho is just 11 behind Heide in fifth place at 3,139.
 
Later in the day, Coffey was able to clear the first two bars, getting over 1.67 meters (5-5.75) on her second attempt.  However, she was one of eight women to go out at 1.72 meters (5-7.35).  The redshirt junior from Lakewood, Colorado.
 
Thompson then capped CMU's efforts on the first day, recording a leap of 7.08 meters (23-2.75) on his second attempt to move into 12^th place before getting into the 9-man final with his first effort of 7.29 meters in the third round, moving into eighth place.
 
He then recorded a fourth round jump of 7.25 meters and watched Virginia State's Markus White move all the way from ninth to second place with a fifth round attempt of 7.55 meters (24-9.25).  Thompson was unable to respond and fouled his fifth attempt before recording another leap of 7.29 meters in his final attempt.
 
The Mavericks will also have three athletes compete on Saturday as Heide will continue the heptathlon at Noon CST (11 a.m. Mountain) before Eddie Kurjak will make his NCAA Championship debut in the high jump at 3:30 p.m. CST (2:30 p.m. Mountain).  He and Miller Jones will then contest the triple jump at 5:35 p.m. CST (4:35 p.m. Mountain).