EMPORIA, Kan.— Justin Thompson became the most decorated track & field athlete in Colorado Mesa University history as he claimed a seventh career all-America honor while Kelsey Montague earned his first to co-highlight the day for the Maverick track & field team at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which got underway here at Emporia State University's Welch Stadium on Thursday.
 
Another veteran in Dawson Heide is in seventh place after the first five events of the decathlon, were two of the four Mavericks in action on the opening day of the 3-day meet that runs through Saturday.
 
Meanwhile, Augustine Hancock made Maverick history of her own in the women's hammer throw, placing 17^th.
 
Thompson recorded three consistent in his long jump series, including his second-round jump of 7.37 meters (24 feet, 2 ¼ inches) which allowed him to place 12^th and earn a second team all-America honor from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in what was his final competition of an illustrious jumping and academic career.  His other two attempts were measured at 7.32 meters (24-0.25) and 7.30 meters (23-11.5).
 
The Carbondale, Colorado native and former Roaring Fork High School graduate, was already the Mavs' men's track & field record holder in terms of all-America honors but surpassed now CMU graduate assistant coach and former women's multi-event great Mica Jenrette, who had won six USTFCCCA All-America honors in her illustrious career, with his seventh on Thursday.  Thompson has also earned a multitude of academic honors throughout his career at CMU, recording a perfect 4.0 GPA in his undergraduate and graduate coursework in exercise science and athletic training, respectively.
 
He also holds the Maverick school record of 7.61 meters (24-11.75) which allowed him to qualify for this year's national championships and the CMU indoor record of 7.59 meters (24-11).
 
Later in the evening, Montague posted a time of 52.69 seconds to place 11^th in the 400-meter hurdle preliminaries.  The senior from Simla, Colorado, who set a CMU record of 51.91 seconds to win the Rocky Mountain ,Athletic Conference title last month, was making his NCAA Championship debut and is now the first Maverick all-American in a hurdling event.
 
The USTFCCCA gives all-America certificates to the top 12 finishers in each individual event with the first through eighth place finishers earning first team status.  The ninth through 12^th place finishers are second team honorees.
 
Heide, currently a 4-time all-American, scored 3,880 points on the first day of the decathlon.  He set two new season-best marks and matched another and is 38 points ahead of his qualification pace of 7,125 points.
 
The sixth-year senior out of Bayfield, Colorado scored 4,090 first day points en-route to a school-record score of 7,241 points and fifth place finish at last year's NCAA Division II Championships and like Thompson was taking advantage of the NCAA's blanket COVID eligibility waiver that allowed him a fifth season and sixth year of collegiate eligibility.
 
On Thursday, Heide turned in a season-best time of 10.81 seconds in the 100 meters and was in fourth place after the opening event with 903 points.  He then tallied a season-best long jump mark of 7.00 meters (22-11.75) on his third and final attempt after fouling on his first two, good for another 814 points to remain in fourth place.
 
Heide then registered a shot put mark of 12.24 meters (40-2) but slipped to sixth place overall.  He then matched his season-best in the high jump with a clearance of 1.89 meters (6-2.25) to score 705 points but slipped back to eighth place overall.  He then closed out his day with a 400-meter time of 49.52 seconds, fifth fastest in the 15-man field, to score 837 more points and move up a spot to seventh overall.
 
Hunter Jones of Pittsburg State leads the way with 4,098 points although Heide is just 36 points behind fifth place Lincoln Krog of Azusa Pacific and six ahead of eighth place, the position he would need to finish in to earn at least one team point and earn a first team all-America honor.
 
Heide has a 132-point lead over West Texas A&M's Romet Vahter, who is currently in ninth place with 3,748 points.
 
In the women's hammer throw, Hancock recorded a mark of 50.44 meters (165-6) in her second of three attempts, bookended by a pair of foul throws.  The sophomore school record holder out of Red Cliff, Colorado and Battle Mountain High School, was the first CMU women's thrower to ever compete at the national championships.
 
The Mavs will have three athletes competing in Friday's portion of the meet.  Heide will resume the decathlon at 9:30 a.m. CDT (8:30 a.m. Mountain) while Eddie Kurjak will contest the men's high jump at 3:30 p.m. CDT (2:30 p.m. Mountain).  Gaby Horton will then compete in preliminary round heats of the 200 meters at 5:45 pm. CDT (4:45 p.m. Mountain) in her first career national championship race.