GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— Sprinter Gaby Horton won three events and set a track record as the Colorado Mesa University Maverick track & field teams combined for eight more event wins and five NCAA Division II Championship provisional qualifying marks during an impressive all-around day during the Maverick Invitational on Friday here at the CMU Track & Field Complex.
 
The Mavs also won four events on Thursday of what was CMU's lone home meet of the season while setting a plethora of new program top-10 times throughout the 2-day, 8-team meet.
 
Horton, who was making her outdoor debut after representing the Mavericks at last month's NCAA Division II Indoor Championships, swept the 100 and 200-meter wins after anchoring the Mavs to the 4x100-meter relay victory in a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 45.79 seconds, the third fastest time in CMU history.
 
Serenity Burnett-Perry, Sylvia Johansen and Kammi Merritt were also on that team that now ranks 14th on the national performance list with the altitude-adjusted time of 45.91.
 
Horton then roared back to win the 100 meters in a personal-best and track record-setting time of 11.47 seconds, just off Sierra Arceneaux's school record mark of 11.45.  She also ranks eighth nationally and atop the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with her altitude-adjusted time of 11.50 seconds.
 
Johansen also got under 12 seconds for the first time in her career with a legal wind reading, taking third in 11.98 seconds to move into the No. 6 spot of the program record book.
 
Horton then won the 200 in another NCAA provisional qualifying time of 24.12 seconds while Burnett-Perry took second in a personal-best 24.73 seconds while Hannah Schissler took fourth in 25.07 to move into the No. 8 spot of program history.  Burnett-Perry ranks sixth while Horton is second with her 2024 season-best of 23.84.
 
The Mavs also did well in the hurdling events as freshman Atahlia Mills led a 1-2-3 Maverick sweep with a time of 14.65 seconds in the 100-meter distance, taking over the No. 3 spot in program history.  Kaitlyn Pearson was second in 14.93 and now ranks tenth in program history while Jessie Schaffer finished third in 15.63 seconds.
 
The Mavs also fared well in the 400-meter hurdles as Merritt took second in 1:02.79 to rank third in program history.  Lexie Williams also had a nearly 2-second personal best, taking third in 1:03.78 to move up to the No. 4 spot in program history after starting the day ranked eighth.
 
Schaffer also had a personal-best of 1:04.82 to finish fourth and sits fifth in program history.  Olivia Langner also shaved time off her career-best, clocking a time of 1:05.11 to finish fifth and sit sixth in program lore.
 
Merritt, Brooke Miller, Sophie Lindauer and Emma Dikken then capped the meet with a second place time of 3:51.47 in the 4x400-meter relay, the third fastest in CMU history.
 
Miller also had a strong second place finish in the 800 meters, posting a time of 2:12.72 while Megan Hodges took fifth in 2:18.45 to move into the No. 6 spot on the program's top-10 performers charts.
 
Lindauer also took second in the 400 meters with a mark of 57.89.
 
Autumn McQuitty led CMU's women in the 1,500 meters, running to a time of 4:43.93, more than 4 ½ seconds faster than her previous career-best.  She continues to sit eighth in program history.
 
In the field, Christina Palmer won the discus throw with a NCAA Championship provisional qualifying toss of 46.33 meters (152 feet, 0 inches).  Augustine Hancock finished second at 43.82 meters (143-9)  while Kylie Mayer took fourth at 41.83 meters (137-3).  Palmer also led the Mavs in the shot put, finishing third at 13.19 meters (43-3.25).
 
Kaelea Gibson finished third in the high jump as she and Hope Matteson, who finished fifth, both cleared 1.62 meters (5-3.75).  Gibson set an outdoor career-best and is now tied for eighth in school history.
 
Kendra Ritzmann then finished fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 11.11 meters (36-5.5).
 
The Maverick men also won three events on Saturday as Antone Higgs followed up his Friday afternoon win in the long jump to take the triple jump with an effort of 14.52 meters (47-7.5) to take the No. 7 spot in CMU outdoor history.  Salem Brunk finished second at 14.19 meters (46-6.75).
 
CMU also won both of the men's relays as Walker Mathews, Marik Cummings, Quentin Hartel and Teo Casados won the 4x100 in 40.92 seconds to start the day before Justin Blanton, Hartel, Dylan Campbell and Casados won the 4x400 in 3:20.17 at the end of the afternoon.  The 4x100 time is the ninth fastest in program history.
 
Casados also took second in the 200 meters with a career-best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 21.00 seconds (21.07 altitude-adjusted) while Hartel posted a career-best of 21.53 on his second day to move up two spots to fourth in program history. 
 
Meanwhile, Cummings finished third in the 100 meters with a mark of 10.55 seconds to move up a spot to second in CMU history while passing Casados.
 
Blanton also took second in the 400 with a mark of 49.42 while Kyle Towne finished fourth in the 800 meters at 1:54.59, just ahead of Campbell, who finished fifth in 1:54.89, a new career-best.  Campbell now sits seventh in CMU history.
 
Meanwhile, Ryan O'Loughlin also cracked into the Mavs' top-10 in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:05.69.  He won the 3,000 meter steeplechase on Friday evening.
 
Hurdler Aidan Brownell also had a career day, taking second in both events.  In the 400, he finished in 52.53 seconds to move all the way to second in program history behind only school record Kelsey Montague, who won the race in 52.42 while competing unattached after his eligibility was exhausted a the end of the 2024-25 indoor campaign.
 
In the 110-meter hurdles, Brownell finished in 14.99 seconds to take the No. 6 spot in program history.  Logan Hafey also had a massive PR time of 15.14 seconds to move into the No. 7 spot on program history while finishing third on Friday.  Hafey also finished third in the 400 hurdles with a time of 55.49.
 
Trevor Kendall was the lone Maverick in the high jump, taking third with a clearance of 1.73 meters (5-8).
 
A pair of freshman led the Mavs in the throws as Van Chambers took second in the discus with an effort of 44.75 meters (146-10) to rank eighth in CMU history.
 
Meanwhile, Austin Schultz finished third in the shot put with a mark of 14.57 meters (47-9.75), a 13-inch improvement over his season-best effort from a week ago.  Schultz continues to rank sixth in CMU history.
 
The Mavericks will be in action again next week splitting their squad between West Texas A&M's Jo Meaker Classic & Multi in Canyon, Texas and the Colorado School of Mines' Kit Mayer Classic in Golden.