GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University Mavericks will begin their outdoor track & field season at home, hosting the Maverick Early Bird Open on Thursday and Friday at the CMU Track & Field Complex.
The Mavericks will compete against teams from Fort Lewis College, UCCS and Western Colorado University plus a handful of unattached athletes at the 2-day meet, which will feature a slate of eight field events on Thursday, according to the revised and finalized schedule released on Wednesday. As can be seen on the schedule, events will begin at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
On Friday, the women's 5,000 meters will be run at 9:30 a.m. There will not be men's 5K. Field events will resume at 10:30 a.m. while the 4x100-meter relays will commence the heart of the track schedule at 12:30 p.m. The meet is expected to run until about 4 p.m.
Live results will be available throughout the meet at this link.
Daily Recaps will be posted on
www.cmumavericks.com each evening.
Approximately 170 athletes will compete, with nearly half of them coming from the Maverick program.
Indoor Recap
The Mavericks are coming off a solid indoor track & field season.
The Maverick men finished third as a team at the RMAC Championships, less than three weeks ago on Feb. 27-28 in Gunnison. They scored 65 team points The CMU women tied for sixth with 58 points.
Teo Casados (60m) and
Joseph Randolph (200m) claimed titles while
Marik Cummings, who took second in the 60 meters, and
Asa Keim, who finished third in the pole vault, also claimed podium spots.
Casados and Randolph then represented the Mavs in the 200 as last weekend's NCAA Division II Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Casados claimed seventh place and earned first team all-America honors while Randolph was originally advanced to the final but was later disqualified for a lane violation after a protest.
Throughout the season, the Maverick men broke five school-records with Casados (6.69, 60m), Randoph (20.92, 200m),
Vasileios Salpas (1:50.66, 800),
Clayton Wilson (8:16.94, 3K) and
Van Chambers (18.58m/60-11.5, Weight Throw) all setting new Maverick records.
The Mavs also combined for five USTFCCCA All-South Central Region honors as Casados was recognized in both the 60 and 200 meters while Randloph and Chambers earned the honors with their aforementioned marks. Freshman
Solomon Griffen was also recognized as the region's top performer in the 60-meter hurdles with his RMAC Championship preliminary round time of 7.93 seconds, second fastest in school history.
On the women's side,
Kammi Merritt took second in the 400 meters at the RMAC Championships while Hannah Schisller (200) and
Megan Hodges (3K) both claimed the bronze medal in their respective events.
Merritt and Hodges were also a part of a school-record smashing effort in the distance medley relay alongside
Brooke Miller and
Jordan Staniszewski in the distance medley relay at the GVSU Big Meet in mid-February.
The Mav women did not have any all-region honorees or national championship qualifiers but did have three individuals and the distance medley relay all set NCAA Division II Championship provisional qualifying marks that ended up in the top 40 on the season-long national performance list.
Massive Early Start
Maverick redshirt senior
Izaak Siefken had a massive mark in the javelin throw as he got the outdoor season off to an early and flying start. He and throws coach
Jay Shuman made the trip to Long Beach, California on Mar. 6 for Long Beach State's Beach Opener.
There, he bested the 18-man field, which included six NCAA Division I athletes, with a heave of 68.58 meters (225 feet, 0 inches) to smash his own school record by more than 12 feet.
Siefken's throw also ranks him second on the early season NCAA Division II performers list and will almost certainly qualify him for the national meet in May. His mark would have ranked him tenth on last year's final national qualification list.
The Broomfield, Colorado native is also the defending RMAC Champion in the event.
Record-Holding Roster
The Mavericks have a multitude of school record holders on their 2026 roster, who will look to raise their marks even more this season.
On the women's side, the Mavs' current record holders in six events return to this year's roster. That list includes
Jordan Burnett (400),
Brooke Miller (800),
Kira MacGill (5,000),
Augustine Hancock (Hammer Throw) and
Kaiya Graves (Javelin Throw). Three of the four women who were on the 4x100-meter relay record setting team (
Sylvia Johansen,
Kammi Merritt,
Gaby Horton) at the 2025 RMAC Outdoor Championships also return.
On the men's side, the returning record holder list includes
Teo Casados (100),
Justin Blanton (400) and
Izaak Siefken (Javelin Throw). Three of the four legs of the 4x100-meter relay record team in
Amaris Mora,
Marik Cummings and Casados also return. Blanton and Casados also helped the Mavs set the 4x400-meter relay record in 2024.
Entries
The Mavericks have a large squad of 70 athletes (37 men, 33 women) entered to represent the team in the meet and will be represented in 31 (15 men's, 16 women's) of the 35 total events.
All of the Mavericks' entries are listed below.
Additionally, the Mavericks will have several other rostered athletes who will be competing unattached throughout the week.
The complete heat/flight sheets, subject to change,
can be seen here.
Men (37 Athletes, 67 Entries)
100m (5):
Justin Blanton,
Marik Cummings,
Antone Higgs,
Alonzo Leiba,
Amaris Mora
200m (7):
Jackson Berninger, Blanton,
Teo Casados, Cummings, Leiba, Mora,
Joseph Randolph
400m (3): Berninger,
Asa Keim,
Hayden Moreno
800m (9):
Jackson Baker,
Chase Brown,
Edgar Hernandez,
John McGill,
Peter Leary,
Jack Singleton,
Jayden Thulson,
Kyle Towne,
Winter Whittle
1500m (9): Baker, Brown,
Quintin Collins,
Dillon Elliott,
Owen Frank, Leary,
Evan Morrison,
Ryan O'Loughlin,
Alex Spink
110m Hurdles (4):
Aidan Brownell,
AJ Iarusso, Keim,
Trevor Kendall
400m Hurdles (2): Brownell,
Logan Hafey
4x100m Relay: 1 Team
4x400m Relay: 3 Teams
Long Jump (3): Higgs, Keim, Moreno
Triple Jump (2):
Salem Brunk, Higgs
Discus Throw (6):
Van Chambers,
Dillon Davis,
Kannon Garrettson,
Kaiden Major,
Austin Schultz,
Cain Trimble
Hammer Throw (6): Chambers, Davis, Garrettson, Major, Schultz, Trimble
Javelin Throw (2): Keim,
Izaak Siefken
Shot Put (5): Chambers, Davis, Major, Schultz, Trimble
Women (33 Athletes, 59 Entries)
100m (2):
Sylvia Johansen,
Hannah Schissler
200m (7):
Elaina Arcand, Johansen,
Olivia Langner,
Atahlia Mills,
Kaitlyn Pearson, Schissler,
Abby Varner
400m (3): Arcand,
Waycee Harvey, Varner
800m (1):
Gianna Kirking
1500m (9):
Quin Dedrick,
Lauren Hodges,
Megan Hodges,
Wehazit Kelati,
Kate Linstedt,
Autumn McQuitty,
Brooke Miller,
Shirley Weaver,
Jordan Staniszewski
100m Hurdles (4):
Rimari Facey, Mills, Pearson,
Jessie Schaffer
400m Hurdles (5): Facey,
Emily Fowler, Langner,
Kammi Merritt, Schaffer
4x100m Relay: 1 Team
4x400m Relay: 1 Team
High Jump (3):
Kaelea Gibson, Mills, Pearson
Long Jump (3): Harvey,
Emily Hruby,
Kendra Ritzmann
Triple Jump (2):
Addy Kirkpatrick, Ritzmann
Discus Throw (7):
Aaliyah Bos,
Kaiya Graves,
Augustine Hancock,
Elly Thiem,
Kylie Mayer,
Jaylynn Morgan,
Marlee Morris
Hammer Throw (4): Bos, Hancock, Morgan, Thiem
Javelin Throw (5): Graves, Mayer, Morris, Pearson, Ritzmann
Shot Put (2): Bos, Thiem
Future Schedule
The Mavericks will be on the road next week competing at CSU Pueblo's Chuck Hearing Invitational on Mar. 27-28.
The Mavs will then host the High Desert Dental Maverick Invite on Apr. 2-3 while also sending a few athletes to that weekend's Texas Relays.
On Apr. 10-11, the Mavs will be at the Kit Mayer Invite in Golden before a smaller contingent will head to the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California on the following weekend (Apr. 16-18).
Qualifying athletes will then compete in the RMAC Championships, which will be contested from Apr. 24-26 in Pueblo.
The Mavs will also co-host the Western Slope Conversion Classic on May 2 and plans to send some athletes to the Franson Last Chance Meet in Azusa from May 7-9, a last chance to qualify for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships, which will be contested from May 21-23 in Emporia, Kansas.
Colorado Mesa turns 100
The CMU Century Celebration stands as the cornerstone of Colorado Mesa University's year-long centennial celebration. This ambitious initiative unites our community in honoring a rich heritage while boldly envisioning the next hundred years of academic excellence.
Led by the Steering Committee and six specialized sub-committees, we're orchestrating a transformative experience that will resonate through generations. Each committee brings unique expertise to create an unforgettable commemoration of our past, present and future.
To learn more about Colorado Mesa's 100-year celebration, visit
cmucentury.com.
