GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.— The Colorado Mesa University track and field teams received record-setting javelin throw efforts from
Kaiya Graves and
Izaak Siefken and won all six events that they entered as the Mavericks got the 2026 outdoor season off to a fine start on Thursday during the first day of the Maverick Early Bird Open.
Graves smashed her own school record in the women's half of the event with a fifth-round throw of 43.56 meters (142 feet, 11 inches), which also surpassed the NCAA Division II Championship provisional qualifying standard. She had three throws over 40 meters and two that surpassed her former Maverick record of 40.91 meters (134-3) set two years ago as a freshman.
Siefken, who smashed his the Maverick record 13 days ago in California, took down the CMU Track & Field Complex standard by seven feet with a throw of 64.70 meters (212-3) as he won the event by nearly 30 feet. The former facility record of 62.56 meters (205-3) was set in 2024 by UCCS's Sawyer Christopher.
Freshman teammate
Asa Keim also had an impressive debut, taking second with a throw of 55.66 meters (182-7), which puts him seventh in CMU history.
Earlier, the Mavericks swept the weight throw events as
Kaiden Major claimed victory in the men's event with a fifth-round and career-best effort of 48.78 meters (160-0) after
Van Chambers had taken the lead in the fourth round. Chambers ended up second at 48.25 meters (158-4) while
Cain Trimble set a career-best of 44.72 meters (146-9) to finish fifth. The Mavs'
Austin Schultz also had a personal-best of 44.11 meters (144-9) and placed sixth.
On the women's side,
Augustine Hancock, the Mavs' record holder, 2024 RMAC Champion and NCAA Championship qualifier, got her senior season off to a solid start, winning Thursday's competition with a heave of 51.35 (168-6) as all four of her legal throws were superior to second place Haylee Eacret of Western Colorado, who had a throw of 45.62 meters (149-9).
Meanwhile, CMU's
Aaliyah Bos also finished fifth at 40.43 meters (132-8) despite passing on her final four attempts.
Kendra Ritzmann also made her javelin throwing debut and placed fourth in the women's competition with an effort of 34.71 meters (113-11) to take the No. 9 spot in program history.
Kylie Mayer was right behind in fifth with an effort of 33.66 meters (110-5).
The Mavs also fared well in the long jump as
Emily Hruby and
Waycee Harvey both matched their overall career bests while setting new outdoor bests. Hruby claimed the win at 5.39 meters (17-8.25) to win by a centimeter over Harvey, who jumped 5.38 meters (17-7.75). Ritzmann also had another fourth place finish at 5.18 meters (17-0).
In the men's long jump,
Antone Higgs opened up the campaign with a mark of 7.16 meters (23-6) after redshirting during the indoor season. He is a 2-time NCAA Championship qualifier.
Two Maverick freshman, competing unattached took second and third while
Hayden Moreno finished fourth at 6.88 meters (22-6.75).
Friday's portion of the meet will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the women's 5,000 meters. The discus throw competitions will open the field event slate at 10:30 a.m. The bulk of the track schedule then begins at 12:30 p.m. with races running until about 4 p.m.
