Colorado State Women Win 2023 Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championship

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Colorado state women's track and field team will return to Fort Collins with a new addition to its trophy case as the Rams' women team finished day three of the 2023 Mountain West Championship meet as champions, edging New Mexico by just one point with a score of 125.5 points. The CSU men finished second for their second consecutive indoor season, being edged out by Air Force.

Although every point counted towards Colorado State's team championship, the meet truly came down to the women's 4x400 relay. The Rams took a three-point lead into the relay, the final event of the meet. New Mexico, on their home track, had the fastest time entering the race with Colorado State on the far opposite end. With the race split into three heats, it wasn't going to be head-to-head showdown, but instead the Rams would race first followed by the Lobos in the final heat of the race.

The 4x400 team for Colorado State, consisting of Neya Jamison, Makayla Williams, Yolonda Johnson and Grace Goldsworthy, ran their best time of the season, winning the first of three heats. With a small lead, the Rams knew they didn't have to top New Mexico's time, but they watched hoping that the following two heats would fall into place.

In the final heat, San Diego State's 4x400 team outran the Lobos by just under a second in a finish line surge, putting the Rams in a fifth-place finish, awarding them four points and New Mexico in a third place finish, earning only six points. The Rams had won the team championship by one point.

Before anything could be announced and before medals were handed out, the CSU fan section erupted in cheering as the final standings came across the scoreboard at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Fellow teammates yelled into the Rams' 4x400 team that they had won, and the celebration had begun.

Setting the Rams up for success in the later events was the women's 5,000-meter group led by Sarah Carter. Carter won the first gold medal of the championship in the women's 3,000-meter Friday night and it was the same story of dominance in the 5K. Hanging with the pack the whole way through, Carter found an extra kick to win both distance events of the meet with a school record setting time of 9:17.21 seconds. Lily Tomasula-Martin and Annabel Stafford both scored points in the event as well, setting the Rams up for success.

In a full team effort, eight other Rams scored point for Colorado State Saturday afternoon. Among this group, Gabi McDonald placed second in the women's shot put, setting a school record in the women's shot put with a mark of 17.55 meters. At the time, this mark also broke the previous Mountain West indoor record before UNLV's Rosa Santana took the record and the gold medal for herself. McDonald's mark also sits twelfth in the country.

Other point scorers for CSU include Celyn Stermer who placed second in the pole vault, Mya Lesnar who finished third in the woman's shot put and Jo-Anna Pinnock who took first in her first year at the Mountain West Champions.

The Rams' men's team finished second in the team standings behind Air Force with multiple Rams posting personal and season best performances throughout the meet. Saturday's medalists include:

Allam Bushara – 1^st – men's triple jump
Michael Mooney – 2^nd – men's 3,000-meter
Ryan Birkmeier – 2^nd – men's 800-meter
Mariano Kis – 2^nd – men's shot put
Ryan Blake – 3^rd – men's high jump
Germain Barnes – 3^rd – men's 60-meter hurdles

While the Rams' team indoor season will come to an end, a few Rams will wait the confirmation of their participation in the NCAA Championship Meet taking place again in Albuquerque March 10 and 11.

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