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

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FRESNO, Calif. – The Colorado State women's track and field team will return to Fort Collins as the 2023 Outdoor Track and Field Mountain West Champions, defending their title from the indoor season as the Rams finished day three of the conference championship meet with 158.40 points, edging out the San Diego State Aztecs by 15.20 points for the title. The CSU men finished second for their second consecutive outdoor season, being edged out by the Air Force Academy Falcons.

With the Rams team claiming its second trophy of 2023, Head Coach Brian Bedard also won his second trophy of the year being crowned the 2023 Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year after receiving the same award during the indoor season back in February.

Bedard, who now boasts 16 Mountain West Championships across his 17 years as the leader of the track and field program shared what helps set apart championships from one another after the Rams add another championship to the trophy case.

"Probably moments. Particular athletes and special moments where they just exceed your expectations and just do some jaw-dropping things is what helps set them apart," Bedard said.

"At the end of it, I'm always just so impressed with just how freaking hard it is. It's hard to win championships. A lot of things have to go well, and you have to have the right leadership on your team and then it all has to line up for you so I'm just in awe of how hard it is every time a team is able to do it."

Championship Saturday started out with momentum in favor of the Rams as Gabi McDonald won her second throwing event of the championship meet in the women's discus. With a huge throw of 59.75 meters, McDonald shattered her PR, won the event, claimed the No. 6 spot in the nation and No. 27 spot in the world. She will take her mark into NCAA Regionals in two weeks as well as being an automatic qualifier for the USA Track and Field Championships taking place in Eugene, Oregon July 6-9.

Before the women's team was announced as the 2023 Champions, McDonald was recognized as the 2023 Outdoor Women's Most Outstanding Performer of the Meet after she totaled 25 points individually, winning both the women's shot put and discus while placing fifth in the women's hammer throw.

"She's just competing with a lot of confidence right now and she has proven again and again that no moment is too big for her right now." Bedard said. "Gabi is competing furiously and enjoying what she's doing which is just helping things go really well for her."

The Ram's women team also saw point production in the women's discus from Michaela Hawkins who placed second, Klaire Kovatch who placed fifth and Mya Lesnar who placed sixth, totally 25 points from the event.

Sharde Johnson, the sixth place finisher in the women's heptathlon Friday afternoon, returned to action Saturday in the open high jump and the former DIII National Champion did not disappoint. Johnson won the event clearing 1.73 meters with fellow heptathlon finisher Lexie Keller also scoring points for the Rams with a fourth place finish clearing 1.68 meters.

In the men's discus, Jackson Morris followed up his Thursday night win in the javelin throw with a second place finish in the men's discus, finishing the day with a top mark of 55.81. Junior Max Christenberry also scored points for the Rams men's team, placing fourth in the men's discus with a personal best mark of 54.28 meters.

Continuing the Rams' dominance in field events, 2023 Mountain West Indoor triple jump champion Allam Bushara defended his crown in the triple jump with a mark of 15.79 meters Saturday afternoon. His mark also broke the facility record at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Moving to the track, the Colorado State women's team clinched the team victory for the Rams in the second to last event of the championship meet, the women's 5,000 meter run, as Lauren Neugeboren and Claire Hengesbaugh both scored points for the Rams placing fourth and fifth respectively. The celebration began to take place at Veterans Memorial Stadium, but Colorado State still had one more event to run, the women's 4x400 meter relay.

Already clinching the team championship, the Colorado State women's 4x400 meter relay team consisted of, yet again, Sharde Johnson, Mikayla Williams, Yolonda Johnson and senior Lexie Keller. Placing seventh in the event, the bigger story behind the Rams' victory-lap event surrounded Keller.

The three-time All-American competed in a total of 11 events during the championship meet as the fifth-year senior got to start the meet for the Rams in the women's heptathlon and end the meet for Colorado State running the anchor leg in the final relay. While Lexie will participate in the NCAA Regionals meet in two weeks, her Mountain West career came to a sweet close as the Rams won their opening heat with a time of 3:44.37 seconds and Keller got to cross the final finish line for Colorado State.

"Lexie is a servant leader to the team. She'll do anything she can to help us win and that's how she's been her whole career. We just kind of wanted to give her that exclamation point to end her career." Bedard said. "What a legacy she's going to leave. I have a lot of great memories and watching her grown through the development here and the way she has just really bought into the training and the coaching and to see her growth from the start up to now is just a real testament towards what we are trying to do here at CSU."

Colorado State will now wait on the results from conference championships meets across the country to see where individual Rams fall among the nation's rankings and which of them have earned a bid to the NCAA Regional Meet taking place in Sacramento, California, May 24-27.

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