GOLDEN, CO- The Indoor Track & Field season began on December 2 as the Cougars headed to nearby Golden to take part in the Mines Alumni Classic. CCU got the season underway with a number of strong performances as they gear up for the new year.

On the women's side, Hannah George, Tara Smoker and Madeline Schmeling all took part in the 60m, posting times of 7.83, 7.95 and 8.25 respectively. George broke her previous school record of 7.91 with the run to place herself with the top 4 times in the 60m in the record books. Smoker also ran in the 400m, claiming a strong second place finish with a run of 59.91. Eight runners for the Cougars ran in the mile, and Paige Tack led the pack with a third place finish on a time of 5:20.06. Beth Pierantoni, Alayna Wallace, Kaylie Bookout, Maleah Wardlaw, Benisa Ellis, Anna McLaughlin and Emma Flowers all competed in the competitive mile race. Ashley Vil competed in the triple jump, posting a mark of 11.31m to start the season strong. Freshman Elana Sutton made her collegiate debut in the shot put, launching a distance of 10.49m. 

For the men, Seth Nowlin, Jonah Beard and Paul Gibas started with the 60m, running times of 7.28, 7.33 and 7.45. Gabe Ring and Beard took part in the 400m, and Ring impressed by taking fourth with a time of 53.27. Beard followed with a run of 56.63. Jacob Marker performed well in the 800m race, running a time of 2:01.14. The mile saw a number of CCU runners compete, and Tate Fletcher paced his team with a fourth place run of 4:37.62. Sam Schwarting, Jonathan Holloway, Kale Edmonds, Ethan Wampler and Mason Gansz took part in the difficult mile for their team. Alex Vance highlighted the day with a first place finish in the 5000m, winning the race with a strong run of 14:53.29. 

A pair of student-athletes headed to Boston to compete in the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener as Shannon King and Josh Pierantoni traveled east. King took part in the 5000m, shattering the school record with a run of 16:47.90. Pierantoni ran in the 5000m as well, and he smashed his own school record in the event with a blazing fast time of 13:57.65 to break his previous record by over 40 seconds. 

After a strong start to the season, the Cougars will be back in action for the last time in 2023 as they head to Colorado Springs December 8-9 to take part in the UCCS Pre-Holiday Invite.