Topeka, KS- The two day affair in Topeka, KS saw several strong performances for the Cougars in the distance, sprints, and jumps sides. The weekend saw several conference qualifiers ran on the sea-level track, as the women's side gears up for the final push of the regular indoor season.

Rachel Harpt would kick things off for the women as Harpt continues to shine for the Cougars. Racing back in her home state of Kansas, Harpt would manage two record-etching races in two days. Harpt would open up in the 3k (1.86 miles) on Friday, seeded in an extremely fast heat. The sophomore would race with veteran level composure as the race opened up hot. About 800 into the race Harpt would settle in the back of the race, patiently and calmly executing the race plan. The mile mark would ring a 5:24 opening mile, with Harpt continuing to race a steady pace. The field slowly starting coming back to her, as she would maneuver her way up the race, slowly but surely. With 300 meters left, Harpt would make her move, closing extremely well for a final time of 10:09. This would be the 4^th fastest indoor 3k of all time for CCU as Rachel is running amidst a phenomenal indoor season. This 3k mark leaves her 18^th on the RMAC Indoor list, a potential race option for the Indoor Championships.

Harpt wasn't done just yet, taking on the mile less than 24 hours later. A gritty mile would see Harpt sit in the middle of the pack for most the race, running even splits for the last 6 laps of the race. A strong display of mental fortitude would land Harpt with a 5:06 mile, marking her as the 4^th fastest indoor miler CCU has seen. A more than impressive feat off of a double, Harpt sits 24^th in the extremely deep RMAC Indoor mile list. Still chasing sub 5, Harpt looks to shave off those 6 seconds for an RMAC Indoor qualifier.

The best mile on the women's side would come from none other than Kate Miller, currently the fastest miler CCU has seen behind the decorated Shannon King. Miller's race would be a crowded one as Miller elected to run the first half of the race off the back. As the race spread into a front and back pack, Miller would make a bold move lap 5, accelerating past the back pack into no man's land for laps 6 & 7. A strong kick would garner a 5:02 mile, the second fastest mile in CCU history (breaking her already second place record 5:04).

This leaves Miller 20^th, two spots out looking in on the Indoor Championships mile. Miller will continue her indoor journey working to break the 5 minute mark, continuously proving to be one of the fastest and grittiest runners for the Cougars.

The combined likes of Lorelei Daugherty and Ali Wagner would record a blazing fast 5k, taking on the grueling 25 lap race. Composure was the name of the game for the two Cougars, racing 80% of the race off the back. Wagner would attach to the back pack, with Daugherty patiently grinding 10-15 steps back from the entire field. Trusting the racing plan, and themselves, the two girls came through the first mile in 5:33&34, not moving position through 4k. Staying alert, the two worked together with 5 laps left, making a move and completely dropping the pack in the back of the race. With 400 meters to go, both would kick it into high gear, Daugherty coming through the line first at 17:37, Wagner finishing steps behind at 17:39.

This would be a mind-boggling 85 second PR from Daugherty, her race the second fastest indoor 5k CCU has ever seen. It would be a 21 second PR for Wagner, now holding the third fastest indoor 5k in the CCU record books. This lands them 14^th and 15^th on the RMAC Indoor list, which should be enough to serve as RMAC qualifiers.

The distance side wasn't the only one interested in breaking records either. Janelle DeBoer, former CCU Volleyball senior would race her first ever 400, cruising to a 59 second mark. Starting out hot and sticking to the pack the whole time, DeBoer would split a 26-32 400 meter. Only the second Cougar to break 60 indoors, this lands DeBoer 2^nd on the all time list for the Indoor 400 at CCU, her third record broken in her first 4 races.

Elana Sutton, competing at Mines in Golden, would see a historic weekend, breaking records in 4 different events as she competed in the Pentathlon. Sutton would start jumping 17'3.25" in the Long Jump, the 2^nd furthest indoor jump in CCU history. She would shatter the school indoor High-Jump record, jumping an impressive 5'25. Sutton would break her own school record in the Shot put, throwing 39'3.25". Finally Sutton would run the 4^th fastest 60H in school history, sprinting to a 10.48 mark. Currently the only Pentathlete competing at CCU, Sutton will look to continue to make strides forward, surely to break more records as she does so.

Several more girls saw fantastic races as Ava Ackley would walk away with a 3k heat win, Saige Gomez would high jump a new PR, and several more would compete well. Reflecting on the weekend, Head Coach Evan Verbal had this praise for the women's side –

" This was absolutely a breakthrough weekend for our women's team. We saw many PR's, heat wins, and a lot of maturity in the racing environment. A lot of our ladies running the 3k and 5k came through the first mile of their races not far off their mile personal best. On the sprints and jumps side, Janelle, Siage, Ella, and Elana all had good weekends. We need to keep building off this momentum."

The Cougars are back in action this weekend at CU Boulder, looking to carry the momentum as the women's side collectively continues producing results, top to bottom.