Boston, MA – A small crew traveled to Boston, running at the David Hemery Valentine International, a historically famous and fast meet. The weekend saw two National Provisionals with strong performances across the board.

Mateo Luna, already running the season of a lifetime, only seems to know how to go faster. After a 1:51 National Provisional in the 800 and 4:04 National Provisional in the mile, Luna ran a scorching 4:02 mile on Friday morning. The race, almost a replica of his previous mile, saw the classic and unmatched Luna kick to best the majority of the field. The race, loaded with 13 competitors, saw a pedestrian start, only going through the first 200 in 32 seconds. Luna, sitting off the back of the entire pack, would find his rhythm, running 30's per lap in a composed and relaxed manor. The veteran senior would slowly move his way up the pack after several laps, moving from the back up a few spots, still sitting in the back third of the heat. Luna would go through 800 in 2:03.12, expectantly knowing what the final 800 would require. Luna would sit for two more laps, and make his move. Pouring the speed on, Luna would move up, covering his final 400 in a whopping 58 seconds. Closing in on the top pack with the race coming to an end, Luna would speed his way to a fourth place finish, flying past several runners in the last 100 meters. Luna's final time would stand at 4:02.30.

Luna's new mile leaves him 7^th on the RMAC list, and an astounding 20^th on the national list, a testimony to the incredible depth in the DII mile. This leaves Luna right on the bubble for the national race, dependent on scratches and final races in conference meets before nationals. While not guaranteed, Luna has left himself in a likely spot to try and crack 4 minutes on the national stage. Already the second fastest miler in Cougar history, Luna now sits .24 seconds away from the fastest mile in CCU history.

Zach Vance would also have a strong day in the mile, throwing down a 4:08 mile, just one second off of his PR ran at UCCS earlier in the indoor season. Vance's heat saw a crowded bunchy race, being boxed in on several occasions as the junior had to put in a lot of extra work just to move throughout traffic. This is exciting for the Cougars, a strong indicator that Vance has an even faster mile on the horizon, still sitting in the record books as the 4^th fastest miler to date.

Matt Storer would similarly have an excellent day, racing the 5k in an extremely fast heat. The grad student would come off the line guns a-blazing, rolling through the first mile at 4:24. Storer would keep the pedal to the metal, coming through the second mile in 4:30. Competing with a lot of grit, the pack would slowly pull away from Storer the last mile, an encouraging and gutsy race from the decorated veteran. Storer would come through the line with a final time of 14:03. Still sitting 17^th on the National list in the 5k with a 13:57 ran at Western, Storer will continue to gear up for the national race in Virginia Beach.

Colorado Springs, CO – The rest of the crew raced locally in the Springs at UCCS, a familiar track for the Cougars.

Tyler Scholl and Jay Wood got things kicked off for the Cougars, competing in the 5k, assistant coach Josh Pierantoni pacing the group. A perfectly executed race saw Scholl and Wood come through the first mile just under 5 flat, led by a lone UCCS runner. The pack, unflinching, would come through the second mile right on par with the first mile, roughly 4:55. The final stretch saw Scholl pull away, pumping the legs, pouring on the speed and surging past UCCS, closing extremely well for a final time of 15:17, a converted 14:32 at altitude. Wood would follow close behind with a 15:25, a 4:40 converted time.

These would serve as PR's for both runners, leaving Scholl and Wood 25^th and 35^th on the RMAC lists respectively. Scholl will be right on the bubble for the RMAC Indoor Championships, with final heat sheets released this next week.

Tyler Schwarz would crank out yet another solid 800, walking away with a dominant win Saturday afternoon. Coming through the first lap in 29 seconds sitting in third, Schwarz remained patient, running a 29 with the pack for the second lap before taking off. The move was unmatched, Schwarz gunning it at 400 meters, not only flying past the leaders, but gapping them significantly, coming through the next lap in a 28. Hanging on for the final 200, Schwarz would pull of a the win by half a second, running an incredible and unconventional negative split. With a final time of 1:58, converted 1:55 at altitude, Schwarz sits 28^th on the RMAC list. A race that scratches down quite a bit, Schwarz will eagerly await to see if its enough to race at the Indoor Championships.

Joseph Lethlean, the true freshman, had a day to remember. Lethlean ran the 3,000m (1.86 miles), throwing down the fastest every 3k from a freshman. Off the gun, Lethlean elected to calmly let the rest of the heat do the work, hanging in the middle of the pack, engulfed in the grouping of 10 different CO Mines runners. Having already ran two strong races in the past three weeks, Lethlean knew the drill and determined, executed the race plan with poise and patience. Lethlean would come through the first mile in 4:43, still waiting to strike. Several laps later, Lethlean would start the slow but grueling kick, moving past two mines runners with eyes fixed on the lead pack ahead, having significantly gapped the field. The final three laps would see everything Lethlean had, closing extremely well and just catching up to the Mines runner ahead, throwing down a, 8:49, 8:24 converted at altitude.

An extremely impressive feat for the freshman, Lethlean sits 34^th on the RMAC list, the 3k one of the most competitive fields in the RMAC. On the outdoor looking in, Lethlean will likely look to outdoor, hoping to build off of a fantastic track debut for the Australian
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Ethan Nowakowski was wrap up for the Cougars, the freshman similarly only continuing to improve. Nowakowski, coming off of a historic 60H last week would run even faster, competing in the 60H for a time of 8.50 seconds. .18 seconds faster than his last run, this serves as a PR and still the second fastest 60H in program history. This leaves Nowakowski tied for 18^th on the RMAC list, which should serve as an RMAC qualifier. A fun venue for the sprinters, Nowakowski will no doubt look to run even faster in his first ever RMAC Championships.

The Cougars look to the RMAC Indoor Championships, hosted in Gunnison, CO at the Mountaineers track, infamously located at 7,750 ft of altitude. Unpredictable at that altitude, the Cougars will look to make a statement in Division II's most competitive conference February 27th-28th.