Pueblo, CO – The Cougars opened up the Outdoor Track season in the familiar Thunderdome at CSU-Pueblo this past weekend. Several outdoor records were broken as the Cougars opened up in full stride, alongside a national provisional.

Josiah Weeda and Ethan Nowakowski, both freshman sprinters, would have historic season openers, competing in the 110m hurdles. The current CCU record standing at 16.09 would see both freshman shatter the record, now the top 2 fastest hurdlers the Cougars have seen. Weeda would come across the line first with a 14.83, now holding the current school record, with Nowakowski behind him with a 15.31. Both freshman would also run the 400H, Nowakowski leading with a 56.31 and Weeda following with a 57.23. These also serve as the 2^nd and 3^rd fastest 400H in school history, both freshman walking away with 2 records from the day.

Weeda sits 3^rd on the RMAC 110H list, with Nowakowski sitting 5^th on the list. The 400H list sees Nowakowski 7^th and Weeda 8^th. Both will look to build momentum off of the strong starts, setting new standards for the CCU sprints.

Allister McCasland made sure he would join the list among record holders leaving the track, leaving his name etched in the record books with two records of his own. McCasland would open in the 400, sprinting to a 51.13, the 5^th current fastest 400 in CCU history. Following in the 200 meter, Allister would blaze to a 22.86, the 4^th fastest 200 in school history. The back to back strong races serve as strong glimpses to the type of runner he will be for this program.

McCasland sits 23^rd on the RMAC list in the 400 meters as he will look to chip time away to compete in the RMAC Outdoor Championships.

On the distance side, Tyler Schwarz would kick things off with a strong 800. Coming off of an extremely strong indoor season, Schwarz opened the season in steady fashion, running an extremely evenly paced 800, a rare and difficult feat. Schwarz would get off the line in 4^th, coming through the first lap in a 58.3. Maintaining his position in 4^th the entire race, Schwarz would manage to close in a 59 for a final time of 1:57.4.

Converted to a 1:56.8 at altitude, Schwarz currently sits 10^th on the RMAC list as he looks to make it to the RMAC 800 race, just missing out this indoor season. After a strong indoor season, Schwarz will be one to keep an eye on as he looks to find his breakout race in the next couple months.

The majority of the men would compete in the 1500, a fast opener for the unique outdoor event. Klay Grant would lead the way for the men with a 3:59. Grant would come off of the line conservative, slowly but surely making his way up the field as he would crank out 74 second laps. As the bell would ring for the last lap, Grant would find himself packed between multiple Air Force runners, maintaining his position and closing in a 63. A 3:50 1500 runner, Grant will look to build off of the strong and smooth opener to shave off time and break his own personal best. Samuel Schwarting and Clayton Ackley would follow behind with extremely impressive races and personal bests, coming across the line in 4:01 and 4:03.

The race of the day on the distance side would come from graduate student Tyler Scholl, competing in the 3000m steeple chase. With a race plan for a steady and even race, Scholl did  just that. Getting out in 2^nd off the line, Scholl would average 74's each lap calmly and collecting moving at his own pace. After the fourth lap Scholl would pass the leader, continuously running an even pace until the last lap. Churning the legs, Scholl would manage to close his last lap in 70 seconds, flying over the Steeple smoothly the entire race. Coming across the line with a race victory and time of 9:19, Scholl finds himself in the CCU record books as the third fastest Steeplechaser the Cougars have witnessed. 

Along with the record, Scholl managed a new PR and a national provisional in the Steeplechase, the race converting to 9:06 at altitude. After the impressive race, Scholl sits 1^st on the RMAC list, looking to make his mark on the national stage in the Cougar singlet, an extremely integral addition to the Cougars this past year.

After so many strong performances, the Cougars look to continue one of the most historic track seasons CCU has seen. With a strong outdoor opener, the Cougars eagerly await their next meet on April 2^nd & 3^rd at Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction.