GUNNISON, Colo. (Dec. 11, 2021) – The Colorado State University men's and women's indoor track & field teams traveled up to 7,723 elevation and landed seven first place finishes at the Western Colorado Invite.
 
The duo Yasmine Hernandez (Gr., Johnstown, Colo.) and Hailey Streff (Gr., Madison, S.D.) snagged first and second place, respectively, in the 800m dash for the second time this season. Not only did Hernandez post the fastest time on the NCAA provisional list this season, but she also set the facility record at the Mountaineer Fieldhouse with a time of 2:12.01. Streff helped push the pace with Hernandez, finishing a second behind with a time of 2:13.08. The duo currently sits first and second in the 800m on the NCAA provisional list and second and third in the mile. 
 
 
Meanwhile, Julia Schwarzinger (Fr., Linz, Austria) kicked off her collegiate career in the 200m dash with the programs third fastest time and a first-place finish with a time of 24.87 seconds. Her time is a NCAA provisional qualifying mark that lands her third on the list this season with a converted time of 24.63 seconds. Also on the track, Claire Pauley (Jr., Arvada, Colo.) set a new facility record on the women's 5,000m as the junior crossed the finish line in 18:35.10 for a first-place finish.
 
One of the many highlights on the men's side of the day came from Carl Schmidt (Jr., Wiesbaden, Germany) who posted an 8.08 in the preliminary rounds of the men's 60m hurdles before crossing the line in the finals with a first-place finish of 8.15 seconds. The time, an NCAA provisional time, ties his fastest time this season and is two tenths of a second behind the program record (that Schmidt owns).
 
Tyrell Smith (Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) finished in second place in the 200m dash with a time of 22.04 seconds, which places him 4th on the top-10 list in CSU Pueblo history while teammate Nathaniel Richardson (Fr.) scored a point for the Pack with an eighth-place finish and a time of 23.02 seconds.
 
The ThunderWolves also have a lethal set of throwers that continue to show improvement and impress each week they compete. On the women's side, Katherine Higgins (So., Castle Rock, Colo.) threw for the programs second farthest throw in the shot put and a WCU new facility record, with a mark of 14.64 meters and is currently sixth on the NCAA provisional list this season.
 
On the men's side, Nate Miller (Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) cracked 19 meters for the second time this season in the shot put with a mark of 19.14 meters while teammate Justin Jenks (Jr., Helena, Mont.) threw for a new personal-record and finished in second place, behind Miller, with a mark of 18.88 meters. Jenks ranks second in the RMAC and the NCAA provisional list.  
 
The Pack landed Nikolaus Franzmair (Fr. Linz, Austria), Reece Sharman-Newell (Fr.), and Nate Hood (Gr., St. Davids, Grenada) with second, third, and fourth place finishes, respectively, in a tough 800m dash. Franzmair led the way with a time of 1:54.78, Sharman-Newell at 1:55.49, and Hood at 1:59.11 seconds. All three times are top 20 this year on the NCAA provisional list.
 
The ThunderWolves finished the meet with two first-place finishes from the men's and women's 4x400m relay teams. The women's relay team consisted of Schwarzinger, Hernandez, Streff, and Taylor Holland (So., Alamosa, Colo.) as they finished with a time of 3:55.35, nearly 8 seconds in front of host Western Colorado. The men's relay team consisted of Schmidt, Hood, Sharmen-Newell, and Terrel Johnson (Jr., Fountain, Colo.) as they finished with a time of 3:21.40.
 
More results from the meet can be found on the link above.
 
The ThunderWolves will be back in action on January 21, 2022, as the teams will travel up to Pittsburgh, Kansas to compete in the Rumble at the Jungle Invite hosted by Pittsburgh State. Follow along at gothunderwolves.com for more information regarding the meet.