PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo opened action in the 2023 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships here Thursday at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl with sophomore Margot Thomas-Gatel (Chapet, Ile-de-France/Notre Dame Les Oiseaux) competing in the 3,000-Meter Steeplechase.

Thomas-Gatel placed 18th in the event with a time of 11:18.52 to finish ninth in the second of two heats of the preliminaries. West Texas A&M's Elonora Curtabbi won Thomas-Gatel's heat with a time of 10:44.73, while Minnesota State's Amanda Montplaisir was second in the second heat with a time of 10:48.26.

Thomas-Gatel was the lone Pack student-athlete to compete on the first day of the outdoor national championships.

On Friday's second day of three-day event, sophomore Reece Sharman-Newell (Hampshire, England) and junior Kaleb Tipton (Lawton, Okla./Lawton) compete in the preliminaries of the 800-meter run that begins at 6:15 p.m., while sophomore Helen Braybrook (Frieston, United Kingdom/Oakham School) competes in the preliminaries of the women's 800-meter run at 6 p.m. In addition, sophomore Mikayla Jones (Aurora, Colo./Vista Peak Prep) competes in the women's high jump that begins at 4:45 p.m. and sophomore Katherine Higgins (Mead, Colo./Ponderosa) competes in the women's discus at 2 p.m.

Sharman-Newell will compete in the third of three preliminary heats and has the top qualifying mark among the 24 competitors with a 1:46.84. In addition, Braybrook enters the women's 800-meter run with the second fastest qualifying time of 2:05.95 and will compete in the third of three preliminary heats. The finals of the 800-meters are scheduled for Saturday evening.

While the Pack only had one competitor on Thursday, the action was fast and furious on the track and in the throws area as there were four men's event finals (pole vault, hammer throw, long jump, 10,000 meters) and three women's event finals (hammer throw, long jump and 10,000 meters).

On the men's side, Harding freshman Vlad Malykhin took home the national title in the pole vault with a mark of 5.45 meters (17-10.5"), while Grand Valley State senior Jacob Urban won the national title in the hammer throw with a mark of 66.05 meters (216-8), Pittsburg State sophomore Cordell Tinch, who was the national leader in the event entering the championships, took home the national title with a meet record mark of 8.16 meters (26-9.25") and Mississippi College's Jan Lukas Becker claimed the national title in the 10,000 meters with a time of 29:47.71.

For the women, Grand Valley State senior Judith Essemiah repeated as the national champion in the hammer throw with a mark 64.31 meters (211-0), while Academy of Art sophomore Marie-Jeanne Oureaga repeated as the national champion in the long jump with a mark of 6.46 meters (21-2.50") and Winona State junior Lindsey Cunningham won the national title in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 33:55.79.

In the team competition, Pittsburg State holds a slim lead through four events on the men's side with 16 points, while Missouri Southern is second with 14 points. Adams State, Harding Grand Valley State and Mississippi College are tied for third with 10 points each.

Meanwhile, on the women's side, Academy of Art, Adams State, Grand Valley State and Winona State are tied for first with 10 points through three events, while Wayne State (Neb.) is fifth with nine points. Northwest Missouri and Millersville are tied with sixth with eight points.

The second day of the championships gets underway at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, May 26 with the men's decathlon 110-meter hurlers.

Friday's second day will feature finals in the men's and women's discus, women's high jump, men's triple jump and men's and women's 3,000-meter Steeplechase.

Schedule of Events for CSU Pueblo
Friday, May 26
Women's Discus – 2 p.m. (Katherine Higgins)
Women's High Jump finals – 4:45 p.m. (Mikayla Jones)
Women's 800-meter preliminaries – 6 p.m. (Helen Braybrook)
Men's 800-meter preliminaries – 6:15 p.m. (Reece Sharman-Newell, Kaleb Tipton)

Saturday, May 27
Women's Shot Put – 1:15 p.m. (Katherine Higgins, Febe Wessels)
Men's Shot Put – 5:05 p.m. (Justin Jenks, Nate Miller)
Women's 800-Meter finals – 6:55 p.m. (TBD)
Men's 800-Meter finals – 7:05 p.m. (TBD)