PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo continued action here Friday in the 2023 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.

In Friday's second day of action, the Pack had five student-athletes (three women, two men) competing in three different events.

The Pack got the day started with sophomore Katherine Higgins (Mead, Colo./Ponderosa) finishing in 13th place in the women's discus with a mark of 44.74 meters (146-9). The 13th place mark was just shy of Higgins earning Second-Team All-American honors. The top eight finishers in an event earn first team All-America accolades, while 9-12 finishers earn second team All-America status.

Higgins will compete in the shot put on Saturday as she enters that event ranked fifth nationally with a season-best and school record mark of 15.45 meters at the CSU Pueblo Open on April 1.

The second event that the Pack competed in on Friday was the high jump as sophomore Mikayla Jones (Aurora, Colo./Vista Peak Prep) finished in eighth place to earn a spot on the awards podium and achieve First-Team All-American honors. Jones finished the event with a mark of 1.71 meters (5-7.25"). Cheyenne Williamson of Saginaw Valley State, who earlier on Friday became the first-ever three-time national champion in the women's heptathlon, recorded a first-place mark of 1.77 meters (5-9.75").

CSU Pueblo also had three competitors run in the 800-meter qualifying races as the Pack women had sophomore indoor All-American Helen Braybrook (Frieston, United Kingdom/Oakham School), while the men had sophomore indoor All-American Reece Sharman-Newell (Hampshire, England) and junior Kaleb Tipton (Lawton, Okla./Lawton).

On the women's side, Braybrook, who entered the event with the second fastest time this season in Division II, recorded the top qualifying time in Friday's preliminaries as she recorded a time of 2:09.35. During the indoor season, Braybrook finished as the national runner-up in the 800-meters and will look to capture a national title in the outdoor final on Saturday evening at 6:55 p.m.

Meanwhile, on the men's side, both Tipton and Sharman-Newell qualified for Saturday's finals as Tipton was second in the first of three heats in the event with a time of 1:50.31, while Sharman-Newell won the third heat with a time of 1:50.33. The top finishers in each heat, plus the next three fastest times all advance to the event finals. Tipton had the No. 5 fastest qualifying time, while Sharman-Newell's time was the sixth fastest. West Texas A&M's Butare Rugenerwa posted the top qualifying time of 1:49.72 and Lake Erie's Harry Ross-Hughes had the second fastest qualifying time of 1:49.74. Sharman-Newell and Tipton will look to earn a national title in the 800-meter finals on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

With Jones' eighth-place finish in the high jump, the Pack scored one point and is now tied for 29th on the team scoring list with one point. Grand Valley State leads the women's team race with 30 points, Adams State is second with 23 points and Saginaw Valley State is third with 21 points through seven events.

On Friday, four national champions were crowned on the women's side as along with Williamson winning national titles in both the high jump and heptathlon, West Texas A&M senior Eleonora Curtabbi winning her second consecutive national title in the 3,000-Meter Steeplechase with a time of 10:22.76 and Millersvlle junior Hannah Woelfling took home the national title in the women's discus with a mark of 50.91 meters (167-0).

Meanwhile, on the men's side, Adams State leads the team competition with 26 points, while Missouri Southern is second with 25 points and Grand Valley State is third with 23 points through seven events.

The men's national champions on Friday were Angelo State junior Elvis Kryukov in the decathlon with 7,678 points, while Adams State senior Papay Glaywulu captured the national title in the triple jump with 16.15 meters (53-0). Missouri Southern junior Peyton Barton earned the national title in the discus with a mark of 58.16 meters (190-10) and Northwest Missouri State junior Reece Smith captured the national title in the 3,000-Meter Steeplechase with a time of 9:07.03.

On the third and final day of the event, the Pack will compete in four events as the Higgins and freshman Febe Wessels (Pretoria, South Africa) will participate in the women's shot put at 1:15 p.m., while seniors Justin Jenks (Helena, Mont./Helena Capital) and Nate Miller (Colorado Springs, Colo./Widefield) will compete in the men's shot put at 5:05 p.m. In addition, Braybrook will run in the finals of the women's 800 meters at 6:55 p.m., while Sharman-Newell and Tipton will run in the finals of the men's 800-meters at 7:05 p.m.

Saturday's final day of action, which begins at 11 a.m. with the women's pole vault, will include finals in the women's pole vault, men's and women's javelin, women's shot put, men's high jump, men's and women's 4-x-100 meter relay, women's triple jump, men's and women's 1,500 meters, women's 100 meter hurdles, men's 110 meter hurdles, men's and women's 400 meters, men's and women's 100 meters, men's and women's 800 meters, men's and women's 400 meter hurdles, men's and women's 200 meters, men's and women's 5,000 meters and men's and women's 4-x-400 meter relay.

Schedule of Events on Saturday, May 27 for CSU Pueblo
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. (Helen Braybrook)
Men's 800-Meter finals – 7:05 p.m. (Reese Sharman-Newell, Kaleb Tipton)