FORT COLLINS, Colo. (March 29, 2025) – The University of Wyoming track and field program saw five first-place finishes, 25 podium finishes, 18 personal bests and six Top-10 school marks in the first outdoor meet of the season at the Jack Christiansen Invitational, Friday and Saturday. The meet was called off after a lengthy lighting delay.

Senior distance runner Mason Norman, in his first 1,500 meters, set the No. 3 program time with a first-place finish of 3:43.76.

Two other Cowboys, juniors Ryker Holtzen and Jacob White, entered the record book with personal-best finishes of 3:45.04 (No. 5) and 3:45.32 (No. 7), respectively.

Overall, in the men's 1,500 meters, the Cowboys finished 1-4 with six in the Top-10 and four personal bests.

The women's 1,500 meters also had a Top-10 program finish. Senior distance runner Kylie Simshauser ran to fourth with an altitude-adjusted time of 4:26.79, good for No. 9 in the record book. Senior Abigail Whitman also posted a personal best with her seventh-place finish of 4:38.83.

Cowgirls finished second and third in the 5,000 meters with seniors Leah Christians finishing second with a time of 17:02.27 and Nina Zraik coming in third with a personal-best time of 17:08.88, both altitude converted.

Sophomore Jake Bach took third in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:32.92 while sophomore Nolan Hoffman finished with a personal best, crossing the line at 15:35.05 for ninth.

In the women's 800 meters, junior Libby Berryhill-Worshek had the top Cowgirl finish with an altitude-converted time of 2:12.67. The Cowboys closed the distance events with junior Tristan Knueppel winning with a time of 1:53.69 and junior Oscar Goll taking third with a personal-best time of 1:59.54.

Freshman Megan Witkiewicz excelled in her first 100-meter dash, crossing the line third with a time of 12.24. Two other Cowgirls, senior Joan Easter and junior Faith Jehu both set personal bests with times of 12.41 and 12.82, respectively.

In the men's 100 meters, junior Carter McComb took second on a personal-best time of 10.63 while freshman Bridger Norton finished 11th with a time of 11.09.

The women's 100-meter hurdles saw three Cowgirls finish in the Top-10. Freshman Carly Norman took fifth with a time of 15.07, freshman Avery Navest ran to seventh in 15.36 and freshman Rylie Alberts came in ninth with a time of 15.47.

Jaheim Ferguson was the only Cowboy in the 110-meter hurdles and took third with a time of 14.42.

The men's 400 meters added two Top-10 school times with sophomore Cody Hape finishing second with a time of 47.39 (No. 7) and freshman Bradley Ekstrom entering the record book with a third-place time of 47.70 (No. 9).

For the women, sophomore Isabelle Harvey and freshman Madeline Thorne finished 1-2 in the 400 meters with times of 57.29 and 57.54, respectively.

The only Wyoming relay event to end with a finish was the men's 4x100-meter relay. Sophomore Christian Edwards, Norton, freshman Logan Brown and McComb took third with their time of 41.14.

FIELD EVENTS
On Friday, the men's and women's hammer throw took place. While the men didn't record a mark, the women took fourth and fifth. Junior Kaitlyn Gallo finished in fourth with a throw of 173' 0 1/4" (52.74 meters) while senior Isabelle Reimann came in fifth with her mark of 171' 9 1/4" (52.36 meters).

In the men's shot put, junior Cam Burkett took first with his throw of 60' 9" (18.52 meters). Freshman Charles LaFore finished in third with his best throw landing at 56' 8 1/4" (17.28 meters). Other finishers were junior Gage Griffith with a fifth-place throw of 50' 9 1/4" (15.48 meters) and freshman Quinn Lindsay finishing 10th with a mark of 45' 11 1/2" (14.01 meters).

Two Cowgirls competed in the women's shot put. Sophomore Kais Kimuli took third with her throw of 45' 10 3/4" (13.99 meters) while senior Allyson Fertig – yes, that Allyson Fertig – came in sixth in her first collegiate track and field meet with a mark of 42' 4 1/2" (12.92 meters). Fertig joins the team following a MW Player of the Year season for Cowgirl Basketball. She previously won two Wyoming 3A high school shot put titles in 2019 and 2021.

The last throws event for Wyoming was an outdoor season exclusive. The men's discus throw added another podium finish with Lindsay taking second with a throw of 161' 5" (49.20 meters). Lafore took fourth with a mark of 157' 10" (48.11 meters) while Griffith finished seventh with a throw of 147' 11 3/4" (45.11 meters).

In the women's high jump, freshman Koi Adderley jumped to fourth with a clearance of 5' 5 1/4" (1.66 meters). Navest took eighth with a height of 5' 1 1/4" (1.56 meters).

Cowboys all finished in the Top-5 of the long jump. Senior Kareem Mersal took second with a distance of 23' 1 1/2" (7.05 meters), the best wind legal jump. Junior Remar Pitter came in third with his jump of 23' 0 1/4" (7.02 meters) while sophomore Edwards finished fifth with a leap of 22' 8 1/4" (6.92 meters).

In the women's long jump, freshman Taliah Morris posted a huge personal best of 20' 5 1/2" (6.24 meters), good for No. 4 in program history. Freshman Melody Zumbrunnen also finished with a personal best of 17' 1 1/2" (5.22 meters).

The men's triple jump welcomed back senior Jefferson Danso as he took third with a jump of 47' 2" (14.38 meters).

In the last event that could be scored before a weather delay, junior Elayna Chafee finished second in the triple jump with her leap of 38' 9 1/2" (11.83 meters).

UP NEXT
Wyoming will split competitors at the Stanford Invite in Palo Alto, Calif, on April 4, and the Jerry Quiller Classic in Boulder, Colo., on April 4-5.

Stay up to date with Wyoming track & field by following @wyo_track on X and Instagram.