UNC TRACK EARNS EIGHT MEDALS AT BIG SKY
The University of Northern Colorado finished the Big Sky Indoor Championships with another seven medals and a few new program records.
“I’m so very proud of both of our teams in the way they gave it everything they had, and competed today to end this championship,” UNC coach Wayne Angel said in a statement. “You cannot look at the results from this meet and say that the Big Sky conference is not one of the best conferences in the NCAA, and our athletes are certainly counted among that group. It was a lot of fun to see them raise their level of performance and compete the way that they did today.
“I thought both teams fought hard and competed as I expected them to do from the first event to the last event. It says a lot about their character and mindset.”
Freshman Jerome Campbell won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.65, barely finishing behind the UNC and Big Sky Championship record he set Friday in the preliminary race.
Campbell followed that up with a silver in the 60-meter dash. He crossed the line in 6.66, resetting the program record he lowered in the prelims. Campbell finished 2/100ths of a second behind the first-place finisher.
He earned a spot in the NCAA Indoor Championship for the hurdles, the first Bear to advance to the national indoor meet in the event. Campbell is tied as the seventh-best hurdler in the country with his prelim time.
“Jerome’s performances were probably our biggest ones of the day,” Angel said. “For a freshman to come into this competition and perform that well in the 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash speaks volumes of his potential as a podium finisher at the NCAA championships.”
In the men’s 400, freshmen August Van De Weijer and Raphael Egbuchilem placed second and third, respectively. Van De Weijer recorded a time of 47.47, while Egbuchilem finished in 47.53.
The duo landed just off the podium in the 200-meter dash. Egbuchilem finished fourth, and Van De Weijer placed fifth.
Freshman distance runner Regina Mpigachai earned two medals of her own. She placed second in the women’s 800, just 2/10ths of a second behind the gold medalist.
After running nearly two and a half seconds off her personal best in the prelims, she sped things up further. Mpigachai crossed the line in 2:07.51, putting her at No. 2 in the UNC record books. Her personal best coming into the meet is now No. 4 in the Bears’ best times.
Mpigachai placed third in the women’s mile, clocking a time of 4:47.70. That was more than four seconds faster than the previous record, which she set in 2022.
Finally, the men’s relay team earned bronze in the 1,600-meter. It finished in 3:18.81.
Junior Jesse Hayward placed just off the podium in the men’s 800. His time of 1:50.89 put him in fourth, a new program record. Hayward, from Greeley, trimmed a second and a half off the former best time, which he set in 2021.
Overall, the Bears picked up nine medals at the event. The NCAA Championship is scheduled for March 11 and 12 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“We knew coming into this championship that we would have to perform at our highest level possible and that there would be little room for error,” Angel said. “That’s what makes the Big Sky Conference one of the best conferences in the country; you have to come ready to give your best at all times and in every event. We did that today and took one more step toward making Northern Colorado significant in the Big Sky and in the world of track and field.
“We had several outstanding performances this weekend. We are moving in the right direction. We will be prepared for the Big Sky Championships in three months time at home; that will be our focus. We will continue to work hard for the rest of the year, and I am confident that we will make our UNC family proud when that time comes.”
Men’s 60 hurdles: Jerome Campbell, 1st (7.65)
Men’s 60 dash: Jerome Campbell, 2nd (6.66)
Men’s 400: August Van De Weijer, 2nd (47.47); Raphael Egbuchilem, 3rd (47.53)
Women’s 800: Regina Mpigachai, 2nd (2:07.51)
Women’s mile: Regina Mpigachai, 3rd (4:47.70)
Men’s 1,600 relay: UNC, 3rd (3:18.81)
Women’s long jump: Kiana Van Haaren, 3rd (5.60 meters)