The Colorado Buffaloes recorded three podium finishes and a meet record on Feb. 27 during the first day of the Big 12 Indoor Championships at the Sports Performance Center in Lubbock, Texas.
The event marked a strong start for both the men’s and women’s teams, with standout performances across multiple events. Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Sean Carlson said, “I thought it was a great day from the men’s and women’s DMRs — hard-fought races. Avery setting the meet record in the prelim was impressive, and I’m excited to see what she does in the final tomorrow. Lucas had a very good day in the weight throw. The squad of men’s milers making the final along with Drew in the 1K got the first part of the job done.”
Avery Pearson led early by winning the women’s 600-yard preliminary with a meet-record time of 1:17.92, securing an automatic spot in Saturday’s final. In relay action, Riley Burkey started off for Colorado in the women’s distance medley relay (DMR), followed by Abby Miller, Pearson, and Jessie Secor. The team moved up from ninth to third place by race end, finishing with a time of 11:22.85.
Abbey Nechanicky earned Colorado’s first podium finish of the day by placing seventh in the women’s 5000 meters with a time of 16:18.86. On the men’s side, Isaiah Givens, Danny Tragarz, Drew Costelow, and Justine Kipkoech secured second place in their DMR event after moving up through each leg to finish as runners-up.
Additional highlights included TJ Hansen, Kole Mathison, and Isaiah Givens advancing to Saturday’s men’s mile final while Costelow progressed to the men’s 1000 meters final. Lucas Williams achieved a personal best in men’s weight throw but narrowly missed out on a podium spot by finishing ninth overall.
Competition is set to continue Saturday as athletes look to build on their opening-day results.
