The Colorado State University Track and Field Team sent an abbreviated squad full of young multi-event athletes to compete Dec. 9-10 in the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Colorado Running Co. Invitational.

On the women’s side, the Rams sent two athletes for the pentathlon events. Colorado State’s Lexie Keller won the event with 4,137 points and finished within the top five in all five events. This included winning the shot put with a distance of 13.40 meters. 

“Especially because I chose to stay here another year … I want to put my all into it.” -Lexie Keller, graduate student 

Keller is looking to lead this CSU track team, returning for her last year of eligibility as a graduate student. Despite already holding the Colorado State women’s record in both the indoor pentathlon and the outdoor heptathlon, she still knows there is plenty for her to accomplish.

“I have a different mindset,” Keller said. “Especially because I chose to stay here another year … I want to put my all into it.”

The other pentathlon participant was freshman Tatum Bailey, who finished 12th with 3,016 points. Bailey’s highest placement came during the high jump, earning the seventh spot with a mark of 1.62 meters.

The Veteran and the Rookie finished their first pentathlon of the season!🏆#Stalwart x #CSURams pic.twitter.com/rEAeWMzf5g

— Colorado State T&F/XC (@CSUTrackFieldXC) December 10, 2022

On the men’s side, five athletes competed in the separate heptathlon events. The team was highlighted by Mauricio Galindo Vega, who finished fourth in the indoor heptathlon with a score of 5,212. Galindo Vega placed in the top 10 in six of the seven events, including a first-place finish in the shot put at 14.77 meters.

CSU had two other top-10 finishes in the heptathlon with Elijah Scott in sixth and Mateo Munoz in ninth.

Scott made his mark by finishing third in the indoor shot put and winning the high jump with a distance of 2.06 meters. Munoz, a freshman from Centennial, Colorado, found success in the pole vaulting event, as his mark of 4.40 meters earned him a fourth-place finish.

Senior Drew Thompson finished just outside the top 10, but he took home top-five finishes in the 60 meters, long jump, shot put, 60-meter hurdles and 1,000 meters. Cameron Collins finished right behind Thompson, led by a seventh-place slot in the high jump category.

After an extended winter break from competition, the team will return to the track in another Colorado meet at the CU Potts Invite in Boulder Jan. 13-14, 2023.

Reach Dylan Heinrich at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @dylanrheinrich.