Now that the regular indoor season is over, Colorado State University’s track team will compete in the Mountain West Conference Championship meet Feb. 23-25 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With the postseason on the horizon, expect the Rams to put everything they have into qualifying for the NCAA Championship.

Rams track had an exciting indoor season with plenty of highs and lows, including some broken school records. One of the highs this season was senior Emily Chaston, who dominated her way through the competitions and made outstanding progress for the postseason ahead of her.

“I think our team is just really excited to be healthy and working together. We are really excited for this season.” –Emily Chaston, CSU distance runner

Chaston had a record-breaking run in the women’s 3,000-meter event at the Husky Invitational earlier this year. She ran the race in 9 minutes, 17.99 seconds, destroying the previous school record by almost 9 seconds. Earlier this year, Chaston talked about how exciting this season would be, which was clearly an understatement. 

“I think our team is just really excited to be healthy and working together,” Chaston said. “We are really excited for this season.”

Fifth-year senior Sarah Carter was another Ram to break a school record this season. Carter ran the women’s 5,000-meter with a time of 15:45.63, which gave her the top spot in Ram history. Carter beat the previous school record, which was held by current teammate Lily Tomasula-Martin, by 20 seconds.

If all goes well at the Mountain West Championship, the Rams will look to compete in the NCAA Championship, which takes place March 10-11 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. CSU track has had a solid indoor season, but with the outdoor season soon to come, there is still a lot of work for the Rams going forward. The outdoor track season starts March 24 at the Spank Blasing Invitational in Pueblo, Colorado.

Reach Tyler Azzaro at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @TylerAzzaro

As the indoor track season winds down, one major event remains for the Colorado State University field team. The Mountain West Track and Field Championship meet will take place Feb. 23-25 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

The Rams always turn up for the MW Championships, with the women winning the title last year and the men’s team finishing in a close second.

“I hope everyone is able to go into it feeling their best and then leave it like they gave their all,” -Michaela Hawkins, CSU thrower

Most of CSU field enters the championship with a wave of momentum, including pole vaulter Celyn Stermer. Stermer has steamrolled her way through the indoor season, setting a personal record and resetting her own CSU indoor pole vault record at 4.13 meters at the University of Colorado Boulder Potts Invitational back in January. The senior has consistently impressed all season, with three separate marks of 4 meters or higher. 

“I’ve never done a big (personal record) this early in the season,” Stermer said. “I feel like I have a bit of confidence heading into conference.”

This will be the Rams’ second trip to New Mexico this season, as the majority of the field team was there two weeks before to compete in the Don Kirby Invitational. It was a great opportunity for CSU field to test themselves against some of the top teams from across the nation, especially for sophomore Taye Raymond.

“Being able to feel the runway and how the track was picking up and know what it’s like,” Raymond said. “You can kind of visualize how conference is going to go when you’re there.”

The indoor season has continuously built up to the crescendo of the Mountain West Conference Championship. The Rams have been preparing over these past several meets and are ready to give their all to not only compete but win. Thrower Michaela Hawkins and the rest of the tight-knit group are ready to make another run at the title. 

“I hope everyone is able to go into it feeling their best and then leave it like they gave their all,” Hawkins said.

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