3 Rams compete, earn All American at NCAA Championships

Collegian | Sophie Stern

Gabi McDonald competes in the women’s Shot Put at the Colorado Invitational at University of Colorado Boulder Jan 22. Mcdonald placed second out of 11 women with a mark of 15.31m.

Dylan Heinrich, Staff Writer
March 17, 2023

While Colorado State University only sent three athletes to the NCAA Track and Field Indoor Championships, the Rams still secured three spots on the All-American second team. 

It started on the first day of the competition on Friday, as Sarah Carter finished in ninth place in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:31. This clocked in 24 seconds behind her winning time at the Mountain West Championships, but still earned her the second-highest spot from the conference, behind only The University of New Mexico’s Gracelyn Larkin.

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That first day also involved an impressive finish from Lexie Keller, whose 4,217 points in the pentathlon earned her 10th place in the event. Similarly, this was below her 4,306-point total at the Mountain West Championships in the same building several weeks prior. But Keller hit a major milestone during the event, with a season-high in the high jump with a mark of 1.72 meters.

 

This consistency stayed true on the second day, as Gabi McDonald finished with a solid mark of 16.20 meters in the shot put.

This mark was good enough for a 12th-place finish and a spot on the second-team All-American. While once again below her Mountain West number, McDonald has now put together consecutive meets at over 15 meters. The junior hopes to build this momentum heading into the outdoor season as the indoor season has officially concluded.

Colorado State track and field will be back competing as a whole squad after the spring break at the Spank Blasing Invitational in Pueblo, Colorado, in their first outdoor meet of the season March 24-25.

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