Rams Set the Tone on Day One

CLOVIS, Calif. – Colorado State track and field started strong at the 2026 Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday, notching multiple podiums and building a lead in the team scores of both the men's and women's competitions.

Both squads finished the day with 35 points. CSU collected a total of six medals, with Kajsa Borrman being the sole gold medalist as she defended her title in the women's hammer throw.

Setting a Golden Standard
The MW Championships are a three-day grind; in an event that stretches such a long period of time, the importance of a strong start can sometimes be overlooked. For redshirt sophomore Borrman, she capitalized on the opportunity to kick things off by defending her gold medal in the women's hammer throw with a monster mark of 66.12 meters/216-feet-11.

"I do love those moments, it sets the tone for the rest of the team," Borrman said. "I really want to inspire the rest of my teammates, like Makayla (Long) who had a huge PR and placed way higher than she was projected."

This year's title looked a little different than the Loveland native's last. At the 2025 championships, Borrman fouled on her first two throws which put major pressure on her third in order to advance to the finals. This year, Borrman delivered a 63.30m/207-8 strike right off the bat, freeing her up to go big as the event progressed.

"I think it was a huge weight off my chest," Borrman said. "I think my coach would say the same thing, and even my mom. That was her plan." Her mother being CSU legend Shelly Greathouse-Borrman, of course.

Not a bad plan to follow.

Kajsa's first mark had her on top from start to finish, giving her the ability to go for bigger. A trio of scratches followed – most by her choice – but the Ram extended her lead on the fifth attempt with the winning mark. Capitalizing on her teammate's momentum, Long put on a show with her final throw as she went 60.29m/197-9, her first time reaching the 60-meter mark. That was good for a top 10 program mark, a silver medal and eight of the Rams' first 25 points of the meet.

BorrmanLong

Late Night Points
The projections said Colorado State wasn't supposed to score any points in the men's 10,000. Chris Henry and Ryan Schumacher said they didn't care.

The Ram duo delivered an inspiring performance in the last race of the day, with Henry (29:57.82) surging across the line in fourth and Schumacher (30:01.93) stealing a point in eighth. The pair capture six crucial points for the CSU team, even if they weren't added into the projections.

Henry, whose career has been up and down over the past few seasons, was thankful just to make the meet roster, let alone finish near the podium.

"It's incredible. I feel like my last couple of meets have been really tough. The last time I was here I was coming off of a really bad sickness and had a horrible meet. Last year I didn't even make the outdoor squad. So it's just so rewarding to come back and have a good race, do what we wanted to do, have Ryan run with me the whole time and have him score. We've been dreaming about this all year."

The pair kept in stride with each other throughout the race, jockeying for position among the group. With just a handful of laps remaining, Henry tapped Shumacher on the back as if to signal a move. Then they hit the gas.

"We live together. We probably spend eight hours a day watching TV together. We just have the connection. He tapped me earlier in the race when I was kind of fading and got me re-engaged. I saw that the Air Force guy in front of us was slowing and knew it was now or never. So I just tapped him and he went with me."

For distance coach Kelly Hart, that small moment was the encapsulation of something she's been teaching her team throughout the season.

"We talk about a lot in racing that if at any point you start doubting yourself, focus on just helping your teammate for as long as you can and take the attention off yourself. For those two, they're just such team guys that the moment they think about each other the easier it is for them to keep pushing."

HenrySchumacher

The Boys Double Podium
The men's quest for a second-consecutive conference sweep got off to a good start thanks to the hammer throw crew. The Rams were projected to secure three of the top four spots entering the day, and their consistency showed as they delivered on the expectations.

Adam Hellbom was the leader for CSU, logging a 66.02/216-7 to comfortably secure a silver medal – the second podium of the young sophomore's career. He was joined on the stand by teammate Leonardo Ramos, who earned himself a bronze medal. Kyle Bigley added points with a fourth-place finish, rounding out a 19-point haul to begin the Rams' journey.

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Freshmen Capture Bronze
Colorado State had a pair of freshmen claim bronze in their respective javelin competitions, with Austin Shaffer doing so for the men while Jet Van Der Heijden held down her side for the women.

Van Der Heijden started slowly, easing into things with her first two throws before qualifying for the finals on the back of her third attempt. The Dutchwomen put herself in podium position on her fourth throw with mark of 48.53m/159-2, and further solidified her standing with a final throw of 48.82m/160-2 for her first career medal.

Shaffer was a similar story as his best mark also came on his final throw of the day. After an opening throw of 60.35m/198-0, Shaffer took his time before unleashing a 60.61m/198-10 finale, cementing a bronze-medal finish and big points for the Rams.

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Decathlon Day 1
The decathlon presents a prime opportunity for points as the field consists of just seven competitors, three of which are Rams. Leading the charge for CSU is Mateo Munoz, who is competing in his first decathlon since the 2023 outdoor conference championships.

Munoz got as good of a start as he could ask for, setting a lifetime best in the 100 with a time of 10.64, placing runner up in the event by a mere 0.01 seconds. He followed that up with personal records in the shot put (13.61m) and high jump (1.87m) to further establish his lead, finishing the day with 3,904 points.

Joining the push is Zach Sell, who ended the day in third place on 3,632 points thanks to a PR in the shot put (13.70m). Rounding out the lineup for the Rams was Joe Probst, who finished the day on 3,212 points.

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Moving On
Colorado State has several runners qualify for Saturday's finals, including a core group from the men's 400 meter hurdles. After having four athlete score in the event in 2025, the same number of Rams ran times fit for the finale in 2026.

Senior Carsen Bruns was the leader of the pack with a blistering 51.94 which was the second-fastest time in the field. Just behind him was Trenton Givens who clocked a 52.28 for the third-quickest qualifying time. Freshman Owen Langdon (52.89) punched his ticket to the finals, as did Jack Wetterling who rounded out the quartet with a 53.36.

On the women's side, CSU saw two runners make it to the finals in Grace Lanfear (59.60) and Neya Jamison (59.86). Also qualifying for the final in his event was Trent Nosky who will represent the Green & Gold in the 800 on Saturday.

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Up Next
Day two of the MW Outdoor Track & Field Championships begins tomorrow morning with the multi events taking the stage first at 10:30 a.m. MT. Events can be streamed on the Mountain West Network.

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Players Mentioned

Kyle Bigley

Kajsa Borrman

Carsen Bruns

Trenton Givens

Adam Hellbom

Chris Henry

Neya Jamison

Grace Lanfear

Owen Langdon

Mateo Munoz

Trent Nosky

Joe Probst

Leonardo Ramos

Ryan Schumacher

Zach Sell

Austin Shaffer

Jet Van Der Heijden

Jack Wetterling