Fort Collins native Gabi McDonald powers CSU women to MW track and field title
The domination of the Colorado State track and field program continued this week with another big showing at the Mountain West meet.
The CSU women followed up their indoor season title with the outdoor championship. CSU finished with 158.4 points, more than 15 clear of second-place San Diego State (143.2).
The CSU men took second with 170.5, behind champion Air Force (237.5).
CSU athletes combined for nine individual championships in the meet. Here is a look at the winning performances from the meet.
Top individual honors
Most Outstanding Performer — In a weekend full of highlights for the Rams, Fort Collins native Gabi McDonald took the top honors after an emphatic performance in the throws as she was named the Outdoor Women's Most Outstanding Performer.
The Rocky Mountain High School graduate won the discus Saturday with a throw of 59.75 meters, which not only won the meet but claimed the No. 6 spot in the nation and No. 27 in the world in the event. The mark qualifies her for the NCAA Regionals in two weeks and as an automatic qualifier for the USA Track and Field Championships in Oregon in July.
On Friday, McDonald won the shot put with a top mark of 17.17 meters. She also placed fifth in the hammer throw and racked up 25 total points for the team.
Coach of the Year — Brian Bedard was named the Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year, a honor he also earned in the indoor season. CSU has now won 16 Mountain West titles in his 17 years as a coach.
"At the end of it, I'm always just so impressed with just how freaking hard it is. It's hard to win championships," Bedard said on CSURams.com. "A lot of things have to go well, and you have to have the right leadership on your team and then it all has to line up for you so I'm just in awe of how hard it is every time a team is able to do it."
All the winners
Here is a look at all the individual events won by CSU athletes at the meet.
Gabi McDonald — Winner in the women's shot put (17.17 meters) and discus (59.75 meters).
Sharde Johnson — Winner in the women's high jump at 1.73 meters.
Sarah Carter — Winner in the women's 10,000 meter-run with a time of 34:09.94.
Allam Bushara — The Fort Collins High School graduate won the men's triple jump at 15.79 meters.
Drew Thompson — Winner in the men's decathlon with 7,338 points.
Mariano Kis — Winner in the men's shot put at 18.27 meters.
Jackson Morris — Winner in the men's javelin with a throw of 70.45 meters.
Mason Brown — Winner in the men's 10,000 meter run with a time of 29:57.54.
Next up
Several Rams will compete in the NCAA Regional meet in Sacramento, California on May 24-27. Qualifiers will be officially finalized soon once all conference meets are finished to see which individual rankings qualify.
Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on Twitter and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Top Colorado State performances from Mountain West-winning track meet
