University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Photo by: Bryson Lester
Bears Claim Four Medals on Final Day of Big Sky Champs
5/13/2023 6:30:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field, Track & Field
GREELEY, Colo. --Â On the final day of the 2023 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the Northern Colorado track and field teams earned four more podiums to increase their total to five medals during the course of the week.
After Kiana Van Haaren became the Bears' first champion on Friday, Raphael Egbuchilem followed up with a gold-medal performance of his own in the men's 400m. Egbuchilem missed the school record by less than two-tenths of a second as he placed first in the 400m with a time of 46.07.
Regina Mpigachai became UNC's only multiple medal winner at the championship meet, taking silver in the 800m and bronze in the 1500m. She crossed the line on the 800m with a time of 2:08.74, while finishing the 1500m in 4:35.28.
Greeley native, Jesse Hayward, claimed the final medal of the day for the Bears finishing third in the 800m with a time of 1:51.96.
"I thought that we had a great meet on both sides," director of track and field Wayne Angel said. "We really elevated our game this weekend. Kudos to coach Yocum on the outstanding job that he did with Steven Cross in the decathlon and Kiana Van Haaren in the long jump. Kiana started UNC off with a bang, winning the first Big Sky title of the week for the Bears. It was very exciting to watch her excel against Big Sky competition."
"From top to bottom, I thought that we did a great job competing across all event areas on Saturday. In the prelims on Friday, our athletes put themselves in a position to score well and rack up a lot of points. We scored in 10 events, and in some cases multiple times between the men and women in the same event."
 Â
"Raphael did a superb job winning the 400m, and he barely missing the school record. Regina did a great job in the 1500 and 800 meters, earning a bronze and silver medal. Jesse Hayward had a huge breakthrough in the 800m, he ran a very gutsy race to earn the Bears' fifth podium of the meet. We had many more personal bests, which is an indication that we are moving in the right direction. I am so proud of how we performed this weekend. We have a very bright future ahead of us."
Â
After Kiana Van Haaren became the Bears' first champion on Friday, Raphael Egbuchilem followed up with a gold-medal performance of his own in the men's 400m. Egbuchilem missed the school record by less than two-tenths of a second as he placed first in the 400m with a time of 46.07.
Regina Mpigachai became UNC's only multiple medal winner at the championship meet, taking silver in the 800m and bronze in the 1500m. She crossed the line on the 800m with a time of 2:08.74, while finishing the 1500m in 4:35.28.
Greeley native, Jesse Hayward, claimed the final medal of the day for the Bears finishing third in the 800m with a time of 1:51.96.
"I thought that we had a great meet on both sides," director of track and field Wayne Angel said. "We really elevated our game this weekend. Kudos to coach Yocum on the outstanding job that he did with Steven Cross in the decathlon and Kiana Van Haaren in the long jump. Kiana started UNC off with a bang, winning the first Big Sky title of the week for the Bears. It was very exciting to watch her excel against Big Sky competition."
"From top to bottom, I thought that we did a great job competing across all event areas on Saturday. In the prelims on Friday, our athletes put themselves in a position to score well and rack up a lot of points. We scored in 10 events, and in some cases multiple times between the men and women in the same event."
 Â
"Raphael did a superb job winning the 400m, and he barely missing the school record. Regina did a great job in the 1500 and 800 meters, earning a bronze and silver medal. Jesse Hayward had a huge breakthrough in the 800m, he ran a very gutsy race to earn the Bears' fifth podium of the meet. We had many more personal bests, which is an indication that we are moving in the right direction. I am so proud of how we performed this weekend. We have a very bright future ahead of us."
Â
| May 10-13, 2023 • 2023 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships • Greeley, Colo. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
/ Men's Track & Field
/ Women's Track & Field
Women's Walk Recap 2025
Wednesday, July 30
