Rollins busts school record, Gilkes quals on banner day for Pack

PUEBLO - With all of its best events still to come, CSU-Pueblo put up strong performances Monday, getting a school-record heptathlon from Jasmine Rollins (Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) and a provisional-qualifying 100-meter from Blair Gilkes (So., Aurora, Colo.) on day two of the 2010 RMAC Outdoor Track Championships.

Rollins finished strongly to place fourth in the heptathlon, posting a school-record 4,098 points, besting her own school record of 3,881 points, set three weeks ago.  The mark, however, was shy of a national-qualifying mark and an all-RMAC berth, going to the heptathlon's top two finishers, but was a personal-best for Rollins in what could be her final collegiate heptathlon.

Gilkes rolled in the prelims in the 100-meter, eeking out the top mark with a personal-best 11.885, which netted the Pack's first provisional qualifier for nationals this season.  The sprint set a ThunderBowl record and was less than 0.05 seconds away from an RMAC Championships record.  When the finals take place Tuesday, will get the fifth lane and be joined by teammate Danita Wyatt (So., Aurora, Colo.), who also qualified in the prelims in the 100-meter.

Gilkes also PR'ed in the 200-meter with a 24.99, the third-best mark in prelims, and qualified for finals alongside teammate Maya Richards (So., Denver, Colo.).

The Pack's bread and butter events - the sprints and jumps - all take place tomorrow, and even without those, CSU-Pueblo was still tied for sixth place after two days with Chadron State with 13 team points.  Leading the women's division is Nebraska-Kearney, who rode its stable of throwers, to 82 team points.  Defending RMAC champion Adams State trails behind with 64 points.

The RMAC Championships will conclude Tuesday with the finals of the running events and relays, as well as the javelin, pole vault and triple jump, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at CSU-Pueblo's Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl.