Avery McMullen was grateful for the opportunity to enjoy one final big-time competition at home.

The Colorado senior more than made the most of that opportunity.

McMullen gave the Buffaloes a second conference championship in as many days at the Pac-12 Conference outdoor track and field championships, turning in a record-setting performance as she claimed the heptathlon championship on Saturday at Potts Field.

McMullen has been a top-12 finisher in the heptathlon at the NCAA championships in each of the past two seasons, and her farewell to Boulder included a mark of 5,913 that established team and Potts Field records.

“I’m feeling sad because I’m leaving the University of Colorado, but I’m still training for multiple years to come,” McMullen told BuffZone recently. “Hopefully it could be my job, so I’m not done. But it is sad. My last Pac-12, my last nationals, it’s going to be sad. I knew I would always love to do track as long as possible, but I didn’t really have the expectation that I could. I just train every single day and hope I get better.”

McMullen won three of the seven events, placing first in the heptathlon 100-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, and long jump. She also placed second in the heptathlon long jump and fourth in the javelin. McMullen broke the 40-year old team mark in the women’s heptathlon held by Annette Tannander (5,863), and she now owns three of the top four marks in program history.

Eva Bruce also picked up a point for the Buffs in the team standings by finishing eighth in the heptathlon, and Allie Routledge finished fourth in the women’s high jump. CU’s Kole Mathison and Charles Welch finished third and fourth, respectively, in the men’s steeplechase, while Conner Wingfield placed sixth.

Otherwise, it was a quiet second day at the Pac-12 finals for the Buffs, who will boast championship contenders in the 5K as well as Abbey Glynn in the women’s 400 hurdles during the final day of the meet on Sunday.

Behind McMullen and Bailey Hertenstien’s conference championship in the women’s 10K on Friday, the CU women ended Saturday in third-place in the team standings with 53 points, behind UCLA (56) and Oregon (65).

Also on Saturday, CU graduate senior Hunter Appleton was named the Pac-12 men’s track and field Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A distance runner from New Orleans, Appleton this spring completed his master’s degree in organizational leadership with a 3.93 GPA in his graduate studies. He is the third CU athlete to win the honor, joining Ben Saarel (2018) and Monarch High alum Kaitlyn Benner (2019). Oregon State multi-event athlete Anneke Moersdorf won the women’s honor.

A list of Saturday’s winners and CU Buffs results can be found on BuffZone.com.