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DMRs Set Records as Lobos Open MW Championships

Thursday Results | Thursday Team Scores

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — No records were safe from the Lobos on Thursday.

The University of New Mexico track & field team opened the 2018 Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships Thursday with a trio of tremendous performances from its distance medley relays and multi-event athletes, including a pair of spectacular records.

Anchored by reigning NCAA mile champion Josh Kerr, the New Mexico men’s DMR ran one of the fastest times in NCAA history and set the UNM record in the event en route to the win, while the Ednah Kurgat-led women’s DMR broke the UNM record as they placed second overall.

Through the first day of the three-day meet, the Lobo men lead in the men’s championships with 10 team points, and the Lobo women sit in second place in the women’s meet with 14 points.

But in a on a day where just three events — the pentathlon and the DMRs — went final at the Albuquerque Convention Center, the performance from the Lobo men’s DMR was the highlight.

The quartet of Ian Crowe-Wright, Carlos Salcido, Michael Wilson and Kerr raced to a time of 9 minutes, 33.41 seconds, which, when converted for altitude according NCAA protocol, comes in at 9:24.73.

That altitude-converted time is better than the NCAA record of 9:25.97 set by Texas in 2008, setting an unofficial NCAA best as altitude conversions do not count toward NCAA records. The mark also breaks the UNM record of 9:30.07 set at the 2017 Mountain West Championships.

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Josh Kerr

After a strong start by Crowe-Wright in the 1200-meter leg, Salcido kept the Lobos rolling with his 400-meter leg. Wilson (running the 800-meter leg) and Kerr (1600 meters) sealed the deal for the Lobos as they won a second-straight conference title in the DMR.

UNM is the first school to win back-to-back men’s DMR titles since Colorado State won three in a row from 2013-2015.

“Every person on that start line and every person on our team did exactly what they were supposed to do,” Kerr said. “That definitely made my position easier to really anchor us well.”

Additionally, the relay team has all but assured it will compete at the NCAA Championships next month in College Station, Texas. The top 16 individual in each event and the top 12 relay teams make the championship.

On the women’s side, the relay of Kieran Casey, Shalom Keller, Alondra Negron Texidor and Kurgat zoomed to a time of 11:07.88, placing second overall.

Casey led off in the 1200-meter leg, with Keller running the 400-meter leg, Negron Texidor the 800-meter leg and Kurgat anchoring in the 1600-meter leg.

The women’s time converts to 10:57.78, which breaks the old UNM record of 11:01.44 set in 2015. That time was also superior to the old MW record, but behind Boise State, who set the conference record on Thursday with a winning time of 11:05.39 (10:55.32 converted).

Like the Lobo men’s DMR, the Lobo women have almost certainly locked up a bid to the NCAA Championships as they sit third in the NCAA through Thursday’s action across the nation.

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Kyra Mohns

Elsewhere, Mohns tallied her second-straight medalling mark in the pentathlon, finishing in third place with a final score and personal record of 3,807 points.

Mohns opened with a PR of 8.87 in the 60-meter hurdles, placing fifth, and added a solid clearance of 5 feet, 4 ¼ inches in the high jump for fifth place.

She then tallied strong performances in the shot put (second place, mark of 38-11) and long jump (ninth, 17-5 ½) before rallying on the bell lap in the 800-meter run for a 2:21.81 win.

Overall, Mohns registered the Lobos’ fourth top-three pentathlon finish in the last seven years and moved to fourth all-time in program history in the event.

In the only other event of Thursday, the men’s trio of Beau Clafton, Daniel Lam and Camillo Dunninger posted strong opening marks in the men’s heptathlon, which concludes Friday morning.

Through four events of the seven-event heptathlon, Clafton leads with 3,132 points, with Lam in third (3,046 points) and Dunninger in sixth (2,632).

Clafton’s Thursday effort was bolstered by personal records and wins in the 60-meter dash (6.92), shot put (46-8 ¼) and high jump (6-1 ½). He added a second-place mark of 22-8 in the long jump.

Lam won the long jump (23-10 ¾) and was second in the shot put (43-1 ¾), while Dunninger’s best opening-day mark came in the high jump (sixth, 6 ½).

The second day of the MW Championships starts at 10 a.m. MT with the conclusion of the men’s heptathlon. Field events start at 12:30 p.m. with the women’s weight throw, while track events commence at 1:30 p.m. with the qualifying round of the women’s mile.

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