Seven Lobos Advance to NCAA Finals at West Prelims
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento may not be the Wild West, but the Lobos do have their own Magnificent Seven.
A quartet of University of New Mexico track & field athletes qualified Saturday to the finals of the NCAA Championships as the Lobos finished with seven total qualifiers at the 2018 NCAA West Preliminary Round this weekend.
During the final day of action at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Josh Kerr, Ian Crowe-Wright, Ednah Kurgat and Weini Kelati all punched their tickets to Eugene, Oregon, the site of the finals of the national championships in two weeks.
Kerr and Crowe-Wright both advanced in the 1500-meter run, while Kurgat and Kelati both qualified in the 5000.
That group will join Alice Wright (10,000), Charlotte Prouse (3000 steeplechase) and Carlos Salcido (400), all of whom qualified during the first two days of the three-day meet.
The seven total qualifiers extends an 12-year run of at least four athletes advancing to the national championships, and it’s the largest pack of Lobos qualified since advancing 10 in 2016.
Advancing to the NCAA Championships is quite the feat, considering how much it takes to make the preliminary round of the championships. The top 48 athletes and top 24 relay teams in each championship events in the NCAA West Region qualify to the West Prelims, where the top 12 finishers in those events advance on to the NCAA Championships.
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| Josh Kerr |
Kerr and Crowe-Wright started Saturday’s action, racing together in the first of two quarterfinal heats of the 1500. They needed a top-five finish in their heat to guarantee a spot in Eugene, and both delivered.
Kerr, the defending NCAA champion and NCAA record holder in the 1500, took control of the race after two laps and cruised a winning time of 3 minutes, 42.62 seconds. Crowe-Wright battled back from an early deficit and translated a race-best split on the penultimate lap into a final time of 3:43.32, good for fourth in the heat and seventh overall.
They are the first male tandem in program history to advance to the NCAA Championships in the 1500, and the first pair of teammates since 2014 to qualify to the championships in the same event (Luke Caldwell and Adam Bitchell in the 10,000).
In the women’s 5000, both Kurgat and Kelati advanced after registering strong performances in their individual heats.
Kurgat, running the first heat, moved into the lead position after the opening lap, and held onto that position until the final lap with her spot in Eugene all but secured. She finished with a second-place time of 15:25.25, which is the third-fastest time in program history and the second-fastest in West Prelims history.
Kelati followed almost the same script, bolting to a large lead in her section and holding on until the final circuit of the track. She crossed the line in 15:28.54 for third place in her heat and sixth place overall.
Her time ranks fourth all time at UNM and sixth all-time in meet history.
They are the first pair of female teammates in program history to advance to the NCAA Championships in the 5000.
Earlier at the NCAA West Prelims, the trio of Wright, Prouse and Salcido all punched their tickets to the finals of the national championships
Wright advanced to her fourth-straight NCAA Championship on Thursday as she placed second in the women’s 10,000 with a time of 32:19.03, the second-fastest time in West Prelims history.
Wright also became the first female athlete in program history to make four straight NCAA Championships in any event, and she is the only athlete to advance out of the West Region in the 10K in four consecutive seasons since the NCAA reconfigured its regions in 2010.
Salcido advanced to his first NCAA Outdoor Championships via a strong and gutsy showing in the quarterfinals of the 400 on Friday, crossing the line in 46.04, which was good for third place in his heat and an automatic bid to Eugene.
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| Weini Kelati |
He becomes the first Lobo since Jarrin Solomon in 2009 to qualify to the NCAAs in the 400.
For Prouse, she took over her heat of the 3000 steeplechase after a lap and never turned back en route to a heat-winning time of 9:55.14. She advances to her second NCAA Championships in the event, with her first appearance coming while at Washington in 2016.
Meanwhile, New Mexico received strong efforts from the rest of its athletes.
Michael Wilson advanced to the quarterfinals of the 800, but bowed out after placing 15th with a time of 1:49.19. Kristian Uldbjerg Hansen finished 32nd in the first round of the event (1:51.60).
Additionally, Jonny Glen placed 38th in the 3000 steeplechase (9:06.73), while Tanner Battikha took 40th in the long jump (23 feet, 3 ½ inches) and Brent Dionisio finished 43rd in the high jump (6-7).
On the women’s side, Kieran Casey placed 27th in the first round of the 1500 (4:32.00), Alondra Negrón Texidor took 23rd in the 3000 steeplechase (10:15.77) and Sophie Eckel finished 36th in the 5000 (34:22.06). In the field events, Ada’ora Chigbo tied for 21st in the high jump (5-8 ¾), while Michelle Traynham took 36th in the javelin (138-10).
The Lobos will travel to Eugene for the final rounds of the championships on June 6-9. The men will compete on Wednesday, June 6 and Friday, June 8, while the women compete Thursday, June 7 and Saturday, June 9.
NOTES: Kerr and Crowe-Wright extend New Mexico’s streak of qualifying at least one athlete to the NCAA Championships in the 1500 to nine years in the last 11 … Kerr and Crowe-Wright are also the first pair of teammates — and just the fourth pair ever — from the Mountain West to advance to the NCAA Championships in the 1500 … Wright’s second-place finish in the 10K was her fourth top-two finish in the event at the NCAA West Prelims, following a win in 2017 and back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2015 and 2016
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