Lobo Track & Field Sweeps MW Indoor Titles for 2nd-Straight Year
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — All week, the mantra was team over self. And the team just overcame everything.
The University of New Mexico men’s and women’s track and field teams swept the team titles for the second straight year at the Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships, as the men won their third straight championship and the women captured their second title in a row.
The Lobos translated 13 combined event titles during the three-day meet at the Albuquerque Convention Center to become the first school in conference history to win — much less sweep — an indoor conference championship on their home track.
“Across the board, we had school records, we had great performances,” New Mexico head coach Joe Franklin said. “Just an amazing, amazing weekend.”
The New Mexico men relied on a balanced attack to claim their third title in three years, as they earned 160 team points behind a program-record seven individual titles.
Adam Bitchell led the charge, winning both the 3000- and 5000-meter runs. He finished the 3000 in 8 minutes, 11.05 seconds and the 5000 in 14:30.17.
Ridge Jones and Elmar Engholm also added individual championships on the track, as Jones won the 60 in a school- and conference-record time of 6.60 and Engholm won the mile in 4:10.13.
Out in the field, Django Lovett claimed his second straight high-jump title with a clearance of 7 feet, ¼ inch, while Allan Hamilton extended UNM streak of long-jump champions to four years with a leap of 24-11 ¾.
Warrick Campbell also won the triple jump, leaping 51-5 to defend his title from 2014.
For the women, Sammy Silva accomplished the 800/mile double with aplomb, winning both with times of 2:11.51 and 4:50.22, respectively.
Alice Wright seized her own title with a time of 16:31.85 in the 5000, while Holly Van Grinsven battled to a hotly contested but winning time of 54.69 in the 400.
The women’s distance medley relay team of Nicola Hood, Kelsi Lewis, Emily Hosker-Thornhill and Nicole Roberts won in 11:48.59, and Aasha Marler shined with a win in the triple jump measured at 42-1 ½.
But, the team-over-self mantra was prevalent throughout the weekend, with both the men and women tallying scoring efforts across the board.
On the men’s side, the sprints produced substantial points for the Lobos. Jones was sixth (time of 21.38) and Carlos Wiggins seventh (21.48) in the 200, while Hamilton (sixth place, 6.78), Scott Bajere (seventh, 6.80) and Wiggins (eighth, 6.80) scored alongside Jones in the 60.
Charles Lewis (sixth, 48.45) and Mark Haywood (eighth, 48.90) also added to the team’s ledger with scoring runs in the 400.
Alex Herring, almost two full years removed from competing in a UNM uniform, snapped up runner-up honors in the 800 in 1:51.30, ahead of Engholm (eighth, 2:02.77).
New Mexico’s distance runners also contributed, especially in the mile, where Engholm, Ross Matheson (second, 4:10.53) and Bitchell (third, 4:10.63) swept the medals. Graham Thomas also scored in the mile (fifth, 4:12.89).
The men’s DMR of Chris Graham, Cheyne Dorsey, Adam Monroe and Ross Matheson placed third (10:06.24), while the 4×400 relay team of Mustafa Mudada, Dorsey, Lewis and Haywood was fourth (3:14.16).
Yannick Roggatz also scored in the track events, placing eighth in the 60 hurdles, and added two scores in the field events, too, placing second in the long jump (24 ½) and fifth in the high jump (6-9 ¾).
Markus Miller also scored in the high jump (eighth, 6-6 ¾), while Hamilton chipped in a third-place finish in the triple jump (49 ¼).
Daniel Lam and Andris Sturans rounded out the men’s scorers, as Lam took fourth in the heptathlon with a score of 5,240 points and Sturans placed eighth with 4700 points
The women earned their title with fewer scoring attempts, but parlayed their program-record six event titles into a program-record 149 ateam points.
While Silva won both the 800 and the mile, Sophie Connor and Tamara Armoush both added top-four finishes. Armoush was third in the 800 (2:12.15) and fourth in the mile (4:53.05), and Connor was third in the mile (4:52.64) and fourth in the 800 (2:12.47).
Calli Thackery and Heleene Tambet also contributed via their 3000/5000 double, with Thackery third in the 3000 (9:47.99) and fourth in the 5000 (17:09.95), and Tambet seventh in the 3000 (9:56.68) and eighth in the 5000 (17:40.29).
Wright, to go with her 5K title, was runner-up in the 3000 in 9:42.83, while Van Grinsven was second in the 60 hurdles in a school-record time of 8.24.
UNM’s 4×400 relay team of Haley Sanner, Zoe Howell, Faith Cobb and Van Grinsven took third in 3:42.91.
In the field events, Jannell Hadnot (second, 41-8 ¾) and Yeshemabet Turner (fifth, 39-11 ¾) added scores in the triple jump, while Annie Stirling (fifth, 12-8 ¾) scored in the pole vault.
Samantha Bowe (second, 3,884 points) and Kyra Mohns (fifth, 3,681 points) completed New Mexico’s scoring with their performances in the pentathlon.
Overall, the New Mexico men won with a total of 160 points. Colorado State, the leader after Friday, finished in second with 140 points. Air Force (118 points), Utah State (111), Wyoming (70) and Boise State (57) rounded out the team standings.
The Lobo women earned their title with a tally of 149 points, a program record. Colorado State took second (96 points), followed by San Diego State (third, 81.5), UNLV (fourth, 78), Wyoming (fifth, 52), Utah State (sixth, 45), Boise State (seventh, 40.5), Fresno State (eighth, 35.5), Nevada (ninth, 34.5), Air Force (10th, 33) and San José State (11th, 17).
Franklin also repeated as the MW Coach of the Year for both genders, and is the first coach in conference history to sweep the awards.
New Mexico’s indoor season has concluded for most of the team, with a number of Lobos eyeing the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 13-14.