LA JOLLA, Calif. — Between the rain and the wind on an overcast Saturday, a handful of Lobos shined bright.
The University of New Mexico track and field team wrapped up competition at the Triton Invitational Saturday with strong performances from a handful of individuals who overcame inclement weather throughout the day.
In the face of blustery winds and intermittent rain at the Triton Track & Field Stadium in La Jolla, Calif., the Lobos captured some solid results as they continue to gear up for a rapidly approaching postseason
With less than three weeks between Saturday’s meet and the Mountain West Championships on May 13-16 in San Diego, the Lobos managed to make some progress toward their postseason goals.
Not only did a handful of Lobos move closer to challenging for key points at the conference meet, but a few athletes gained some ground on the top 48 in the NCAA West Region’s event rankings.
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| Michael Ellis |
The top 48 athletes in each event in the NCAA’s West Region advance to the NCAA West Preliminary Championship, which is the qualifying meet for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.
Leading the charge was Holly Van Grinsven, who raced to a new personal record in the 110-meter hurdles. Van Grinsven scooted over the hurdles in 13.26 seconds, good for seventh overall.
She moved to second in New Mexico history in the event.
Nicole Roberts also made a strong move toward the postseason, running 10:37.75 in the 3000-meter steeplechase. In windy and rainy conditions, Roberts improved on her season best by four seconds and withstood a pair of falls for the win.
Right behind was teammate Amber Zimmerman, who — in her first steeplechase in eight years — ran to second in 10:42.74.
Also on the track for the women, Zoe Howell ran to seventh in a gutsy 2:13.02 effort in the 800 while also combining with Haley Sanner, Faith Cobb and Van Grinsven for a third-place time of 3:56.70 in the 4×400 relay.
In the women’s 4×100 relay, Erynn Caldwell, Brittany Myricks, Peri Moran and Sanner placed third in 46.95.
Zimmerman was also 12th in the 800 (2:15.37), while Sanner placed 12th in the 100 (12.14) and Myricks 15th in the 200 (25.43).
Out in the field events, Yeshemabet Turner placed fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 38 feet, 5 ½ inches, while Casey Dowling took seventh in the long jump with a leap of 18-5.
On the men’s side, Michael Ellis’ solid performance in the javelin highlighted the men’s overcast day in San Diego.
Ellis tossed the spear 205-5 for eighth in the event, putting forth a strong showing against some elite professional competition. Marcus Simon and Beau Clafton placed 12th and 14th, respectively.
Allan Hamilton was solid in the long jump, placing fourth with a mark of 23-8, while Logan Pflibsen tackled subpar conditions in the pole vault with a fifth-place clearance of 15-7.
On the track, Ridge Jones (10.89) and Scott Bajere (10.96) battled in the 100, as did Mark Haywood (sixth, 48.90) and Chris Kline (seventh, 49.05) in the 400 and Charles Lewis (seventh, 53.59) and Cheyne Dorsey (ninth, 54.10) in the 400 hurdles.
The Lobos return to action next weekend as they split up to take on the UTEP Twilight next Friday in El Paso, Texas, and the Payton Jordan Invitational on Saturday in Stanford, Calif.