ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The talent was virtually unprecedented in a New Mexico-hosted meet at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
But the Lobos, in preparation for some more magic in their home facility, set some records of their own, too.
The University of New Mexico track & field team continued to gain experience as they finished the New Mexico Classic & Multis Saturday with solid performances against a tremendous field of collegiate and professional athletes.
The Lobos’ 400- and 800-meter runners registered some of the most outstanding marks from the Albuquerque Convention Center on Saturday, while the field events posted strong results on Friday.
“We’re getting better each meet,” New Mexico head coach Joe Franklin said. “We’re just getting a little better all of the time. It’s all just very positive right now.”
With the Mountain West Indoor Championships three weeks away, the Lobos are looking to improve in key events as they aim to defend their back-to-back sweeps of the titles in the Convention Center.
One of those key events, the 400-meter dash, was a source of a number of strong runs Saturday, including six new personal records among the Lobos.
Mark Haywood led off with a ninth-place time of 48.20 seconds in the quartermile, topping his old PR by 0.3 seconds. He now moves to eighth in New Mexico history in the event.
Mustafa Mudada (48.71) and Cheyne Dorsey (48.83) also ran lifetime bests in the 400, placing 14th and 15th, respectively.
For the women, Haley Sanner clocked a big PR, running 56 seconds even, with Zoe Howell (57.32) and Larimar Rodriguez (57.63) also adding collegiate bests. Holly Van Grinsven, the 2015 MW 400-meter champ, ran a 10th-place 55.50 in her season debut at that distance.
The men’s and women’s 800 also produced some strong marks, with Adam Cotton running 1:52.24 in the men’s 800 for second place.
After an injury-riddle last two years, Cotton showed well in the event, touring the Convention Center’s track for his best time since 2013.
Adam Monroe took sixth in the men’s 800, running 1:54.98, while Emily Hosker-Thornhill was third in the women’s race with a time of 2:11.94.
Elsewhere on the track, Ridge Jones placed sixth in the men’s 60 with a time of 6.82, and Tyler Valdez placed seventh in the men’s mile in 4:26.50.
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| Ryan Chase, Beau Clafton and Daniel Lam (L-R) |
Out in the field events, most of the results came from Friday, with a few strong showings on Saturday.
Jannell Hadnot placed fourth overall in the women’s triple jump with a mark of 41 feet, five inches (12.62 meters), and the men’s trio of Daniel Lam, Beau Clafton and Ryan Chase placed 6-7-8 in the men’s heptathlon.
Lam, who finished with 5,003 points, rode strong performances in the 60 dash (7.36), 60 hurdles (8.79) and long jump (22-1 ½) for his final tally, while Clafton shined in the 60 (7.10) and set a new career best in pole vault (12-1 ½).
Chase, a freshman, had a superb performance outside of a no-height in the the pole vault, including solid marks in the 60 (7.21), 60 hurdles (8.72) and long jump (22-5 ¾).
On Friday, Yannick Roggatz set an indoor PR in the long jump behind a runner-up leap of 24-11 ¾, while Allan Hamilton finished right behind at third (24-1 ¾). Joe Kloeppel placed seventh in the high jump with a clearance of 6-5 ½.
Amaris Blount also recorded a new collegiate best in the weight throw, reaching 56-3 ¼, while Kyra Mohns took seventh in the pentathlon with a total of 3,442 points.
The meet also featured a number of exceptional marks from the professional and non-collegiate events, including a new British indoor long jump record from Greg Rutherford (27-1 ¼), a new US junior indoor record in the high jump from Vashti Cunningham (6-4 ¾) and the third-best all-time pole vault by an individual from Demi Payne (16-0).
The Lobos are back in action next weekend for the final of four straight home meets when they host the Don Kirby Elite Invitational next Friday and Saturday.