STANFORD, Calif. — If the first meet of the season was any barrier, a couple of Lobos had no problems leaping over it.
The University of New Mexico track & field team posted a number of superlative marks at the Stanford Invitational on Friday as it opened its outdoor season with a trio of personal-record performances in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
On the women’s side, freshman Natasha Bernal tore it up in the steeplechase in her first track race in a Lobo uniform, while Elmar Engholm and Graham Thomas tallied outstanding marks in the steeplechase for the men.
Along with strong showings from Alice Wright (5,000) and Dan Milechman (10,000), the Lobos started to compiled their credentials for the postseason that starts in May.
The top 48 athletes in each championship 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.
And while there’s a lot of racing left in this young outdoor season, all five Lobos that competed at Stanford’s Cobb Track and Angell Field put themselves in contention for an NCAA regional bid.
After redshirting the indoor season, Bernal, a freshman from Albuquerque, made a splash in her UNM track debut. She ran a time of 10 minutes, 21.32 seconds in her first-ever steeplechase, moving to second all-time at New Mexico.
Her time, which placed third in her section of the steeplechase, is almost assuredly a lock for the NCAA West Prelims and is the best-ever by a freshman in school history.
The men’s steeplechasers also had exceptional races, as both Engholm and Thomas set new PRs.
Engholm clocked a time of 8:40.03 in his section of steeplechase, setting a six-second PR in the event. A two-time NCAA prelims qualifier in the event, Engholm moved to fourth in school history.
His time, which placed fifth overall, is the fastest time by a Lobo athlete since Tom Glass ran 8:38.64 in 1986.
Thomas also stamped his name in the record books, running a section-winning time of 8:48.15. After redshirting the 2015 outdoor season, Thomas posted a 19-second PR in his first steeplechase since 2014.
He moves to sixth all-time at UNM, and joins Engholm and Alex Willis (8:59.84 in 2011) as the only UNM athletes to break the nine-minute barrier since Glass in 1986.
Both men are also in strong contention for a spot at the NCAA West Prelims.
Elsewhere, Wright ran the second-fastest 5K time in her career, tallying a time of 16:01.67 that placed 6th in her section of the 5000.
Although not as fast as her PR of 15:45.87 set at the Payton Jordan Invitational last May, Wright’s time the is 10th-fastest performance in UNM and also looks to be safe for the NCAA prelims.
Milechman also registered a strong race, running a time of 29:29.80 in the men’s 10000. Running his first-ever 10K, Milechman finished 24th in his section and is in position to advance to the postseason.
The Lobos’ distance runners will compete again in the coming weeks, while the bulk of the team opens at the Don Kirby Tailwind Open later Saturday at the Great Friends of UNM Track Stadium in Albuquerque