US Trials | UK Trials | Canada Trials | Trinidad and Tobago Trials | Olympic Standards
They were some of the best in the nation during their time at New Mexico.
Now they’re aiming to be among the best in the world.
| Lobos at the 2016 Olympic Trials |
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UNITED STATES UNITED KINGDOM CANADA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO * denotes already qualified for Olympics |
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| New Mexico Track Athletes in the Olympics |
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| • Buster Charles (US, 1932) • Dick Howard (US, 1960) • Michael Solomon (T&T, 1976, ’80) • Gary Kinder (US, 1988) • Simon Arkell (AUS, 1992) • Jarrin Solomon (T&T, 2012) |
Over the next few weeks, 17 University of New Mexico track & field athletes past and present will compete at their respective country’s Olympic Trials in an effort to make their national team for the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro later this summer.
Of that group, four are currently on the New Mexico roster, while the other 13 includes some of the most decorated athletes in New Mexico history.
New Mexico will have representation at four nation’s Olympic qualifying meet, with 12 at the British Championships, three at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, and one each at the Trinidad & Tobago Championships and Canadian Championships.
Out of the three athletes looking to advance to Rio from the US Trials are the last two individual national titlists from UNM.
Courtney Frerichs, the reigning NCAA champion and NCAA record holder in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, has a legitimate shot to make the Olympic Games in the event.
A top-three finish at the US Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon — the same track on which she won her national title — would send her onward since she’s already secured the Olympic standard in the steeple.
The 2012 NCAA champion in the indoor long jump, Kendall Spencer, is also entered in his specialty. He also vied for an Olympic berth in 2012 during the last Olympic cycle, and enters with a season best of 25 feet, ½ inch (7.63 meters).
Jannell Hadnot, a senior to be for the Lobos, rounds out the Lobos heading to Eugene for the Trials. Hadnot advanced to the NCAA Championships in the triple jump and owns a PR of 43-10 (13.36m).
The US Trials run July 1-10 and will be broadcast on NBC and NBCSN.
Across the pond, a number of current and former Lobos are trying their hands at earning a place in Rio de Janeiro. These track standouts all can challenge the field at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England, during the three-day championships that run June 24-26.
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| Calli Thackery | |
Three current Lobos are entered, with Calli Thackery (5000), Josh Kerr (1500) and Sam Trigg (triple jump),
UNM alumni Matt Bergin (5000), Luke Caldwell (5000), Adam Cotton (1500), Lee Emanuel (1500), Allan Hamilton (long jump), Chloe Anderson (800), Charlotte Arter (5000), Suzi Boast (1500) and Josephine Moultrie (1500) are also competing.
Out of the current group of Lobos, all three competed in at least one round of the NCAA Championships this spring, with Thackery and Kerr advancing to the finals of the NCAA Championships.
Thackery holds the New Mexico 5K record with her personal-record mark of 15:37.44, while Kerr — who has also qualified for the IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland — ranks sixth in UNM history in the 1500 with a PR of 3:41.08.
Trigg holds an all-conditions personal best of 51 feet, 9 nines (15.77) and sits seventh in school history in the outdoor triple jump.
Emanuel is the only UNM alum making a repeat appearance at the UK trials, having competed in 2012. The rest of that group is comprised of athletes who graduated from New Mexico in the last three years, with all eight making at least one NCAA appearance while a Lobo.
Additionally, Ross Millington, a 2012 UNM graduate, has already qualified to the Olympics in the 10,000.
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| Luke Caldwell | |
Overall, the group of Lobos heading the British Championships owns seven New Mexico records.
At the Canadian Track & Field Championships, Django Lovett is looking to make the Olympics in the high jump for a second time. Although he came short in 2012, the 2015 UNM alum currently has the third-best mark among the entrants in the event, clearing 7-3 ¾ (2.23m).
He’s just six centimeters off the Olympic standard, and will take aim on July 9 at Foote Field Sports Complex in Edmonton, Alberta.
The final Lobo alum aiming for the Olympics is the also the only one to have any Olympic experience.
Jarrin Solomon, a 2009 graduate of New Mexico and a native Albuquerquean, made the 2012 London Olympics as part of Trinidad and Tobago’s 4×400 meter relay. He is just the sixth New Mexico track & field athlete to compete at the Olympic Games.
He earned a bronze medal in London, becoming just the second Lobo (along with Dick Howard, who was third in the 400 hurdles at the 1960 Olympics) to medal at the Olympics.
He’ll look to make it back-to-back at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad, when he runs the preliminary round of the 400 on Friday, June 24, and the 4×400 relay on Sunday, June 26.
Additionally, Peter Callahan (Belgium, 1500) and Alice Wright (Great Britain, 10K) are both being considered for participation in the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam on July 6-10. Swede Elmar Engholm has already qualified for the championships in the 3000 steeplechase.
Check back here for updates on the Lobos, including athletes advancing to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.