ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In between two of their more competitive meets of the year, the Lobos came into this weekend looking for some improvement.
But for some Lobos, this week was more than just getting some improvement.
Jannell Hadnot set the school record in the triple jump and the women’s field event athletes and the men’s sprinters cruised into the record books as the University of New Mexico track & field team captured key experience at the New Mexico Classic & Multis this weekend.
Behind Hadnot’s superb performance and strong marks from a number of other athletes, the Lobos took full advantage of a relatively light week of competition as they ramp up for some big meets in the coming weeks.
“It was a great meet,” New Mexico head coach Joe Franklin said. “For a lot of people, it was a down week, but we had some people do amazingly well. … It’s just been a really good weekend, very positive.”
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| Allison Mady |
After stellar team showings last week at the New Mexico Team Invitational, the Lobos looked to this week as a tuneup week in anticipation for the monumentally competitive Don Kirby Invitational next week and the Mountain West Championships at the end of the month.
But a number of UNM athletes did more than just tune up this weekend at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
“It’s easy to come out knowing that you’ve got a major meet coming up and be down — you see it all the time in sports,” Franklin said. “But here we had people do really, really positive things.”
Hadnot’s series in the triple jump was one of the positives, as the senior from Oakland, California, soared to the school record with a lifetime-best mark of 43 feet, six inches. She broke a tie with Deanna Young for the UNM record, improving on her previous personal best of 43-2 ½.
“It’s such a good accomplishment,” Hadnot said of breaking the school record. “I’m very appreciative and so happy with everything that I’ve been able to accomplish this year, but being able to hold it by myself is really nice.”
Hadnot also easily captured the triple jump win at the meet, with four of her six jumps Saturday outdistancing the runner up. Hadnot also moved up into the top 10 of the NCAA leaderboard.
“Today was the first day of the season that I got all of my marks, which is the best part about it,” Hadnot said. “I was very consistent.”
The Lobos also received some consistency from their throwers, as Amaris Blount and Allison Mady both continued to show well in the specialities.
On Friday, Blount set a new personal record in the weight throw, registering a toss of 60-3 ¾ to move just seven inches from Amanda Barnes’ school record. Blount placed third overall in the event.
Mady followed that on Saturday with a sterling performance in the shot put, logging a distance of 45-2 ½ — a PR by by nearly two feet — en route to climbing to fourth in UNM history and placing 10th overall.
Additionally, Kyra Mohns notched a fifth-place total of 3,691 points in Friday’s pentathlon, moving to fourth all-time with that PR, while Akeisha Ayanniyi posted a seventh-place leap of 18-10 in the long jump to place seventh and set a new collegiate best.
Rounding out the top-10 marks by the women were Hannah Riker-Urrutia, who set a new PR in the 800 with a sixth-place time of 2:16.47, and Shannon Fritz, who tied for ninth in the high jump (clearance of 5-3).
On the men’s side, the Lobos’ 4×400 meter relay team streaked into the team’s record book, as the quartet of Cheyne Dorsey, Isaac Gonzales, Carlos Salcido and Mark Haywood combined to run 3:13.27.
That time is the fastest in program history since 2009 and ranks fourth all-time at UNM in the 4×400.
Haywood and Dorsey also tallied solid runs in the open 400, with Haywood running 48.32 for seventh and Dorsey 48.57 for ninth.
New Mexico’s middle distance was also productive as most of the team’s top runners train for the upcoming weeks. The Lobos earned strong results from Elmar Engholm (fourth place, time of 1:53.49) and Taylor Potter (eighth, 1:57.24) in the 800; Adam Monroe (sixth, 4:19.57) and Tyler Valdez (10th, 4:21.17) in the mile; and Jared Garcia (seventh, 8;51.88) in the 3000.
In the field events, the UNM men posted a collection of top-10 marks, including Tanner Battikha (fifth, 23-3 ½) and Alejandro Goldston (eighth, 22-2 ¼) in the long jump and Caleb Meyer-Hagen (seventh, 6-2 ¾) and Ryan Chase (ninth, 6-2 ¾) in the high jump.
Jason Atencio (ninth place), Nathan Burnett (10th) and John Harari (12th) all reached 15-7 in the pole vault.
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.
Fans can follow the Lobos on Twitter (@lobo_track) and Instagram (@lobo_xc_tf) for information and updates on the team!