ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico track & field team posted a handful of strong results against an elite field of competition as it opened the Don Kirby Invitational Friday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
With the Mountain West Championships quickly approaching, the Lobos continued to pick up experience during the first day of the two-day Don Kirby, registering solid marks as they hosted over 930 athletes and eight top-25 Division I teams.
New Mexico’s 3,000-meter runs logged some superlative marks, including two new marks that rank in the program record books.
On the men’s side, Graham Thomas cruised to a winning time of 8 minutes, 21.77 seconds, which moves him to ninth all-time at UNM in the men’s 3K. Alexander Palm, the runner up, came close to moving into the top 10, and finished with a new personal record of 8:27.72.
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| Hannah Riker-Urrutia |
Jesus Mendoza also claimed a new PR, running 8:39.56 for eighth place.
For the women, Natasha Bernal climbed to ninth in the all-time women’s 3K rankings, clocking a fourth-place time of 9:52.44. Kendall Kelly also logged a new PR, continuing to improve this season with a fifth-place time of 9:54.83.
Kathryn Fluehr (eighth place, time of 10:06.84) also placed top-10 in the women’s 3,000.
Hannah Riker-Urrutia also ascended the all-time rankings in the women’s 600, climbing to fourth in program history with a fifth-place time of 1:33.50.
In the men’s 600, Mustafa Mudada placed eighth with a season-best time of 1:22.50.
Out in the field events, Amaris Blount placed 10th in the women’s weight throw, logging a toss of 57 feet, nine inches.
A couple of Lobos also set new collegiate bests on Friday, with Jason Atencio in the pole vault (16 ¾) and Akeisha Ayanniyi in the long jump (19-1 ¼).
Some other track events were preliminary rounds on Friday. Ben Shields continued to improve in the 60 dash, cruising to a personal-record time of 6.86 to place fifth in the opening round. His time also moved him up into a tie for eighth in program history.
The Lobos return to the Albuquerque Convention Center Saturday for the second day of the Don Kirby Elite Invitational. The meet resumes at 9:30 a.m. MT with the women’s shot put, while action on the track starts at 10:15 a.m. with the men’s 60 hurdle semifinals.
Check back tomorrow at GoLobos.com for a full recap and complete results of Saturday’s New Mexico action.
Fans can follow the Lobos on Twitter (@lobo_track) and Instagram (@lobo_xc_tf) for information and updates on the team!