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Mountain West Indoor ChampionshipsNew Mexico head coach Joe Franklin, entering his 10th Mountain West Championship in track & field, knows how these meets unfold.
“The conference championships are when everybody comes to compete.”
That simple statement, while perhaps obvious, underscores the importance of these meets. It’s not just a chance to run on a fast track or jump to a big mark or throw your way into a record book.
It’s about winning.
And for the Lobos, they’re aiming to do just that.
The University of New Mexico track & field team is looking for strong team performances as it hosts the 2017 Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships this Thursday through Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
The Lobos, hosting the conference championships for the third straight year, have elite athletes that can win events and score points in bunches, but they’ll face off against a conference that’s marked by exceptionally talented teams.
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| Coach Joe Franklin |
“The expectation is go out and lay it on the line,” Franklin said. “There are some very, very good teams out there. … We’re just going to try to score as many points as we can.”
Although New Mexico has experienced success at this meet in years past — even sweeping the team titles in 2014 and 2015 — the rest of the Mountain West has improved, bringing a great deal of parity to the league.
In the USTFCCCA regional rankings, Colorado State (third), Air Force (fourth), Utah State (seventh), Wyoming (10th) and New Mexico (11th) all rank in the top 12 of the men’s Mountain Region Rankings, with CSU (third), UNM (eighth), Wyoming (10th) and Air Force (12th) top 12 in the women’s Mountain Region Ranking.
Add in the San Diego State and Boise State women (both who rank top 12 in a deeper west region) and this week’s championship is shaping up to be a barnburner.
Heading into the meet, the odds are on Colorado State repeating as team championships, Franklin said, with New Mexico and the rest of the conference battling for the other podium spots.
“We’re just going to give it a shot and see what happens and see if we can get people to run a little faster and jump a little farther,” Franklin said.
The Lobos will lean on their top athletes to spearhead their efforts this week, with a handful of those athletes eyeing both conference titles and berths to the NCAA Championships.
With the NCAA Championships just two weeks after the MW Championships, any shot of locking up NCAA bids ends at this meet.
But, in an environment where everyone is competing at their best, the Lobos seeking a spot at the NCAAs will have their chances this week.
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| Kyra Mohns |
“We also have some goals of moving people up on the NCAA lists to have a chance to represent the University of New Mexico at the NCAA Championships,” Franklin said.
Among that group is the Lobos’ vaunted distance trio of Alice Wright, Calli Thackery and Sophie Connor. All three are on the edge of qualifying to the NCAA Championships, and they all have won individual titles at the conference level.
Along with that trio, the Lobos will look to Natasha Bernal, Kathryn Fluehr, Kendall Kelly, Mackenzie Everett, Ruth Haynes, Reiley Kelly, Ruth Haynes, Samantha Dicker and Kyoko Koyama for points in the distance events.
Among the events ranging from 800 meters to 5000 meters, New Mexico has multiple runners that rank top-10, and because the top eight finishers in every event scores, these events are key for the Lobo women.
Additionally, the Lobos can rely on a solid jumps squad, with Jannell Hadnot, the league leader in the triple jump, pacing the group.
Akeisha Ayanniyi (long jump) and the vertical jumps duo of Katherine Whiting (pole vault) and Shannon Fritz (high jump and pole vault) can also score.
Throwers Amaris Blount (weight throw) and Allison Mady (shot put) and the MW’s leader in the pentathlon, Kyra Mohns, are also threats to tally some points.
UNM’s sprinters, including Ayanniyi, Erynn Caldwell and Peri Moran in the short sprints and quartermilers Hannah Riker-Urrutia, Larimar Rodriguez and Abigail Smith are also a potential source of points.
On the men’s side, the Lobos will also count on their distance runners.
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| Ryan Chase |
Josh Kerr has put together some superb runs in his debut indoor campaign, but Alexander Palm, Graham Thomas, Elmar Engholm, Emil Danielsson, Jesus Mendoza, Jared Garcia, Taylor Potter and Tyler Valdez can score in the mile, 3K and 5K.
800-meter runners Gavin Sleeter, Kristian Uldbjerg Hansen and Adam Monroe will also be looked to for points, especially with all three ranking top-10 in the event.
Similarly, the Lobos have Mark Haywood, Cheyne Dorsey, Isaac Gonzales and Carlos Salcido in the longer sprints, with Ben Shields and Alejandro Goldston in the shorter sprints.
In the field events, UNM has Daniel Lam, Nathan Burnett, Jason Atencio and John Harari in the pole vault, while Ryan Chase, Tanner Battikha and Goldston compete in the long jump. Caleb Meyer-Hagen is also entered in the high jump, while Chase also takes on the heptathlon.
The meet starts Thursday with the women’s pentathlon at 11 a.m. MT, and continues Friday with the conclusion of the men’s heptathlon at 10 a.m. Field events start Friday at 12:30 p.m. with track events scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Saturday’s activities start at 10 a.m. in the field and at noon on the track, with the awards ceremony slated for about 3 p.m.
Tickets for Friday and Saturday of the MW Championships are $8 adults and $4 for youth. Admission is free on Thursday. Tickets can be purchased ar UNMTickets.com or in person at the main entrance of the Convention Center.
Live results are located at LiveRunningResults.com, and daily recaps will be posted at GoLobos.com.
Fans can follow the Lobos on Twitter (@lobo_track) and Instagram (@lobo_xc_tf) for information and updates on the team!