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NCAA Indoor ChampionshipsFor some Lobos, this week’s trip to the national championships is a return to a familiar stage. For others, it’s their first chance to shine.
But, experience notwithstanding, these athletes all have the same goal.
Place top eight and score some points.
The University of New Mexico track & field team is looking for success as it sends four individuals and a relay team to the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships this Friday and Saturday in College Station, Texas.
Set to compete for the Lobos at Texas A&M’s Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium are Sophie Connor (mile), Alice Wright (5,000-meter run) and Jannell Hadnot (triple jump) on the women’s side and Josh Kerr (mile) and a distance medley relay team on the men’s side.
“The expectation is to go out and make sure you’re doing everything you can to get into scoring position,” New Mexico head coach Joe Franklin said. “Everyone that we’re taking to the NCAA Championships has that opportunity. Just put it out there and see what you’ve got.”
This group of Lobos is the second-largest number of entries UNM has ever qualified to the NCAA Championships indoors, and New Mexico will certainly have chances to make noise this weekend.
The women head to College Station with the at least three scoring opportunities for just the fourth time in team history, while the both of the men’s entries are seeded in the top eight of their events.
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| Alice Wright |
The top eight finishers in each event score, and New Mexico will certainly have its opportunities with its mix of experience and of talent.
For the women, both Connor and Hadnot are making repeat appearances in their events. They’re just the second and third female athletes ever at UNM to qualify to consecutive NCAA Indoor Championships in the same event, joining Calli Thackery (3000, 2015-16).
Connor is seeded 14th in the mile with her season-best time of 4 minutes, 36.86 seconds, and was an All-American last year when she placed fifth overall in the finals. She’s just the third Lobo to ever make the NCAA Championships in the mile
“Sophie scored last year in the mile,” Franklin said. “She’s as fit if not fitter than what she was last year.”
Connor claimed runner-up honors in the 800 and the DMR at last month’s Mountain West Championships and has run under 4:38 in the mile three times during the regular season.
Hadnot is also returning to the NCAA Championships and is seeded 15th with a mark of 43 feet, six inches that doubles as the New Mexico record. But she’ll have to contend with a stacked field that features American record-holder Keturah Orji of Georgia.
“Jannell is the best triple jumper who has ever walked through our doors,” Franklin said.
“Jannell is going against the best triple jumper in the history of the sport in Keturah Orji,” Franklin said. “… So just being in that field and having a chance to compete and trying to figure out a way to score is just fun.”
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| Jannell Hadnot |
Hadnot, who finished 11th last year at the NCAAs, is only the second Lobo to make the national championships in the triple jump, but the senior from Oakland, California, has had success over her career at UNM, winning back-to-back MW titles indoors.
Wright rounds out the Lobos competing this weekend, but she’s far from last in anyone’s mind. In fact, she’s the most decorated female athlete ever at UNM, claiming five All-American plaudits between cross country and outdoor track.
But this week is her first appearance indoors as an individual. In 2015, she anchored the Lobos’ DMR, but this time, she’ll take aim in the 5,000, an event in which she is seeded 14th with her indoor PR of 15:56.94.
“Alice is in a good spot right now, she’s running well right now,” Franklin said. “It’s her first national championships in the 5,000 but she’s in a good spot. She’s very cardiovascularly fit right now.”
The MW champ in the 5K — she ran her seed mark at the league championships, soloing her way into the NCAAs — Wright ranks second in New Mexico history in the event.
On the men’s side, Kerr heads to the College Station on a hot streak, winning the mile and anchoring UNM’s title-winning DMR at the MW Championships. He’s entered in the mile this weekend, and is seeded seventh with a time of 3:58.04.
“Josh is very fit right now,” Franklin said. “He’s running well and is in a good spot. His conference triple was one of the more impressive triples I’ve ever seen.”
Not only did Kerr help win the DMR before winning the mile at the MW meet, he also posted a solid run in the mile prelims. That experience of running three times in three days portends well for Kerr as he’ll have to run twice Friday (mile prelims and DMR) and potentially again Saturday (mile finals).
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| Men’s DMR L-R: Haywood, Kerr, Hansen, Engholm |
Kerr will also be tasked with anchoring the DMR this weekend. The Lobos foursome of Elmar Engholm, Mark Haywood, Kristian Uldbjerg Hansen and Kerr set the UNM record of 9:30.07 in their win at the MW Championships, and they rank sixth in the 12-relay field.
“The DMR is kind of wide open,” Franklin said. “You have a lot of teams that will change the lineups they run. Someone that no one is expecting will win the national championships in the DMR, and maybe that will be us.”
This relay is just the third the school has ever qualified to the NCAAs, along with a team in 2009 and a team in 2011. The relay in 2011 placed sixth.
The Lobos will compete on Friday starting at 4:30 p.m. MT with the semifinals of the mile, while the 5000 runs at 7 p.m. MT and the DMR at 7:55 p.m. MT. On Saturday, UNM is slated to compete at 2:30 p.m. MT with the triple jump and 3 p.m. MT with the finals of the mile.
Live results will be available on RecordTiming.com and the meet will be streamed live on ESPN3 on March 10 starting at 6:25 p.m. ET and March 11 starting at 4:55 p.m. ET. A re-air of the championship will take place on Sunday, March 12 starting at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Fans can follow the Lobos on Twitter (@lobo_track) and Instagram (@lobo_xc_tf) for information and updates on the team!