STANFORD, Calif. — The University of New Mexico track & field team posted a number of season bests as it continued to gain experience for the approaching postseason this weekend at the Cardinal Classic.
With the Mountain West Outdoor Championships in less than three weeks, the Lobos combined for a solid team performance at Cobb Track and Angell Field as it built on a solid past fews weeks of outdoor action.
Between the exceptionally productive Bryan Clay Invitational last weekend and this weekend’s showing at Stanford, New Mexico has started to compile strong postseason credentials.
The Lobos that competed at the second running of the Cardinal Classic moved closer to not only challenging for key points at the conference meet in Logan, Utah, on May 10-13, but also toward bids for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in late May.
Top 48 athletes in each event in the NCAA’s West Region advance to the NCAA West Preliminary Championship, the qualifying meet for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.
Leading the charge were New Mexico’s sprinters and distance runners, who tallied a bevy of new seasonal bests.
In the sprints, Carlos Salcido ran a superb time of 21.31 seconds in the men’s 200-meter run, with Mark Haywood (11th place, time of 21.91) and Isaac Gonzales (13th, 21.91) also posting season bests.
800-meter duo Kristian Uldbjerg Hansen and Gavin Sleeter also put up good times, running 1:50.93 and 1:51.26, respectively. Emil Danielsson also lowered his time in the 1500, clocking in a 3:46.43, while Alexander Palm recorded a strong opener in the 10,000-meter run, finishing eighth in 29:54.79.
Graham Thomas, who ran a quick opener in the 1500 last weekend, opened in his primary event on Saturday, running a runner-up time of 8:54.29 in the 3000-meter steeplechase.
For the women’s track athletes, Natasha Bernal registered a new personal record in the steeplechase, crossing the line in 10:15.90. She placed fifth in the meet and rose to third in program history in the event.
Sophie Eckel also broke into the team’s all-time record books, clocking a time of 16:08.09 in the invitational section of 5000. Her time, a PR, ranks seventh in UNM history.
Kendall Kelly ran in the 5K on Friday as well, posting a PR time time of 16:26.36, before coming back Saturday to run a season-best time of 4:37.58 in the 1500. Also in the 1500, Kieran Casey continued to lower her season best, this time coming in at 4:25.23 to place second in her section.
In the 10,000-meter run, Sarah Laverty knocked almost 45 seconds off her previous season best, running a time of 35:35.46. She placed fourth overall.
The 400-meter dash also provided some new season bests as Larimar Rodriguez (57.44) and Hannah Riker-Urrutia (57.95) showed their speed after setting PRs in the 800 last week.
Out in the field events, Amaris Blount moved closer to the school record in the hammer throw, uncorking a toss of 185 feet, 3 inches to strengthen her grip on No. 2 in program history.
Her mark, however, was the second-best throw all-time at UNM, just 7 feet, 3 inches from Jamie Fishencord’s 12-year-old record.
Tanner Battikha posted a solid double in the long jump and triple jump, leaping 23-8 ¼ (sixth place) and 46 ¾ (seventh), respectively.
Additionally, Jason Atencio and Nathan Burnett notched identical third-place marks of 15-5 ½ in the pole vault, while Malik Matthews-Gordon (fifth, 191-3) and Nik Aston (ninth, 172-9) showed well in the men’s javelin throw.
Morgan Smith tossed 114-7 to log a new season best in the women’s javelin.
The Lobos return to action next week as they head to the Steve Scott Invitational hosted by UC Irvine in Irvine, California, on April 28-29.
Fans can follow the Lobos on Twitter (@lobo_track) and Instagram (@lobo_xc_tf) for information and updates on the team!