AUSTIN, Texas — It might have been a small pack of Lobos, but the results certainly were big.
The University of New Mexico track & field team wrapped up its regular season with a number of strong performances as it gained more experience at the Longhorn Invitational this Friday and Saturday.
With the Mountain West Championships in less than two weeks, the Lobos made progress toward their postseason goals, earning superb marks in the field events and sprints on a breezy and warm day at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
“This was an excellent meet for our group of 18 athletes that competed,” UNM assistant coach Rich Ceronie said. “They all made significant progress in the Mountain West rankings.”
As New Mexico now turns its attention to the conference meet, a handful of Lobos will have some momentum coming back from Austin.
Not only did some athletes move closer to challenging for key points at the conference meet on May 11-13 in Logan, Utah, but they also gained some ground on the top 48 in the NCAA West Region’s event rankings.
The top 48 athletes in each event in the NCAA’s West Region advance to the NCAA West Preliminary Championship, which is the qualifying meet for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.
Among the Lobos that climbed the rankings were New Mexico’s triple jumpers, Sam Trigg and Jannell Hadnot.
Trigg made a big leap Saturday — both figuratively and literally — as he jumped 52 feet, 10 ¾ inches to win the event. A new personal record, Trigg’s mark (which was wind-aided with a 3.3 meter/second tailwind) also moves into the MW lead and would have ranked 10th in the NCAA prior to this weekend’s action.
On the women’s side, Hadnot leaped to a windy mark of 43-5 (+3.2 tailwind) for a win in the triple jump. Her result, while not a PR, extends her lead in the MW to nearly a full meter, and also moved into the top 15 in the NCAA.
Elsewhere in the field events, Tanner Battikha continued his strong spring, leaping 24-9 ¾ (+3.7 tailwind) in the long jump for a new PR. He also took over the MW lead in the event.
In the pole vault, Jason Atencio equalled his all-time PR with a clearance of 16 ¾, which is good for sixth in the league and fifth at the meet.
Malik Matthews-Gordon became one just five athletes in the league to throw at least 200 feet in the javelin throw this season, reaching that distance exactly as he placed fifth.
That throw is also a career best for Matthews-Gordon.
For the women’s throwers, Kyra Mohns notched a season best with a toss of 119-10 in the javelin, while Allison Mady set a new PR with a mark of 156-6 in the hammer throw. Additionally, Amaris Blount placed 15th with a hurl of 175-10.
On the track, Carlos Salcido stormed to a tremendous time in the 200-meter dash, running 21.07 seconds for ninth place. However, that time was wind-aided with a tailwind of 3.1 m/s.
Without the wind, Salcido’s time would have ranked eighth in program history. Only three Lobos have run wind-legal times faster that 21.07 since 2000.
Salcido did help the Lobos’ 4×100 meter relay team to a fifth-place time of 41.52, combining with Mark Haywood, Alejandro Goldston and Battikha for a new season best.
Haywood also ran a 10th-place time of 48.56 in the 400, with Mustafa Mudada (fourth place, time of 53.12) and Cheyne Dorsey (sixth, 53.65) running the 400 hurdles.
Larimar Rodriguez led a small pack of women’s track athletes, as she just missed a PR in the 800. She ran 2:14.86 for third place, while Hannah Riker-Urrutia ran 2:16.34 for seventh.
Virtually all of the Lobos will take next weekend off as they prepare for the MW Championships. All-American Alice Wright is slated to compete at the Payton Jordan Invitational next Sunday as she vies for an NCAA-qualifying time.
Fans can follow the Lobos on Twitter (@lobo_track) and Instagram (@lobo_xc_tf) for information and updates on the team!