LOGAN, Utah — The University of New Mexico track & field team wrapped up the third day of the Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a number of strong performances, picking up some momentum heading into the final and decisive day of the meet.
With most of Friday’s events at Ralph Maughan Track Stadium holding just preliminary rounds heading into Saturday’s finals, the Lobos put themselves in position to contend for top finishes via their performances Thursday as the men sit in fifth place and the women in ninth.
Through Friday’s events, the New Mexico men have 28 team points, while the UNM women have 13 points.
The Lobo men were bolstered by solid performances in the 3000-meter steeplechase and the long jump, where they received a trio of scoring performances.
In the steeplechase, Graham Thomas registered a runner-up finish, clocking in at 9:14.44. It’s the second straight such finish for the senior.
Sam Trigg added a fourth-place finish in the men’s long jump, where he leaped 24 feet, ¾ inches. Freshman Tanner Battikha also scored, leaping 23-9 ½ for seventh place.
On Thursday, UNM logged two scoring marks in the decathlon behind runner-up Daniel Lam and fourth-place Ryan Chase.
The women also earned three scoring performances from Friday’s finals.
Amaris Blount became the first Lobo woman to score in the hammer throw at the MW Championships in a decade as she placed sixth with a mark of 183-10. She is just the third UNM athlete to ever score in the women’s hammer throw at the conference meet.
Additionally, Natasha Bernal placed fifth in the steeplechase with a time of 10:51.92, while Jannell Hadnot took eighth in the long jump with a leap of 18-10.
Kyra Mohns notched a fourth-place finish in the heptathlon on Thursday.
Most of the other track events ran preliminaries Friday, with UNM advancing athletes to the finals in a number of races.
On the men’s side, Josh Kerr was one of three Lobos to qualify to the finals of the 800-meter run as he ran 1:53.72 to win the preliminary round. Also advancing from the prelims were Gavin Sleeter (fifth, 1:54.90) and Kristian Uldbjerg Hansen (sixth, 1:55.20).
The sprints and hurdles also produced a handful of finals qualifiers. In the 400 hurdles, Mustafa Mudada (fifth, 53.44) and Cheyne Dorsey (seventh, 54.36) moved on, while Carlos Salcido advanced in the 200 (sixth, 21.06) and Mark Haywood advanced in the 400 (sixth, 48.24).
For the women, Mohns advance in the 400 hurdles, posting a personal record of 1:00.87 to place fourth in the prelims. She moved to eighth in program history with her time.
Through day three, Colorado State leads the women’s standings with 56 points. San Diego State is second with 40.5 points, while Nevada ranks third with 38.5 points.
San Jose State (fourth, 25 points), Fresno State (fifth, 24 points), Boise State (sixth, 22), Air Force (seventh, 20), Wyoming (eighth, 17), New Mexico (ninth, 13), UNLV (10th, 12) and Utah State (11th, five) round out the teams competing.
Colorado State also has the lead in the men’s team standings with 88.5 points, ahead of Air Force (66.5 points). Utah State (29), Wyoming (28.5), New Mexico (28), Boise State (20) and Fresno State (11.5) rank third through seventh.
The final day of the championships begins at 2:30 p.m. MT with the women’s shot put and will conclude with the women’s 4×400 meter relay at approximately 7:25 p.m. MT. Check back at GoLobos.com for a complete recap.
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