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NCAA Outdoor ChampionshipsCompeting in arguably the most prominent meet at arguably the most historic venue in collegiate track & field, the Lobos will contend with history this week.
It’s Historic Hayward Field. It’s TrackTown USA. It’s the national championships.
But for this talented group of athletes, making history is nothing new.
The University of New Mexico track & field team is aiming for scoring performances as it sends a quartet of athletes to this week’s NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Alice Wright (10,000-meter run) is slated to compete for the women at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, while Josh Kerr (1,500-meter run), Graham Thomas (3,000-meter steeplechase) and Sam Trigg (triple jump) will race for the men.
The Lobos, who have qualified at least four athletes to the NCAAs for the 11th-straight year, are sending some of most decorated athletes in program history to the final collegiate meet of the year.
The goal for that group is to score, which is a tall task as they compete against the best of nation’s best on one of the biggest stages.
Only the top eight finishers out of 24 entrants score team points and earn All-American status in each event.
But, New Mexico has history at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, earning 18 top-eight finishes since head coach Joe Franklin’s first season at UNM in 2008.
Wright has provided a pair of those All-American honors in the 10K, running to eighth in 2015 and second in 2016. She’s the first track athlete in program history to advance to the NCAA Championships in the same event over three straight years.
The redshirt junior from Worcester, England, owns the New Mexico record in the 10,000-meter run, having set that time in early May. That time ranks third in the NCAA this season, and Wright won the 10K at the NCAA West Preliminary Round last month.
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| Sam Trigg | |
“I’m just thinking that all I can do is my best,” Wright said. “As long as I feel like I put my best effort out there on the day, then I can’t be disappointed.”
On the men’s side, Kerr is making a return to Eugene. But he’ll have a large target on his back, especially after the 2017 he’s experienced.
The 2017 NCAA Champion in the mile run indoors, Kerr owns the sixth-fastest 1,500-meter time in NCAA history, running a time of 3:35.99 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April.
“I’m feel pretty confident,” Kerr said. “The guys I’m racing are really strong. There’s no doubting that, so I need to be on my game when it comes to nationals. But I think I’m ready to go.”
His time doubles as the New Mexico and Mountain West record and ranks 14th in the world in 2017. He hasn’t lost a race since indoors, including wins in the 1500 and 800 at the Mountain West Championships.
Additionally, the Lobos will look to two NCAA newcomers for strong performances.
Trigg enters the national championships with some momentum after setting a new personal record at the NCAA West Prelims. The senior from Plymouth, England, leaped 53 feet, nine inches to place fourth at the meet and punch his ticket to Eugene.
His mark ranks eighth in the NCAA in 2017 and third in New Mexico history. He is just the second Lobo to make the NCAA Championships in the triple jump since the 1980s.
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| Graham Thomas | |
Thomas rounds out UNM’s contingent, and the Dulce, New Mexico, native heads into the meet riding his own wave of momentum.
He owns a personal record of 8:48.07 in the steeplechase, and ran his season-best time of 8:50.65 en route to placing third in the event at the NCAA West Prelims. He ranks sixth in UNM history in the event and is just one of two Lobos to make the NCAA Championships in the steeplechase since 1983.
A former walk-on, Thomas is also the first native New Mexican since Charles Lewis in 2014 — and just the second overall since 2009 — to make the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the Lobo men.
The meet is separated into the men’s championship on Wednesday and Friday and the women’s championship on Thursday and Saturday.
New Mexico will compete Wednesday in the prelims on the 1500 (Kerr) and steeplechase (Thomas), with Wright running the final of the 10K on Thursday. Trigg will compete Friday, with the finals of the 1500 and steeplechase also on Friday.
Fans can watch the meet live on the ESPN Family of Networks and online at ESPN3.com. View the broadcast schedule above for the complete breakdown.
Fans can follow the Lobos on Twitter (@lobo_track) and Instagram (@lobo_xc_tf) for information and updates on the team!