Lobos Open 2018 with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invite
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invite
Every January, as a new year unfolds on the calendar and a new semester starts on campus, there’s a certain feel in the crisp Duke City air.
Like the anticipation of greatness and the thrill of competition, it’s a feeling of excitement. It’s a surge of energy that crackles throughout the Albuquerque Convention Center, reaching deep into the facility and lighting up the track and field within.
That feeling, incipient with the dawn of January, is about to become real.
The University of New Mexico track & field team opens up its 2018 season this weekend as the Lobos look to embrace the energy by hosting the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
In its second year, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational is shaping up to be another stellar competition in New Mexico’s series of home meets at the Albuquerque Convention Center, which features the Mountain West Indoor Championships in late February.
With over 800 collegiate and professional athletes set to compete this weekend, this meet’s action provides the Lobos with a prime opportunity to gauge their team.
“We’ll get to find out where we are and who trained over break,” UNM head coach Joe Franklin said. “That’s the goal. A lot of schools have competed once or twice already and this is our first meet. There will be about 800 athletes competing, and it should be a great opener.”
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| Josh Kerr |
Although New Mexico has yet to compete this season, Franklin and his staff have ideas of what their team can be.
Loaded with talent up and down the roster — including some elite athletes with national title aspirations — the Lobos have the pieces to contend both at the Mountain West and NCAA level.
For the women, some of the talent that helped them win a second NCAA cross country title last November will be in action this weekend, including Ednah Kurgat, the reigning individual national champion in cross country.
Already ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in the 5,000-meter run after racing in early December, Kurgat is set to run in the mile, and will look to pace the Lobo women at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational.
Additionally, two-time NCAA champ Josh Kerr is slated to run in the 800 this weekend, stepping down in distance from his specialty of the mile. Kerr is already a member of the Preseason Watch List for The Bowerman, the top individual award in collegiate track & field.
Along with the two distance standouts, New Mexico will also see a number of returning athletes make their season debuts this weekend.
On the men’s side, Carlos Salcido (200), Mark Haywood (600) and Kristian Uldbjerg Hansen (mile) are among the veterans competing on the track, with Tanner Battikha (long jump), Jason Atencio (pole vault) and Daniel Lam (pole vault, shot put) also seeing action in the field events.
For the women, Larimar Rodriguez (600), Kyra Mohns (600, 60 hurdles) and Kendall Kelly (mile) are some of the returning athletes taking aim on the track, while Katherine Whiting (pole vault), Shannon Fritz (high jump, pole vault) and Allison Mady (shot put, weight throw) compete in the field.
Many newcomers are also competing collegiately for the first time this weekend as they get their first taste of NCAA track & field.
“They’re going into situations they haven’t gone into before,” Franklin said of the newcomers. “There are nearly 800 athletes and multiple Olympians at this meet, and they’ll all get to see what Division I track & field is.”
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| Ednah Kurgat |
For the men, that includes Ian Crowe-Wright (3000), Brent Dionisio (high jump), Omarei Gregory (triple jump), Miles Brinson (long jump) and Camillo Dünninger (60 hurdles, pole vault, shot put).
Ada’ora Chigbo (high jump), Shalom Keller (200, 4×400), Mariah Gordon (400), Steffi Jones (600), Elisabetta Mackin (600) and Sarah McKeever (pole vault) are some of the women’s athletes who are making their UNM debuts.
All together, this weekend serves a legitimate springboard for the Lobos as they look to get their veterans back up to speed and their newcomers acclimated to college track.
“We’re working out the kinks for the next four weeks,” Franklin said, “because every meet gets more important as you go along.”
Helping facilitate this early-season trial is a competitive field that features a number of decorated professional athletes and top-tier schools.
UCLA and USC are both competing at the meet, along with regional foes UTEP, New Mexico State, Fresno State, CSUN, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara and North Texas.
Professional athletes like Brittney Reese, Kendell Williams and Marquis Dendy will also be in attendance at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational.
“The caliber of this meet is outstanding because not only do you have professional athletes, you have some of the best college athletes in the country,” Franklin said.
The meet starts Friday with field events at 4 p.m. and track events at 5 p.m., while Saturday’s action kicks off with the field events at 9:30 a.m. and track events at 10:15 a.m.
Check liverunningresults.com throughout the meet for live results and GoLobos.com after the meet Saturday for a full recap.
Fans can follow @UNMLoboXCTF on Twitter and Instagram to keep track of the Lobos!