SEATTLE — University of New Mexico track & field’s Ednah Kurgat ran to a school record and likely NCAA berth in the 3,000-meter run as she clocked a superb time of 8 minutes, 57.47 seconds at the Husky Classic Saturday evening.
Kurgat, who’s all but locked up a bid to the national championships in the 5000, very likely seized a second spot at next month’s NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, behind her a personal-record performance at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle.
Her performance was also the best in the event that featured some of the top collegiate distance runners and professionals in the United State, breaking Calli Thackery’s two-year-old New Mexico record of 9:03.59 set on the same track in 2016.
Kurgat also just missed the Mountain West record of 8:54.27 set by Boise State’s Allie Ostrander the 2016 Husky Classic.
Nonetheless, Kurgat currently ranks third in the NCAA this season in the 3000, well within the cutoff of top-16 needed to qualify to the NCAA Championships.
Also competing in the 3000 was freshman Weini Kelati, who placed 12th overall with a personal record of 9:08.38. She ranks fourth in UNM history and sixth in Mountain West history.
Additionally, Charlotte Prouse set a new PR in the 5000 on Friday evening, running a time of 16:01.15. She moved into sixth place in program history in the event.
Sophie Eckel (time of 16:40.09) and Kendall Kelly (17:18.91) also competed in the 5000 on Friday.
The Lobos are off next week as they prepare to host the Mountain West Indoor Championships Feb. 22-24 at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Fans can follow @UNMLoboXCTF on Twitter and Instagram to keep track of the Lobos!