Results
CLOVIS, Calif. — Facing arguably two of the longest events of this week’s championships, the Lobos were more than up to the task.
The University of New Mexico track & field team opened up competition at the 2018 Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championships with strong performances in the 10,000-meter run and combined events on Thursday.
Ednah Kurgat and Weini Kelati led the way with a pair of dominant races in the women’s 10000, while the Lobos’ multi-event athletes tallied a trio of scoring efforts in both the decathlon and heptathlon on day two of the four-day meet
Daniel Lam and Beau Clafton placed second and seventh, respectively, in the decathlon, while Kyra Mohns captured a third-place finish in the heptathlon at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis, California.
Between the combined events and the 10Ks, the only two events to go final so far at the championships, the Lobo women lead the championships with 24 team points. The men are third with 10 team points.
Kurgat and Kelati powered the New Mexico women up the team standings, as the duo swept the top-two finishes via two masterful performances.
The tandem bolted to the front of the 16-athlete pack quickly, lapping the field within a matter of minutes. Kurgat eventually pulled away from her teammate and cruised to the title in 32 minutes, 31.55 seconds.
Kurgat’s mark broke the championship record of 33:18.25 set by teammate Alice Wright in 2015, and ranks second all-time in program history behind Wright (32:15.73). Kurgat’s victory is also UNM’s third in the last four years, joining Wright (2015) and Calli Thackery (2016).
Kelati wasn’t far behind as the freshman scooted into second place with a time of 32:41.92 that was also superior to the former meet record. Kelati’s time ranks her fourth in New Mexico history.
Together, they became the first duo since 2011 to sweep the top-two finishes in the 10K at the conference championships.
Additionally, the trio of Wright, Kurgat and Kelati rank Nos. 2, 4 and 6 in the NCAA in the event.
In the combined events, Lam captured his third-straight runner-up finish in the decathlon, finishing the 10-event spectacle with a total of 6,975 points.
Winning performances in the javelin throw (personal-record mark of 169 feet, 4 inches) long jump (23-1 ¼) and pole vault (14-11) powered Lam over Wednesday and Thursday.
He also tallied top-five results in nine of the 10 events, including PRs in the 100 (11.13) and discus throw (137-4).
For Mohns, she registered her first career all-conference honor in the heptathlon, finishing with a personal-record score of 5,391 points to place third overall. That score is good for third all-time in program history, while the third-place finish is the best by a Lobo in the event since 2010.
Mohns posted three PRs, including two historically significant marks in the javelin (137-6) and 100 hurdles (14.22). Those results, which both rank ninth all-time at UNM in each event, placed first and second overall, respectively, at the meet.
Mohns also relied on strong showings in the 200 (third place, PR of 25.23) and high jump (tied for fifth, 5-5).
Through Thursday’s action, the Lobos lead the women’s standings with a score of 24 points, while the Colorado State men lead the men’s standings with 36 points.
Day three of the championships start Friday at 4 p.m. MT with the men’s hammer throw, while action on the track is slated to start at 5:30 p.m. MT with the qualifying rounds of the women’s 1500-meter run.
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