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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The University of New Mexico track and field started the Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships off strong on Thursday at the Albuquerque Convention Center behind solid performances by its two heptathletes, Camillo Dunninger and Ryan Chase .
Dunninger led the Lobos through the first four portions of the two-day event, scoring 2888 points and setting two personal bests while tying another personal best. Just 57 points behind the sophomore is Chase with 2831 points, with his strongest point total coming on the first event of the day, the 60-meter dash.
Chase started the day with a time of 7.22 in the 60-meter dash for 813 points and a third-place finish. In the next event, the long jump, the senior recorded a mark of 21-1.25 (6.43m) twice to add 682 points, which dropped him to fourth overall. He would maintain that standing through the final two portions of the heptathlon: the shot put, where his best mark was 41-2.50 (12.56m) for 640 points and the high jump, where he cleared his first four bars on the first attempt before fouling out at 1.91m. His final height of 6-2 (1.88m) earned him 696 points.
The day belonged to Dunninger as he got stronger as the competition went on. After starting out with 755 points and a fifth-place result in the 60-meter dash after running a 7.39 to tie his personal best, Dunninger jumped 22-5.25 (6.84m) on his first attempt in the long jump to set a personal best. His previous best was 21-8.25 that he recorded at the UNM Team Invitational. The first round attempt would hold as the best mark in the event, adding 776 to his total and moving him up two spots into third. Dunninger would hold onto his position through the shot put and the high jump. His clearance of 6-3.25 (1.91m) on his third attempt at that height in the high jump set a personal best for Dunninger and pushed him to 723 points in the multi-event for a third-place finish with three events to go.
Dunninger clears 1.91m on his third attempt and he’s moving on to 1.94m with 2 jumpers remaining.
That’s a new PR for the sophomore.#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/W2yScxNzvO— New Mexico XC/T&F (@UNMLoboXCTF) February 21, 2019
The heptathlon concludes with the 60-meter hurdles, the pole vault and the 1000-meter run on Friday morning, starting at 10 a.m.
The men’s and women’s DMR closed out the first day of competition, the first of many anticipated events on the track.
The men led off the DMR with Kristian Hansen, Isaac Cole, Michael Wilson and Ian Crowe-Wright running for UNM, respectively. Hansen got out in front early on in the race and put the Lobos in the lead, which Cole and Wilson maintained. Crowe-Wright struggled to close the last section of the race, as the Lobos finished just off the podium in fourth with a time of 9:59.52.
On the women’s side, the team of Weini Kelati, Larimar Rodriguez, Kieran Casey and Ednah Kurgat lined up for the Lobos and turned in a runner-up finish in 11:29.42. Kelati created separation from the rest of the teams during her opening leg of the race with Boise State in second before she handed off to Rodriguez, but the Broncos were able to catch up to and pass the Lobos. By the time that Kurgat received the baton from Casey, the Broncos were too far ahead, crossing the line first for the event win.
Through two events scored on the women’s side and just one event scored on the men’s side, the Lobo women sit in a tie for fifth with eight points and the men are in third with five points.
Events begin at 10 a.m. Friday morning with the remainder of the heptathlon, followed by the women’s weight throw at 12:30 p.m. and the men’s long jump at 1 p.m. The track events begin at 1:30 p.m. with the qualifying round of the men’s mile.
Tickets are available at the door, with prices of $10 for adults and $5 for children. Live results will also be available HERE and the meet will be streamed on FloTrack but will require a subscription.