MW RELEASE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The University of New Mexico track and field team had 18 selections on the 2018-19 MW Indoor Track and Field All-Conference team, as announced by the conference on Tuesday.
Of those 18, there were three distance runners, a relay team and two field athletes on the women’s side and four runners, two field athletes, a heptathlete and a relay team on the men’s side. The men had 10 selection and the women had eight, although some student-athletes were recognized on more than one occasion for medaling in more than one event.
To earn a place on the team, the individual or the relay team had to have finished in the top-three in the event.
Earning more than one all-conference selection was Ben Parmoon after finishing third in the 400-meter dash and then running as part of the 4×400-meter relay team that finished third. This is the second and third all-conference selection for Parmoon, who also was named last year as a member of the 4×400 relay.
Also finishing in the top three in more than one event was Weini Kelati, who set the school record as well as the MW meet record in the mile en route to winning the conference championship, and opened the distance medley relay for the Lobos as they went on to take second in the event. This is the third all-conference for the sophomore, as she claimed a spot in the 3000-meter last year after winning the event.
Larimar Rodriguez, Kieran Casey and Ednah Kurgat each were named to the all-conference team for their role in the distance medley relay. The selection marks the second for Casey and the third for Kurgat.
Rounding out the track honorees were Charlotte Prouse (second, 3000-meter run) and Emily Martin (third, 5000-meter run).
In the women’s field events, Ada’ora Chigbo earned her second all-conference honor after placing second in the high jump, and Cathilee Mullings earned her first honor after finishing second in the triple jump.
Camillo Dunninger made it four years in-a-row that a heptathlete has been selected to the team, after finishing second in the multi-event with a personal-best 5263 points for his first-ever selection.
Freshman Aidan Quinn was the first triple jumper on the men’s side to earn all-conference since 2016 after winning the event in his first conference meet.
Tanner Battikha made it three-straight years of being named to the team after he won the long jump, an event that the Lobos have had at least one person on the all-conference team since 2012.
On the track, UNM’s Jay Griffin IV used a school record time of 21.08 to win the MW 200-meter dash to claim a spot on the all-conference team, his first.
The Lobos placed two on the all-conference team in the men’s 800-meter run with Michael Wilson and Kristian Hansen, after they finished second and third, respectively. Wilson’s performance was also a school record, and earned him his second all-conference selection.
Last, but not least, Isaac Cole, Gavin Sleeter and Max Wharton all earned their first all-conference honor after finishing third in the 4×400-meter relay.