LUBBOCK, Texas— Sophomore Ada’ora Chigbo won her fourth high jump event in as many meets to lead The University of New Mexico track and field team in its final meet before the Mountain West Championships next week.
Held on the campus of Texas Tech on Saturday, the Lobos finished win one event win and one second-place result, as well as three third-place finishers and two competitors that finished in fourth.
Chigbo was the only competitor in the high jump to clear 5-7 (1.70m) in the event, in which she cleared on her second attempt. The height was the first bar that Chigbo attempted.
Beau Clafton started off the day with a runner-up showing in the javelin, throwing 184-10 (56.35m) on his sixth attempt for his best mark. Of the five legal throws, all five would have qualified for the second-place result.
UNM had two student-athletes finish third in their respective events on the track and one in a field event with Shannon Fritz in the high jump, Steffi Jones on the track in the 800-meter and Jay Griffin IV in the 200-meter. Fritz gave UNM two finishers in the top three in the high jump with her 5-5 (1.54m) result, clearing the bar on her first attempt. However, when taking into account just collegiate competitors, Fritz’s result would have resulted in a second-place finish.
Jones (800m, 2:13.45- was fifth after first lap of the 800-meter run but improved two spots to finish third in 2:13.45. Fellow Lobo Larimar Rodriguez led after the first lap before finishing fifth at 2:14.47. In the 200-meter, Griffin ran 21.11 to place third among all runners.
Allison Mady threw 42-8 (13.00m) on her fifth attempt to finish fourth in the shot put, while Katherine Whiting placed fourth in the pole vault with a height of 11-11.75 (3.65m). Both Whiting and Fritz finished at the same height in the event, but Whiting had the edge on attempts after clearing the first two bars of the competition on the first attempt.
Ben Parmoon was the top Lobo finisher in the 400-meter with a sixth-place finish in 48.28 but the second finisher when taking into account collegiate competitors.
Up next for UNM is the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Fresno, Calif., hosted by Fresno State. Competition begins on Wednesday, May 8 and goes until Saturday, May 11.