Open Announce

UNM Hosts First Indoor Meet this Weekend

HEAT SHEETS|  SCHEDULE OF EVENTS | LIVE RESULTS | MLK STATE COMMISSION RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—  Track and field season is officially here for The University of New Mexico as the Lobos host the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Collegiate Invitational this Friday and Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Working in collaboration with the New Mexico Martin Luther King Jr. State Commission as well as the City of Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department, this weekend’s meet marks the third annual MLK Indoor Track Invitational.

In last year’s meet, the Lobos showed little early season rust, producing six marks that ranked in the program’s all-time top 10. Ednah Kurgat ran 4:41.42 in the mile to finish as the top collegiate runner in the event and moved into second all-time at UNM with her time. The men’s 4×400 meter relay team of Isaac Gonzales, Ben Parmoon, Mark Haywood and Carlos Salcido combined for a time of 3:12.18 that ranked fourth in UNM history, and individually, Haywood went on to break a 10-year school record in the 600, while Salcido ran to second all-time in the 200.

In the field events, the Lobos also found success, tallying five top-10 marks, including several participating in their first collegiate meet. Among them were then-freshman Ada’ora Chigbo, who took fifth in the high jump in her Lobo debut, clearing 5- 5.25 inches, and Tanner Battikha, who claimed sixth in the long jump with 23-11.

The meet serves as the first of five indoor meets that the Lobos will host in 2019, which the comforts of their surroundings should bode well for the Cherry and Silver as the season unfolds.

Friday’s schedule contains seven field events and seven track events. Starting off the two-day meet will be the women’s weight throw, the men’s and women’s long jump and the women’s high jump at 4 p.m. MT. Two pits will be used with men competing in the North pit and the women in the South pit. The track portion of the meet gets underway at 5 p.m. with the women’s open unseeded 400-meter, followed by the men’s 3,000-meter, the women’s 3,000-meter, the men’s 600-meter, the women’s 600-meter and finally the men’s and women’s 200-meter, respectively. 

Competition will resume at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday with the women’s shot put, the first of five field events scheduled to take place on the final day. There will be 12 events on the track, beginning with the qualifying round of the women’s 60-meter hurdles at 10 a.m. The final events of the meet will be the men’s and women’s 4×400 relay at 1:50 p.m. and 2:05 p.m., respectively. 

The women enter the meet ranked ninth in the preseason USTFCCCA poll released on Jan. 10 as well as fourth in the projected preseason indoor rankings by FloTrack. The preseason recognition extended further for one Lobo in particular, Kurgat, who was named to The Bowerman Preseason Watch List, and has already collected conference and national accolades for her performance in her season debut in early December, in which she completed the 5,000-meter event in 15:14.78 to break her own school and conference record and in the process, tallied the third-fastest time in the history of the NCAA. 

Live results can be found HERE, and updates will be provided throughout the two days on the New Mexico Track and Field social media pages (New Mexico XC/T&F on Instagram and Twitter). 

Fans can attend UNM home track meets using their New Mexico Mutual Pride Pass, which can be purchased for $50, and includes admission to all indoor track, baseball and softball home events. Tickets at the door will be $5 per day, and UNM students can get into the meet for free with their student ID.

To purchase your 2018-19 New Mexico Mutual Lobo Pride Pass click here.

You may also call 925-LOBO or visit the Lobo Ticket Office located in Dreamstyle Arena for more information.