UNM Led by Kelati's Record-Breaking Performance at BU
BOSTON, Mass.— The 2019 indoor track and field season got off to a historic start for The University of New Mexico Lobos as junior Weini Kelati continued to etch her name in the record books.
Coming off of a cross country individual championship, Kelati ran another memorable race at the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener, setting the UNM women’s indoor 5000-meter record as well as the Mountain West record with her time of 15:14.71. By the narrowest of margins, just 0.07 seconds, the Lobo passed the mark that Ednah Kurgat set last December in Boston of 15:14.78.
Kelati now owns three indoor school records, including the mile (4:33.34) and the 3000-meter (8:53.98), and an outdoor school record in the 10,000-meter (32:09.10).
Furthermore, Kelati’s time places her fourth all-time in NCAA history, improving her standing from fifth on the chart at 15:15.24 that she ran in 2018 at the BU meet, an improvement of 0.53 seconds.
Here is an updated look at the collegiate indoor record book as it pertains to the Women’s 5000.
You’ll see Katie Izzo of @RazorbackTF & Weini Kelati of @UNMLoboXCTF at No. 2 & No. 4, respectively. pic.twitter.com/sflOZY3vEV
— USTFCCCA (@USTFCCCA) December 7, 2019
Her time was the second mark to make the all-time list as Arkansas’ Taylor Izzo ran a 15:13.09 to rank second all-time in NCAA history.
As the 25-lap race got underway, Kelati settled in to third behind the rabbit and Kurgat, who ran unattached, a spot she held through the first six minutes of the race until the rabbit dropped off the track. Kurgat led the field at that point with Kelati right on her hip, which they ran through the halfway point of the race.
Kelati passed Kurgat for the lead with 9:16 on the clock and proceeded to push the pace. Kelati was followed in the lead pack by Taylor Werner (unattached) and Izzo, and the three would lap other runners in the race without breaking stride.
With four laps remaining and approaching the 13-minute mark, Kelati continued to lead over Werner and Izzo, but with one lap to go, Werner passed Kelati, who would continue to lead through the finish line to win in 15:11.19. Kelati finished third behind Izzo.
The Lobos had a total of four runners in the 5000-meter, with Emily Martin running 15:52.37 and Adva Cohen running 15:53.11 to finish 14th and 15th, respectively. Martin’s time was not only a personal best by 12.1 seconds for the senior, but moved her up in the UNM individual all-time rankings to sixth. Charlotte Prouse was a did not finish.
In the first race of the day for the Lobos, Gracelyn Larkin ran in fourth through the first two minutes of the mile before passing in to the third position around the 2:30-mark. The freshman picked up her pace to narrow the gap to the front two runners at the three-minute mark, but was unable to gain any more places in the heat, finishing third in 4:50.26. However, the second-place finisher ran unattached, so among collegiate runners Larkin was the overall runner-up in the event.
Alondra Negrón Texidor settled in to the back of the pack to begin the 3000-meter before moving up to the middle of the pack using the outside lane at the three-minute mark. She sat in sixth at the five-minute mark, finishing in 9:35.17 while holding her sixth-place standing. After the two heats of the event were completed, the Lobo finished third among collegiate runners.
Up next for the Lobos is the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Collegiate Invitational, the first of three straight meets hosted by UNM, scheduled for Jan. 24 and 25 at the Albuquerque Convention Center.