UNM Qualifies Four for NCAA Indoor Championships
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The University of New Mexico track and field team has qualified four runners for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships to be held on March 8-9 at the at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala., as announced by the NCAA on Tuesday.
Of those four, there will be three women and one man competing in three different events throughout the championship, with all but one qualifying for more than one event.
On the men’s side, the lone representative is Michael Wilson in the 800-meter run, after qualifying with his most recent time of 1:47.66 at the Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championship. His time ranks as the 12th-best time in the country.
Weini Kelati, Ednah Kurgat and Charlotte Prouse will lead the women with two qualified events in the meet, the 3000-meter run and the 5000-meter.
Kurgat and Kelati have the two-fastest times in the NCAA in the 5000-meter this season with their 15:14.78 and 15:15.24, respectively, that they both ran in the season opener in Boston back in December. Prouse enters the championship with the sixth-fastest time of 15:26.01 that she also posted in Boston.
Kelati enters the championship with the third-best time in the NCAA in the 3000-meter with an 8:53.98 that she produced at the 112thMillrose Games. Kurgat (8:59.78) and Prouse (9:00.00) both sit in ninth and 10th in the seeding.
The entries were determined based on results from throughout the indoor season with the top-16 times or marks from each event qualifying, or the top-12 relay teams.
Sitting just outside of the cutoff is Adva Cohen, who ranked 18th in the 3000-meter run with 9:05.04 and a near-miss 17th in the 5000-meter.
All four participants will be making their second appearances at the NCAA Indoor Championship meet, with all four qualifying in 2018.
Last year, Wilson qualified for nationals as part of the men’s DMR team, so this will mark his first trip as an individual.
Kelati and Kurgat both qualified last season in both the 5000- and the 3000-meters, with Kurgat finishing second in the 5000 and Kelati posting two fifth-place results.
Prouse competed on the women’s DMR team last season, and like Wilson, will mark her first appearance in an individual event.
At the 2018 championships, the women finished tied for 10th with 17 points, for their best finish in program history in both points and standing.
ESPN3 will stream the championships live starting at 4:30 p.m. MT on March 8 and starting at 3 p.m. MT on March 9.