ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Lobos had a successful day in Seattle, Wash., in the Husky Classic and also completed a busy first day of the Don Kirby Elite Invitational at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
The Lobos are in focus mode as the indoor season winds down. The top-16 marks or times in each event automatically qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala., on March 10-12. Four Lobos found their way onto that list or close to that list in today’s events.
The day was highlighted by Abdirizak Ibrahim breaking the school record in the 3000m run at the Husky Classic. He ran a time of 7:48.71 to break the previous record by .4 seconds (7:49.11 by Ross Millington, 2012). His time in the event puts him at No. 16 on the qualifying list. Ibrahim is now ranked in three events this season as he is also ranked 16th in the 5000m and just outside the automatic qualifiers in the mile (20th).
Two more Lobos had great success in the Husky Classic as Amelia Mazza-Downie earned 23rd on the qualifying list with a time of 15:49.82 in the 5000m and Ali Upshaw earned 29th on the list with a time of 15:54.82 in the 5000m run.
Back home at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, another Lobo found his way onto the qualifying list. In the 800m run, Matthew Larkin has been finding great success on the track. He ran a time of 1:49.24 (altitude-adjusted to 1:48.63) to earn the No. 16 spot on the qualifying list. He moved up from his previous spot of 28th with a time of 1:49.18, which he ran last weekend.
The Lobos close out the Don Kirby Elite Invitational with a full schedule on Saturday. Field events begin with the women’s B pole vault at 8:30 a.m. (MT) and track events begin shortly after at 9:45 a.m. with women’s 60m hurdles.
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