Program-High 11 Lobos Set for NCAA Championships
EUGENE, Ore. — The University of New Mexico track & field team is ready for a program-best 11 Lobos to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., on June 8-11 at Hayward Field. The 11 student-athletes who qualified is tied for a program best with the 2009 team.
The championships will be hosted by the University of Oregon at the historic Hayward Field and features the top-24 athletes in each event (top-12 from East regional and top-12 from West regional). 11 Lobos punched their ticket to compete in the championships this season, tied for the most in program history (last 11 was in 2009). Of the 11 competing, eight of them are first-timers to the big stage in outdoor season. With 11 athletes, the New Mexico squad has submitted 12 entries. This is the 13th most amongst all the DI schools (tied with Duke, Kansas, NC State and Miami (FL).
The championships, similar to the regionals are split by gender. The men will compete on Wednesday, June 8, and Friday, June 10. The women will compete on Thursday, June 9, and Saturday, June 11.
On Wednesday, Jovahn Williamson will open competition for New Mexico as he runs in the 400m dash semifinal at 6 p.m. (PT). Rivaldo Leacock will follow this as he runs in the 400m hurdles semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Williamson and Leacock will combine with Victor Akhalu and Jevon O’Bryant to run in the men’s 4x400m relay semifinal at 7:48 p.m.
On Thursday, Abbe Goldstein and Stefanie Parsons will start things off as they run in the 1500m semifinal at 5:46 p.m. Elise Thorner and Adva Cohen are set to compete in the 3000m steeplechase semifinal round at 6:02 p.m. Amelia Mazza-Downie and Emma Heckel will close the night out in the 10K final at 8:08 p.m.
Friday’s schedule depend on who of the men advanced to the final round. If everyone advances, Williamson will run in the 400m dash final at 7:02 p.m. Leacock will compete in the 400m hurdles final at 7:27 p.m. The 4x400m relay team will compete in the final round of the event at 8:21 p.m.
Saturday’s schedule will also depend on who advanced to the final rounds in their events. Should they advance, Goldstein and Parsons will run in the 1500m final at 2:41 p.m., while Thorner and Cohen will compete in the 3000m SC final at 2:54 p.m. The trio of Gracelyn Larkin, Heckel and Mazza-Downie close the championships out in the 5000m final at 4:25 p.m.
The top eight finishers in each event will earn USTFCCCA First Team All-American while the 9-16 finishers will earn Second Team, which will be announced by the organization next week.
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