Open Announce
Gracelyn Larkin (L to R), Amelia Mazza-Downie, Abigail Goldstein, and Samree Dishon all competed at the Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Saturday in Boston.

Lobos total 9 PRs at Colyear-Danville Season Opener

by Evan O'Kelly

BOSTON – Kicking off the indoor track and field season on Saturday at the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener, New Mexico’s distance squad competed in three races at the track and tennis center.

The Lobos totaled nine personal bests throughout Saturday’s action.

Gracelyn Larkin led the Lobo women in the 5,000-meters, posting a time of 15:37.47 minutes to finish in 14th place among a field of 130 competitors.

Samree Dishon, who earned All-America honors her last time out at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, took 31st place running a time of 15:54.27 minutes. Dishon surpassed her collegiate best in the 5,000-meters, which sat at 15:54.83 minutes entering the day.

Amelia Mazza-Downie ran a time of 16:00.39 minutes in the first meet of her indoor season, and placed 36th. Emma Heckel crossed the finish line just behind Mazza-Downie, running a time of 16:01.90 minutes to take 38th place. Finishing in 75th place was Ali Upshaw, who clocked a time of 16:46.03 minutes.

The Lobos stuck to their pack in the 3,000-meter race, with five UNM runners finishing within 11 spots of one another. Sarah Eckel led the way with a time of 9:15.20 minutes, tying for 19th place. Eckel crushed her PR in the race, surpassing a mark of 9:26.10 minutes that she set in Sydney, Australia in Nov. 2019.

Right behind Eckel was Stefanie Parsons, who cruised to a time of 9:16.20 minutes to place 21st. Parsons improved her PR, topping her time of 9:41.92 minutes which she ran at the Grand Valley State Big Meet on Feb. 14, 2020 while attending Edinboro University.

Fresh off competing in the NCAA Cross Country Championships, Elise Thorner kicked off her indoor season with a time of 9:17.51 minutes to placed 23rd. Thorner’s previous best in the 3,000-meters was 9:28.19, which she ran at this meet last year on Dec. 4, 2021.

Making her Lobo track debut was Maisie Grice, who took 27th place running a time of 9:24.74 minutes. That time was five seconds faster than her previous personal best of 9:29.85 minutes.

Senior Samantha Valentine got her final collegiate season off to a solid start, running a time of 9:27.52 minutes to take 30th place. Valentine’s time was nearly six full seconds better than her previous best, which she ran on Feb. 15, 2020 at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational with a mark of 9:33.16 minutes.

Also competing in the 3,000-meters for UNM was Semira Mebrahtu Firezghi, who placed 46th with a time of 9:48.46 minutes. It was her first time breaking the 10-minute mark, as her personal best had been 10:02.69 minutes set at the 2022 Mountain West Indoor Championships on Feb. 26, 2022.

Although her performance Saturday won’t count on her UNM register, senior Abigail Goldstein raced her way to a 14th-place finish in the 3,000-meters with a time of 9:10.18 minutes while competing unattached. Goldstein’s PR in the event during her collegiate competitive career was 9:17.59 minutes which she recorded at the 2022 Mountain West Championships.

The Lobos were also represented by Jonathan Carmin on Saturday, who was the lone men’s runner to compete. Running among a field of 200 racers in the 5,000-meters, Carmin placed 65th with a time of 13:52.94 seconds. It was his first collegiate track and field race. Carmin’s previous personal best in the race was 14:01.07 minutes.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Lobos will focus on training for the next two months, before returning to the track on Jan. 21, 2023 with the Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational at Albuquerque Convention Center.