Preview: Invitational mile highlights New Mexico Team Open
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A women’s invitational mile figures to highlight the upcoming New Mexico Team Open, slated for Friday and Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
This weekend’s competition kicks off on Friday afternoon at 2:45 p.m., and resumes Saturday morning at 10 a.m. A live video stream will be available on FloTrack online here and live results will be available online here. The full meet schedule can be viewed online here.
The invitational mile, which features four of UNM’s All-Americans, is set to kick off at 4:50 p.m. on Friday afternoon. Elise Thorner, Gracelyn Larkin, and Samree Dishon were each All-Americans during the 2022 cross country season, and Stefanie Parsons was an All-American in the mile during the 2019 indoor season in her career at Edinboro University. Parsons is coming off a PR in the mile, as she ran a time of 4:36.19 minutes at the University of Washington Preview on Jan. 14. Dishon also hit a PR at that meet, with a time of 4:47.35 minutes.
Thorner, the reigning Mountain West Conference champion in the event, carries a personal best time of 4:43.01 minutes into the meet. Larkin has racked up five All-American awards in her three-year Lobo career, and has a personal-best mile time of 4:48.85 minutes. She narrowly missed that mark on Jan. 14 at the University of Washington Preview, where she ran a mile time of 4:49.07 minutes.
New faces for the Lobos in the event will be Sarah Eckel and Klara Dess. Eckel made her debut in a UNM uniform during the fall cross country season, while Dess arrived at UNM after the semester break and will be making her overall Lobo debut. Dess, Eckel, Parsons, and Thorner will each also compete in the invitational 800-meters, which is slated for Saturday at 12:45 p.m.
The trio of Lauren Bettencourt, Samantha Valentine, and Semira Mebrahtu Firezghi is scheduled to compete in both the mile and the 800-meters on Saturday. Bettencourt is coming off a personal-best mile time of 5:08.00 minutes last week. Valentine competed in both events two weeks ago in Seattle, while Mebrahtu Firezghi will be making her season debut in the events. Laini Cota will join the group in the 800-meters as well, as the true freshman will make her track debut for the Lobos.
LOBOS CRACK TOP-25 NATIONALLY: The elite status of UNM’s women’s distance crew, along with some noteworthy performances in last week’s opening home meet, helped the Lobos crack the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association top-25 rankings announced on Monday. The UNM women checked in at No. 23 nationally, and are ranked No. 5 within the Mountain region.
WHITE TO JUMP AGAIN COMING OFF MW HONORS: In her Lobo debut, Elizabeth White turned heads as she came 0.25 inches away from breaking the UNM record in the long jump. White posted a leap of 6.22 meters (20’ 5”), winning the event and earning Mountain West Field Athlete of the Week accolades. She enters this week’s meet with a PR of 6.34 meters (20’ 9.75”) in the long jump, which she achieved during her career at Southern Utah. White is also entered in the 60-meters, where she matched her PR with a converted time of 7.94 seconds last week.
2 MORE RECORDS FOR GRIEVE: After breaking the school record in the 600-meters in her first-ever appearance as a Lobo in December, true freshman Rebecca Grieve added to her tally with two more school records last week. First she won the 300-meters with a record time of 38.81 seconds, before helping UNM’s 4×400-meter relay squad achieve the school record with a time of 3:39.77 minutes. This week, Grieve is entered in the invitational 800-meters and is in the Lobos’ pool of runners for the 4×400-meters.
QUINN ENTERED FOR SEASON DEBUT: Lobo triple-jump star Aidan Quinn sat out last week’s meet, but is entered this week in the triple jump along with Darryl Thomas. Quinn is a four-time Mountain West champion in the event, and holds a PR of 15.73 meters (51’ 7.25”).
MEN’S MILERS IN ACTION: Two-time cross country All-American Abdirizak Ibrahim is set to make his indoor track season debut, as he will lead a men’s mile crew with a PR time of 3:57.85 minutes in the event. Joining him on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. will be Jonathan Carmin, who will run his first collegiate mile after a productive debut cross country season with the Lobos.
BURKEY BACK TO THE JUMP PIT: After establishing a personal-best last week in the long jump, Lobo newcomer Jake Burkey is back at it Friday with his signature event scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Burkey finished second among a field of 31 jumpers last week, with a mark of 7.52 meters (24’ 8.25”) to best his previous jump of 7.50 meters he set during his career at University of Birmingham. Lokesh Sathyanathan is also entered in the long jump on Friday, while Adam Giron will participate in the high jump.
YOUNG COMING OFF PR, SCOTTISH RECORD: Lobo newcomer Brodie Young set a Scottish record in the 300-meters last week, as he ran a time of 33.94 seconds in the first meet of his collegiate career. After his second-place finish, he is entered in the 200-meters this week and is scheduled to run a leg of UNM’s 4×400-meter relay. Also set to run both those events this week is Jevon O’Bryant, who emerged as the winner in last week’s 300-meters with a time of 33.39 seconds. O’Bryant and Young will be joined by Jovahn Williamson and Rivaldo Leacock to form UNM’s first 4×400-meter relay squad of the season. O’Bryant, Williamson, and Leacock were each on last year’s Mountain West Champion 4×400-meter squad which ran a time of 3:09.68 minutes to win the outdoor title last spring.
POLE VAULTERS LOOK TO BUILD: Alyssa Gregory had a good start to her Lobo career last week, notching a PR in the pole vault with a height of 3.55 meters (11’7.75”) cleared. She is entered in the event again – which will kick off the meet on Friday at 3 p.m. – along with true freshman Kailey Ludwig and sophomore Abbie Schwieder. That trio will also participate in the 60-meters on Saturday, scheduled for an 11:55 a.m. start.
WOMEN’S SPRINT OUTLOOK: The Lobos will have a hefty group of 200-meter participants on Friday. Aleksandra Wolczak, Alexandra Adams, Maria Cisneros Llamazares, Analisa Ibarra, and Leigh James are all set to go in the unseeded 200 at 3:30 p.m. Then at 6:20 p.m., Annamaria Leszczynska, Logan Neely, and Mckenna Watson will close out the evening in the 200 as well. Wolczak, Cisneros Llamazares, Watson, and Adams are also entered in the 60-meters on Saturday, and the Lobos could construct a 4×400-meter relay squad from any of the aforementioned.
ON THE MEN’S SIDE: Gal Arad is coming off a PR in the 200-meters with a time of 21.45 seconds at last week’s home meet. He is set for the 200-meters, along with O’Bryant, Williamson, Leacock, and Victor Akhalu. Arad will also run in the 60-meters on Saturday, while Akhalu will compete in the 400-meters. He will be joined by Lobo newcomer Ayoub El Ashmawi, who is entered in both the 400-meters and the 200-meters this weekend. In the 60-meter hurdles, Gannon Christman is the lone Lobo entered carrying a PR time of 8.34 seconds into the event.
OTHER NOTABLES: Mikyla Harkley is entered in her third meet of the season, as she’ll participate in the long jump and triple jump. She has shown consistency in the triple jump this season with leaps of 11.88 meters (38’ 11.75”) at the Air Force Meet on Dec. 2 and 11.87 meters (38’ 11.5”) last week, and she holds a PR of 12.48 meters (40’ 11.5”) in the event. This will be her season debut in the long jump, where she holds a PR of 5.80 meters (19’ 0.5”). Joining Harkley in the triple jump and long jump is freshman Lilee Kaasch, who will be competing for the third time this season.
Alyssa Magallanez returns to the high jump station on Friday, where she, Victoria Plummer, and Kora Pettengill will begin their weekend at 3:30 p.m. Plummer and Pettengill are each also entered in the 60-meter hurdles, scheduled for Saturday at 11:15 a.m. Camille Jackson, coming off her first Lobo meet last week, will compete in the 3,000-meters on Friday. Ibarra is the lone Lobo woman entered in the 400-meters, which are set for 1:20 p.m. on Saturday.