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Kevin Mulcaire ran a lifetime best in the 5,000-meters on Friday night in California.

Lobos wrap up 3 meets with PRs, school record

by Evan O'Kelly

STANFORD, Calif. – Top-10 national marks by Emma Heckel and Gracelyn Larkin in the 10,000 meters and a school record by the New Mexico women’s 4×400-meter relay team highlighted a jam-packed weekend of competition at three different meets for the Lobos concluding on Saturday.

Heckel and Larkin ran the seventh and eighth-fastest times, respectively, in the NCAA this season late on Friday night in the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational in California. Heckel crossed the line in 32:31.42 minutes to finish sixth in the premier heat of the event, with Larkin right behind in seventh with a time of 32:32.61 minutes. “I was glad I had Emma with me throughout the whole race,” said Larkin. “It’s always a little more calming to race with a teammate especially when you do a lot of your training together. She ran an amazing race and also had a really big PB, so I’m super proud of her and the work we did together.”

“Gracelyn and Emma have worked very hard for the last few years,” said UNM head coach Joe Franklin. “With this being only Gracelyn’s second ever 10k and with Emma in her first fast 10k, both ran exceptionally well and hit massive lifetime bests. It gives them some of the top marks in the country.”

Both runners shattered their PRs by more than half a minute, with Heckel’s previous best being 33:05.02 minutes and Larkin’s standing at 33:10.09 minutes entering Friday’s race. “I was really happy to have gotten a PB in the 10k,” said Larkin, whose previous best in the event was set on May 14, 2022 at the Mountain West Championships. “I went in wanting to get the U23 Canadian record and I knew I was going to have to PB in order to do that. I felt very confident in the training I was doing in order to achieve a PB.”

The duo recorded the first two times in the Mountain West this season, and both were within 23 seconds of Weini Kelati’s school record of 32:09.10 minutes set in 2019. “The 10k is a very long race and a lot of things can happen during it,” Larkin said. “The plan was to stay comfortable and relaxed for the first half, and then start to push throughout the second half. It was only my second 10k ever, so I am still learning how to run the distance. Staying calm and zoned in was what I focused on through the race.”

The women weren’t the only distance runners to hit monstrous PRs on Friday, as Kevin Mulcaire enjoyed a triumphant breakthrough performance in the 5,000-meters. “This is a huge accomplishment, and I have felt good the past few years but had not been getting the results I expected,” said Mulcaire. “Even running yesterday, I finished the race and thought I could go quicker. At no point did I feel uncomfortable, and it was one of those days where it all lines up and you realize everything is possible. Things are looking a lot brighter, and I am excited for the future.”

Mulcaire crushed his PR in the 5,000-meters, taking second in his heat and 16th out of 69 runners on Friday. Mulcaire cruised to a time of 13:42.99 minutes, beating his previous collegiate best of 14:09.35 minutes and his lifetime best of 14:02.30 minutes both by more than 19 seconds. “It’s been a funny last few months, and it has been a little tough in my personal life,” Mulcaire said on preparing for Friday’s race. “I haven’t run a 5k since my PR in 2015, so I didn’t want to go in expecting it to happen. But training has been going well, and there is a whole lot of positivity and love I’m feeling from the Lobos right now. It has been a really special few months for me, and yesterday was the cap of it.”

“Kevin has had multiple years of injury, and now to finally have 13 months injury free it is fantastic,” Franklin said. “It has been great to see him have consistent training, and yesterday he goes out and challenges for the win. Consistency and training are key, and he has been doing that very well lately.”

Mulcaire’s big mark comes after he hit a big PR of 8:05.14 minutes in the 3,000-meters at the Husky Classic towards the end of the 2023 indoor season. “Indoors was a good stepping stone, but I still felt like I underperformed,” Mulcaire said on building into the outdoor season. “I have focused more on my training attitude, and (coach) Annie (Richards) has done a great job with us building the men’s team dynamic. Everyone is excited about the future.”

Jonathan Carmin approached his lifetime best in the event as well, finishing with a time of 13:54.29 minutes. That was just under two seconds behind his top indoor mark of 13:52.94, which he ran last December in Boston.

Abigail Goldstein ran her second-fastest time in the 1,500-meters on Friday, placing third among 37 runners with a time of 4:15.64 minutes. That was 0:00.15 faster than her previous best as a Lobo, which she ran at this meet a season ago. She most recently had success in the event in February at the USATF Indoor Championships, where she ran a time of 4:14.56 minutes (4:20.22) competing as an unattached athlete. “It was not paced super smoothly, so I was happier with how I competed than with the end time,” Goldstein said on the 1,500-meters. “I closed well, and I was happy with how I competed. I made the right moves, and I’m happy with where I’m at with it only being March. It is a good race to build off of and to help me practice my racing tactics again. I’m excited to run faster soon.”

Goldstein didn’t stop there, hitting a PR on Saturday this time in the 800-meters with a time of 2:07.60 minutes. That was just 0:00.06 seconds faster than her mark at the same meet last year, which had stood as her collegiate best in the event. Goldstein is now at the top of the Mountain West performance list in both events, and she ranks No. 12 nationally in the 1,500-meters. “I went out with the pacer, and we went out quite quickly,” Goldstein said on Saturday’s 800-meter race. “I’m not super confident in my 800 tactics, because I don’t race it much. I wanted to get out hard and not worry about moving around people. Because of that I went out a little quick, but I’d rather practice that and be able to close a bit better. It was an overall PR, so I’m excited about that. My speed is in a lot better of a spot than it was last year.”

Elise Thorner followed in seventh place among 37, clocking a time of 4:17.08 minutes in her first event of the 2023 outdoor season. “Abbe has trained very consistently all year,” said Franklin. “She had a great USA indoor meet, and her goals are very high. She made steps towards those goals today. With Elise bouncing back, she really gained confidence by running well.”

After making history throughout the indoor season, the Lobo women’s 4×400-meter relay squad did it again on Friday, breaking a 23-year-old outdoor school record in the event. Annamaria Leszczynska, Rebecca Grieve, Logan Neely, and Aleksandra Wolczak combined to post a time of 3:40.34 minutes, which topped the mark of 3:41.11 minutes set on May 20, 2000. The Lobos finished in the upper half among a field of 38 relay squads, placing 17th in the record-breaking time.

“They did a fantastic job,” Franklin said on the women. “We juggled the lineup last minute, and they did great. They get a little better each week. To break a school record which was established when they weren’t even born yet is a big achievement. It’s a group of sprint women who can be really good, and they are making steps towards that.”

The Lobo men were just over a second off their school record of 3:04.98 minutes (set last outdoor season), with the foursome of Jovahn Williamson, Jevon O’Bryant, Brodie Young, and Victor Akhalu checking in with a time of 3:06.32 minutes on Friday. That mark was good enough to qualify for the finals on Saturday, where the team improved to the tune of 3:06.02 minutes to finish in fifth place. Overall it was the fastest time in the Mountain West this year and the 10th-fastest in the NCAA.

“It’s the first time we’ve been to the Texas Relays in years, and they dealt with that pressure well,” Franklin said on the men qualifying for the finals. “They had some outstanding splits and they did really well to run a top-five time in school history.”

Stefanie Parsons ran a lifetime best in the 5,000-meters on Friday night on the West Coast, crossing the finish line in 16:18.23 minutes. That was 0:00.18 better than her previous PR of 16:18.41, which she ran on April 24, 2021 during her career at Edinboro. It was the fastest time by any Mountain West runner this season, and it bumped her up to No. 21 on the NCAA performance list as the calendar turned to April.

In her Lobo debut in the 1,500-meters, Klara Dess took fourth place in her heat with a time of 4:23.87 minutes. That was just over two seconds behind her lifetime best of 4:21.08 minutes, which she ran on Jan. 26, 2022 in Australia. Sarah Eckel was close behind Dess in the same heat, finishing in sixth with a time of 4:24.50 minutes. Maisie Grice made her UNM track and field debut in the 1,500-meters, clocking a time of 4:23.85 minutes, and Danielle Verster’s first collegiate 1,500-meters resulted with a time of 4:25.81 minutes.

Grice posted a time of 2:09.55 minutes in the 800-meters on Saturday, which was just two seconds off her lifetime best of 2:07.64 minutes that she ran last summer in Great Britain. Dess followed in 2:10.86 minutes, and Eckel hit a time of 2:13.09 minutes.

Matthew Larkin was the lone Lobo competing in the men’s 1,500-meters, where he placed third in his heat of 14 runners with a time of 3:47.99 minutes on Friday. He followed that up with a mark of 1:54.41 minutes in the 800-meters on Saturday.

Aidan Quinn missed his personal best in the triple jump by just one centimeter on Friday, posting a mark of 15.57 meters (51’ 1”) to top a flight of 11 competitors. The four-time Mountain West champion in the event set his PR of 15.58 meters (51’ 1.5”) at last year’s Mountain West Championships. His leap on Friday was far and away the best in the conference this season, as he became the first MW athlete to clear 15 meters.

Lokesh Sathyanathan, the reigning Mountain West Field Athlete and Freshman of the Week, improved upon last week’s mark with a long jump of 7.60 meters (24’ 11.25”) on Friday. That ensured him a firm grip on the top spot on the Mountain West performance list, as he finished tied for fourth among 18 competitors at the Texas Relays. Sathyanathan was just 0.09 meters away from his UNM best of 7.69 meters (25’ 2.75”), which he hit on Feb. 24 at the Mountain West Indoor Championships.

Mikyla Harkley kept her momentum going for the second week in-a-row, hitting another PR in the long jump to kick the Texas State Bobcat Invitational meet off on Thursday. Harkley improved upon her mark of 5.89 meters (19’ 4.0”) last week, moving up to No. 2 in the Mountain West Conference with a leap of 5.93 meters (19’ 5.5”) on Thursday. That was good enough for a second-place finish in the event among a field of 30 competitors. She followed with a solid leap of 12.29 meters (40’ 3.75”) on Saturday in the triple jump.

Tianna Holmes led a cast of three participants in the women’s 400-meters, finishing third among a field of 51 runners on Saturday with a time of 53.71 seconds. It was the fastest time this year by any Mountain West runner, as Holmes posted the conference’s first sub-54 second 400-meter run. Logan Neely was also in the top-10 in the 400-meters, running a personal-best time of 54.62 seconds to finish in ninth place. That was 0.02 seconds better than her top indoor time of the season. Rebecca Grieve ran a strong time of 55.54 seconds in the 400-meters, finishing in 16th place in her outdoor debut in the event.

Mckenna Watson was just off her PR in the 200-meters, finishing with a time of 24.31 seconds on Friday. That was just 0.29 seconds slower than her top indoor mark of the season of 24.02 seconds (23.95), which she hit on Jan. 27 in Albuquerque. Watson then posted a 100-meters time of 11.97 seconds on Saturday, which was just 0.13 seconds off her mark of 11.86 seconds last week. Maria Cisneros Llamazares also ran the 100-meters Saturday, finishing with a time of 12.69 seconds.

Leszczynska was UNM’s top finisher in the 400-meter hurdles, putting forth a time of 1:00.35 minutes to improve upon last week’s mark of 1:01.00 minutes (converted from 1:00.89). Neely was close behind at 1:00.48 minutes as she was just off her personal best of 1:00.24 minutes. Wolczak also competed in the event on Thursday, hitting a time of 1:01.62 minutes in her first collegiate 400-meter hurdles.

Victoria Plummer completed the best heptathlon of her collegiate career, racking up 4,498 points and finishing seventh among a field of 15 competitors at the Texas State meet. That was an improvement of more than 100 points upon her previous best of 4,327, which she recorded on April 9, 2022 at the Jo Meaker Classic. Plummer narrowly missed her PR by 0.01 meters in the high jump, clearing 1.69 meters (5’ 6.5”) to finish atop the field of 15 competitors. She followed by hitting a lifetime best in the 200-meters, earning 748 points with a time of 26.57 seconds to place ninth. In the long jump, Plummer went for an outdoor best of 5.32 meters (17’ 5.5”), and in the javelin she hit a distance of 20.09 meters (65’ 11”). Plummer picked up 827 points in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing fifth of 14 with a time of 15.11 seconds, and 494 points in the shot put with a toss of 9.46 meters (31’ 0.5”). She wrapped up the heptathlon with the 800-meters, running a personal-best outdoor time of 2:33.64 minutes to pick up 648 more points.

Awet Yohannes finished just off his personal best in the steeplechase, placing third in his heat with a time of 8:45.41 minutes on Friday evening in California. That was good enough to finish 12th overall among a field of 57 competitors in the event. Nehemiah Cionelo also ran the steeplechase on Friday, posting a time of 9:17.57 minutes.

Competing unattached for the Lobos, Rivaldo Leacock was the top finisher in the 400-meter hurdles on Friday at the Texas State Bobcat Invitational. Leacock topped a field of 38 competitors in the event, posting a time of 50.99 seconds to finish just off his PR of 49.63 seconds which he set last year. Leacock followed with a 400-meters time of 48.39 seconds on Saturday.

NEXT WEEK: The Lobos have their first of two home meets during the outdoor season, as they’re set to host the New Mexico Spring Invitational on April 6 at the UNM Track Complex.