Larkin races to MW weekly honor

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Gracelyn Larkin earned her second Mountain West Women’s Track Athlete of the Week award on Tuesday, after another standout performance over the weekend.

The junior ran a time of 15:38.73 minutes in the 5,000-meters on Friday night at the Payton Jordan Invitational hosted by Stanford. The defending Mountain West champion and All-American in the event, Larkin elevated her name to the top of the conference performance list. “To have her open up with this time in first 5,000 of the season is impressive,” said UNM head coach Joe Franklin. “As a multiple time NCAA scorer and conference champion, this shows that she’s getting prepared for the championship part of the season.”

Larkin’s time was the 15th fastest across the NCAA this season, and she also ranks No. 11 in the country in the 10,000-meters.

Larkin was named the Mountain West Women’s Track Athlete of the Week on Dec. 6, 2022 during the indoor season, and her award this week gives the Lobo track and field program 19 weekly award winners so far during the 2022-23 campaign.

The Lobos are entered in three meets this weekend, including the Penn Relays, the Texas Tech Crofoot Invitational, and the Fresno State Invitational. It will be the last set of competition before the championship portion of the season, which begins with the Mountain West Championships May 11-13 at Fresno State.