Holmes, Young highlight final regular-season meets for Lobos

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Sprinters Tianna Holmes and Brodie Young put their names atop the Mountain West Conference performance lists on Saturday, highlighting a weekend of competition across four meets for the New Mexico track and field team.

Holmes jumped to the top of the Mountain West performance list in the 200-meters, clocking in at 23.27 seconds on Saturday at the Fresno State Invitational to top a field of 46 runners. The school record holder in the event, Holmes was just 0.15 seconds away from the Lobos’ all-time top mark. Holmes also led the Lobos in the 400-meters, running to a time of 53.27 seconds at the Fresno State Invitational on Saturday. That was an improvement of 0.02 seconds upon her Mountain West-leading time entering the weekend.

Freshman Mckenna Watson came a fraction away from the school record in the 100-meters, clocking a lifetime best of 11.62 seconds (converted from 11.59) on Saturday at the Texas Tech Corky Shootout in Lubbock, Texas. Watson kept herself at No. 2 on the Mountain West performance list, and inched closer to Barbara Bell’s 1984 school record of 11.52 seconds. Watson followed with a time of 23.82 seconds (23.75) in the 200-meters, with that PR keeping her at No. 4 on the conference performance list.

Young leaped to the top of the Mountain West performance list in the 400-meters, breaking the 46-second barrier for the first time in his life on Saturday in California. Young crossed the line in 45.92 seconds, topping a field of 18 competitors at the Fresno State Invitational. Jevon O’Bryant followed close behind Young, clocking in at 46.19 seconds to finish second in the event. O’Bryant improved upon his previous season-best time of 46.53 seconds, moving up to No. 3 on the Mountain West performance list with his time on Saturday.

In Corvallis, Ore., at the Oregon State High Performance Meet, Maisie Grice ran her top time of the year in the 1,500-meters on Friday evening, clocking in at 4:18.83 minutes to finish second among 12 runners. That bumped Grice up to No. 7 on the Mountain West performance list in the event, and it was just under a second off her lifetime best of 4:17.99 minutes. Sarah Eckel followed with a time of 4:21.29 minutes in the 1,500-meters on Friday.

Ethan Brouw finished just off his personal best in the 800-meters on Saturday at Fresno State, winning an event that featured 37 competitors with a time of 1:48.12 minutes. The blazing-fast time put Brouw, who was an All-American in the event during the indoor season, at the top of the Mountain West performance list. Harrison Smith III also competed in the 800-meters, finishing in 20th place with a time of 1:55.82 minutes.

The quartet of Stefanie Parsons, Elise Thorner, Danielle Verster, and Abigail Goldstein combined to run a time of 17:26.44 minutes in the 4×1500-meter relay on Saturday in Philadelphia at the Penn Relays. That was nearly 10 seconds faster than the time of 17:35.25 minutes which the Lobos ran in 2014 the last time the team participated in the rare event. Saturday’s time was good enough for a sixth-place finish among the 10 teams competing.

Competing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for the first time as a Lobo, Lauren Bettencourt won her heat of 13 runners with a time of 10:46.75 minutes on Friday night in Oregon. That was good enough for the 11th-fastest time in the Mountain West Conference this spring.

Logan Neely led the Lobo women in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 1:00.02 minutes (59.91) to place eighth out of 25 runners in Texas. Annamaria Leszczynska was close behind in 10th place with a time of 1:00.62 minutes (1:00.51), and Analisa Ibarra finished in 1:04.74 minutes (1:04.63) which was her fastest time in a Lobo uniform.

Victor Akhalu competed in both the 200-meters and 100-meters, running a time of 10.50 seconds in the 100-meters to place second among a field of 29 runners at Fresno State. Akhalu followed with a time of 21.33 seconds in the 200-meters (+2.5) to place third among 23 runners.

Tim Harris ran a lifetime best in the 200-meters on Saturday in Texas, posting a time of 22.60 seconds (22.53). Harris’s previous best had been 22.93 seconds, which he ran during his career at Loyola Chicago.

Rebecca Grieve represented the Lobos in the 800-meters on Saturday, checking in with a time of 2:10.35 minutes as she took third place among a field of 20 runners at Fresno State.

Mikyla Harkley had a good showing in the triple jump on Saturday in California, placing second among a field of 12 competitors with a leap of 12.47 meters (40’ 11”) (+3).

Zennia Gonzalez hit her season best in the long jump, clearing a distance of 5.79 meters (19’ 0”) (+5.5) to finish in seventh among a field of 20 competitors at the Texas Tech meet. Lilee Kaasch also competed in the long jump on Saturday, finishing with a distance of 5.27 meters (17’ 3.5”) (+3.1). Kaasch followed with a triple jump of 11.35 meters (37’ 7.25”) on Saturday.

Victoria Plummer cleared 1.61 meters (5’ 3.25”) in the high jump, leading the Lobos with a fourth-place finish among a field of 12 in the event. Plummer also competed in the 200-meters, where she checked in with a time of 26.32 seconds (26.25) (+3.8).

Alyssa Magallanez also cleared the mark of 1.61 meters (5’ 3.25”), while Emily Ho followed with a leap of 1.56 meters (5’ 1.25”). On the men’s side, Adam Giron was the lone Lobo to compete in the high jump where he cleared a mark of 1.87 meters (6’ 1.5”).

Kora Pettengill ran her top 100-meter time on Saturday, checking in with a mark of 12.60 seconds (12.57) in Texas.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Lobos will focus on training next week, before kicking off the championship portion of the schedule with the Mountain West Championships May 11-13 at Fresno State.