Lobo Track & Field Hosts First Home Meet Saturday
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Track & Field hosts its first home meet of the season at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Invitational on Saturday, with the Lobos set to welcome 40 teams to the state-of-the-art facilities at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Saturday’s events – as well as all of UNM’s collegiate home meets this season – will be exclusively live streamed via FloTrack, with live results available via the schedule tab at GoLobos.com. Heat sheets will be posted to the Home Meet Information tab on the UNM Track & Field page as well as on the 2023-24 Track Schedule.
A link to live results and heat sheets will be posted to GoLobos.com by end of day.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Open — exclusively for open/community competition – will also take place at the ABQ Convention Center on Saturday. Meet information for open competitors is available here.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Invitational & Open
Jan. 20 | Albuquerque, N.M. | Albuquerque Convention Center
A PREMIER SURFACE
The current surface – the same WSTY Mondo used at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo – at the ABCC was unveiled in March 2021 and cost $3 million in total, with renovations that helped solidify the city’s ability to attract and keep hosting national meets that bring the best competition to Albuquerque. Since 2005, 102 indoor track meets have been hosted at the ABCC — 16 being national championship events at either the collegiate or national level — and indoor track has generated over $30 million in revenue for the city of Albuquerque in that span.
TOP NCAA MARKS
On the men’s side, Samuel leads five UNM men that rank in the Top 50 on the 3,000m qualifying list – more than any other D-I program in the nation heading into this weekend’s events. A total of 10 male UNM athletes and four female athletes have all posted times or marks that rank in the Top 50 on the most recent NCAA Indoor D-I Qualifying List.
The top 16 competitors in the nation in individual events and the top 12 in relays at the end of the indoor season will earn berths to the NCAA Indoor Championship Meet, set to take place in Boston at The TRACK at New Balance from March 8-9.
MEN’S 3,000M D-I INDOOR QUALIFYING LIST
| Rank | Athlete | Time | Meet | Date |
| 6 | Habtom Samuel | 7:45.61 | UW Indoor Preview | 1/13/24 |
| 8 | Lukas Kiprop | 7:47.52 | BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener | 12/2/23 |
| 19 | Evans Kiplagat | 7:59.43 | UW Indoor Preview | 1/13/24 |
| 37 | Samuel Field | 8:06.54 | BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener | 12/2/23 |
| 41 | Jonathan Carmin | 8:07.64 | BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener | 12/2/23 |
In other events, a trio of Aussies – Samuel Field, Ethan Brouw and Luke Cunningham – all rank in the Top 50 on the mile list, with Samuel and Kiplagat both cracking the Top 20 in the 5K.
MEN’S MILE D-I INDOOR QUALIFYING LIST
| Rank | Athlete | Time | Meet | Date |
| 12 | Samuel Field | 4:02.05 | UW Indoor Preview | 1/13/24 |
| 29 | Ethan Brouw | 4:04.85 | BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener | 12/2/23 |
| 41 | Luke Cunningham | 7:59.43 | BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener | 12/2/23 |
MEN’S 5,000M D-I INDOOR QUALIFYING LIST
| Rank | Athlete | Time | Meet | Date |
| 4 | Habtom Samuel | 13:14.85 | BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener | 12/2/23 |
| 16 | Evans Kiplagat | 13:30.56 | BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener | 12/2/23 |
Klara Dess’ 4:46.51 mile time in Seattle last Saturday ranks No. 35 in the nation, with Semira Mebrahtu Firezghi’s 9:27.89 personal best from Dec. 2 ranking 43rd. Maja Gebauer – whose 4.10m pole vault mark from an event win at the Air Force Holiday Opener sits at No. 2 on the UNM indoor all-time list – ranks 33rd in the event, and Lauren Fowler’s 5.96m long jump PR from the same meet sits at 48th.
WOMEN’S MILE D-I INDOOR QUALIFYING LIST
| Rank | Athlete | Time | Meet | Date |
| 35 | Klara Dess | 4:46.51 | UW Indoor Preview | 1/13/24 |
WOMEN’S 3,000M D-I INDOOR QUALIFYING LIST
| Rank | Athlete | Time | Meet | Date |
| 43 | Semira Mebrahtu Firezghi | 9:27.89 | BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener | 12/2/23 |
WOMEN’S POLE VAULT D-I INDOOR QUALIFYING LIST
| Rank | Athlete | Mark | Meet | Date |
| 33 | Maja Gebauer | 4.10m | Air Force Holiday Opener | 12/9/23 |
WOMEN’S LONG JUMP D-I INDOOR QUALIFYING LIST
| Rank | Athlete | Mark | Meet | Date |
| 48 | Lauren Fowler | 5.86m | Air Force Holiday Opener | 12/9/23 |
UPCOMING SLATE
Saturday is the first of four consecutive weekends with meets at the Albuquerque Convention Center, NCAA Indoor Championships last season. Next up is the UNM Team Open Jan. 26-27, the New Mexico Collegiate Classic Feb. 2-3 and the Don Kirby Invitational on Feb. 9-10.
After two more meets in Boston, the Albuquerque Convention Center will also be the host site for the 2024 USATF Indoor Championships on Feb. 16-17 and the Mountain West Championships from Feb. 22-24. All home meet info, including schedules, parking, media coverage and more, will be available via golobos.com/home-track-info.
The Lobos have been the host of the MW Indoor Championship in each season that it has been held since 2014. USATF Indoor Championships will be held in Albuquerque for the third consecutive year.
The top 16 competitors in the nation in individual events and the top 12 in relays will earn berths to the NCAA Indoor Championship Meet, set to take place in Boston at The TRACK at New Balance from March 8-9. Opened last year, the state-of-the-art facility touts a 200-meter hydraulically banked track, a 24,000 square-foot warmup area with a capacity for 5,000 attendees.