14 PR's Highlight Day One at UNM Team Open
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Track & Field ended Day One at the UNM Team Open with a haul of improvements on Friday at the Albuquerque Convention Center, with the Lobos totaling 14 new personal bests and seven marks that rank among the Top 10 in their respective events in program history.
Evans Kiplagat and Mercy Kirarei both raced to comfortable wins in the 3,000m in their first competition in Albuquerque – with both times ranking among the Top 20 in the nation on the most recent NCAA D-I Indoor Qualifying List after elevation conversions – and Kiara Quezada-Arzate (PV), Mikyla Harkley (LJ), Zennia Gonzalez (LJ) and Lou-Anne Pouzancre Hoyer (200m) all finished with all-time Top 10 performances to round out UNM’s resurgent day at home.
The action resumes tomorrow for Day Two, with field events set to begin at 9:30 a.m. MT and track events beginning at 10:30 a.m. This weekend’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 GoLobos.com/TrackResults.
THE ACTION
Pouzancre Hoyer picked up UNM’s first PR of the day – and her second in the last two meets – in the unseeded women’s 200m, finishing with a 24.29 modified time that moved her into No. 5 in program history. The transfer by way of Charleston (W.V.) ran the fastest 300m time in program history (38.44) in her UNM debut at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Invitational last Saturday.
Adam Giron and Alyssa Magallanez both notched PR’s in the high jump, with Giron clearing 2.01m (6′ 7″) to finish eight in the men’s competition and Magallanez (1.65m, 5′ 5″) placing 12th in the women’s final results.
In the women’s “B” pole vault, Kiara Quezada-Arzate cleared a personal best 4.00m (13′ 1½”) – good for No. 8 on the UNM all-time list – en route to a first-place finish, with Isabel Thomas securing a new season best with a 3.70m (12′ 1½”) mark.
In the women’s long jump, Mikyla Harkley (5.99m, 19′ 8″) and Zennia Gonzalez (5.95m, 19′ 6¼”) both recorded new personal bests that moved them up to No. 6 and No. 10 on the program all-time indoor list while finishing fifth and sixth, respectively.
Evans Kiplagat dominated the men’s 3,000m field in his first collegiate race at elevation, winning the event with an 8:06.50 time that gives him a 7:54.52 converted PR that would rank No. 13 on the current indoor qualifying list and No. 8 on the UNM all-time list. Behind him, Thomas Termote netted himself a five-second PR with an 8:15.94 conversion, finishing 12th overall.
Fellow Kenyan national Mercy Kirarei followed up with a similarly dominant performance in the women’s 3,000m, winning with a 9:17.32 time that converts to a 9:03.59. Kirarei’s performance – mere weeks after getting on campus after joining the Lobos at the semester – etched her name into the UNM all-time list at No. 5.
In the women’s mile, three Lobos finished with sub-4:51 converted times — Klara Dess (4:46.09) finished fourth ahead of Sarah Eckel (4:48.13) and Sophia McDonell (4:50.15), with McDonnell setting a new personal best in the process.
In the final competition of the day for UNM, Brodie Young ran the third-fastest race in program history (1:18.92) while finishing fourth overall to lead a 600m field that also saw new personal bests from Tim Harris (1:20.96) and Levente Soos (1:21.32). As an unofficial NCAA event, 600m times are not subject to elevation conversions.