Lobos Notch Three All-Time Top 10 Performances on Day One at MLK Invite
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Track & Field athletes produced seven new personal bests and three all-time Top 10 performances on the first day of competition at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational Friday at the Albuquerque Convention Center, highlighted by a new program record in the 600m from Hannah Taylor and Top-10 times from Rebecca Grieve and Brodie Young in the 200m.
In her first indoor meet in a Lobo uniform, Taylor put down a 1:32.38 clocking to bump Grieve – whose 1:32.86 time stood as the program record since 2022 – to the No. 2 spot on the all-time list. The fastest finisher of the day in the unseeded sections of the 200m, Grieve matched McKenna Watson’s No. 2 all-time performance with an elevation-converted 24.02 time, while Young moved from eighth on the men’s list to No. 3 with a 21.30 conversion (third overall).
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational continues tomorrow, with events getting underway at 10 a.m. MT. Head to GoLobos.com/FollowTrack for all of this week’s live results and streaming links all in one place and follow @UNMLoboXCTF on Instagram and X for live coverage, meet day content and more.
THE ACTION
Up first in the women’s “B” pole vault, Jacquelyn Gorman improved on her previous best from the 2024 outdoor season by more than half a meter, clearing 3.67m (12′ 0½”) to finish second overall ahead of two other teammates making their returns to competition after missing last season with injuries – Kailey Ludwig (3.37m) finished sixth and Abbie Schweider (2.92m) finished 11th, with Ludwig improved on her previous best by .03 meters.
In the men’s “B” pole vault that went past 8 p.m., Kyle Hatler cleared 4.92m – a new personal best by .06m – to finish third ahead of freshman teammate Thomas Alrick, who cleared 4.47m to finish fourth in his first collegiate meet.
With track racing getting underway in the unseeded sections of the men’s 200m, Brodie Young put down a 21.23 (21.30 converted) time to comfortable win the second heat, a three-man race against Texas’ Kody Blackwood (21.30) and Stanford’s Gabriel Ajaegbu (22.14). Young’s converted time moves him from eighth to third on the UNM all-time indoor list in the event.
Grieve dominated the women’s 200m racing that followed, winning the first heat by .87 seconds en route to her 23.95 raw time – a time that converts to a 24.02 with elevation calculations – to match McKenna Watson’s time from 2023 and tie for second-fastest in program history. She finished ahead of six Lobo teammates in the field – sophomores Hanna Kiess (24.96 raw, 5th) and Ophelia Pulley (25.42 raw, 15th) both recorded new personal bests and freshmen Anaya Quarles (25.02, 8th), Eva Ngom (25.29, 12th), Laylah Lawson (25.55, 17th) and Adryana Shelby (25.68) all made their collegiate debuts.
In the first and only distance racing of the day for the Lobos, Maleah Goldie (10:50.44) and Lyla Fedio (10:59.13) finished 6th and 10th overall in the women’s 3,000m, with Fedio making her collegiate debut.
A trio of Lobos recorded solid season-opening marks in the women’s long jump, with Lauren Fowler (6.05m, 4th), Zennia Gonzalez (5.84m, 8th) both cracking the Top 10 and Lilee Kaasch (5.44m) finishing 15th overall. Fowler’s 6.05m leap – the best season-opening indoor mark of her career and only .05m shy of her indoor best – came on her final attempt of the day after clearing 5.94m previously.
In the men’s long jump, Cameron Miller opened with a 6.95m (22′ 9¾”) on his first collegiate attempt, good for 11th overall. He’ll return tomorrow for the men’s triple jump, set to get underway at 10:30 tomorrow morning.
Taylor’s record-breaking 1:32.38 performance in the 600m netted her fifth place overall, with freshman teammate Fiona Holloway (1:40.77) behind her in 19th.
In the final heat of the women’s invitational 200m – the final track race of the night – Lou-Anne Pouzancre Hoyer finished first in her heat (6th overall) with a 23.61 raw time (23.68 converted) as an unattached runner, with Sofia Pineda finishing third (13th overall) with a 24.62 clocking that stands only .02 seconds away from matching the No. 10 spot on the all-time list.
UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
The Dr. MLK Jr. Invitational wraps up tomorrow, with both field and track events getting underway at 10 a.m. MT. Head to GoLobos.com/FollowTrack for all of this week’s live results and streaming links all in one place and follow @UNMLoboXCTF on Instagram and X for live coverage, meet day content and more.