University of New Mexico Indoor Track & Field Wolftracks News, Views, Reviews, Previews

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1 University of New Mexico Indoor Track & Field Wolftracks News, Views, Reviews, Previews JANUARY 28-29, 2011 New Mexico Invitational Action Heats Up in Convention Center As the 2011 indoor track & field season continues the University of New Mexico track facility which is housed in the city convention center is producing world-class results. Just three weeks ago one professional athlete high jumped the highest height in the world at that time. Last week a collegiate athlete ran the fastest 200 meters in the world, and then this week another professional athlete rocketed to the fastest 60 meter sprint time in the world. Albuquerque - one of the worlds best indoor track sites. Ruth Senior Breaks Lobo 3000 Meter Record The 3000 meters at the New Mexico Invitational was sure to be a good race. Even if no one else entered the race it was bound to be very, very good. Sr. Ruth Senior (Norwich, England), juniors Natalie Gray (Maidstone, England) and Sarah Waldron (Pudleston, England) along with froshie Kirsty Milner (Bolton, England) had designs on a quick tempo. With a solid pace-setter in the race the women were aiming for a 5:04 first mile to ensure a fast finish. During the early stages of the race, as the picture shows Kirsty led both Sarah and Ruth. The runners were led to their desired pace, hitting the mile in 5:05. Sometime after the mile Ruth pulled away from everyone and maintained a hard driving tempo which no one could match. Ruth looked powerful and fluid, and crossed the finish line in a magnificent 9:17.09 clocking taking down the existing Lobo record which was 9:33.11, and improving on her old PR by a whopping 30 seconds. That performance is #10 in the NCAA rankings. Natalie also clocked in under the old Lobo record as she hit 9:27.25 to move to #2 all-time at UNM and a #21 national ranking. Sarah finished in 9:40.02 and ranks #4 all-time in UNM annals. It was such a fast race that sr. Delyth James (Morpeth, England) PR d to a fine 9:53.92 Millington Becomes Second Lobo to Run a Sub-4:00 Indoor Mile - Sophomore Ross Millington (Stockport, England) and classmate Sam Evans (Stafford, England) traveled to the Indiana Relays (Bloomington, Indiana) for a special invitational 1 mile race. Indiana has the same track facility as the Albuquerque convention center but is about 760 feet above sea level, where Albuquerque is 5000 feet above sea level, which is very important to a distance runner. But the most important aspect was the specially chosen competition. With a pre-scheduled pace-maker who would take the field out in a quick tempo and the world leader from IU in the field it almost seemed guaranteed for a good race. At the gun the group took off and Ross and Sam settled comfortably in the back section of the race. The first 200 was covered in 31 seconds by the Lobo tandem and they stayed together through the first 400 which they crossed in Staying together they hit the 600 point in 1:30 and got to the 800 meter split in 2:00.4. Continuing to work together they then got to the 1000 split in 2:30.7 and the point in 3:01.6. At this juncture, Ross who had been running right off Sam s shoulder took off with a hard surge. Everyone in the race was in full flight and Ross picked up steam with one lap to go. He was clearly the quickest runner in the field over the last 200 meters and he went from the middle of the race to flying down the homestretch pulling in the leader. Ross would flash across the finish line in 3:59.86 placing second and become only the second Lobo to get under the 4:00 threshold. Former NCAA champ Lee Emanuel holds the school record of 3: Sam would finish in 4: Ross is currently the #5 runner in the NCAA rankings. (a 22 second PR) but seemed to almost get lost in the race. Shawna Winnegar (Santa Fe Prep, Santa Fe, NM) PR d as she hit 10:04.55 a new best by 24 seconds. Alex Darling (La Cueva, ABQ, NM) in her first 3K just missed the coveted 10:00 barrier as she finished in 10: Kirsty, Sarah, a UTEP runner, and Ruth shown in early action. Below, Ruth is interviewed by Lobo Sports Network and flashes those pearly whites!

2 Aragon Dips Under 1:50 Mark in 800 Soph. Gabe Aragon (Valley, ABQ, NM) came into the meet looking for a sub-1:50 effort, and jr. Thomas Trujillo helped him achieve it. Thomas, who was not going to race this week offered to help pace Gabe through the first 400 of the race, so he would be set up for the second half of the distance. It always helps to have someone leading the race, and cutting through the air flow, which allows an athlete to conserve energy. Pictured is Thomas coming around the turn enroute to the 400 point of the race where he brought Gabe through in about 52 seconds. Tucked in behind TT is Gabe, and then off Gabe s shoulder is sr. David Bishop (Cippenham, England) and froshie JP Cordova (Hope Christian, ABQ, NM). All came through the halfway point of the race looking good and they continued to push hard. Coming around the final homestretch Gabe was laboring, but holding strong, while Bish was making one of his late race drives. JP, still a rookie, but improving quickly, was just trying to hang on to Bish. As Gabe flashed across the finish line the big clock stopped at 1:49.68 the second fastest 800 ever in UNM history. GA is only the second Lobo runner ever to dip under 1:50 indoors. Flying across the line was David in 1:50.97, a new PR by about a second and a half. Finally, JP crossed in 1:52.27, knocking 3/10ths off his old PR. Lovett Moves to #5 All-Time in High Jump (in first UNM competition) Froshie Django Lovett (Brookswood Secondary, Langley, British Columbia) started classes at UNM just two weeks ago, and in his first Lobo competition soared over the 7 barrier, moving all the way to fifth best all-time indoors. DL passed all the way to 6 8 before making his first attempt and he easily cleared that bar. Then he cleared /4 on his first attempt and the bar was raised to 7 1/4. Just as he had in his two previous attempts, DL cleared on his first attempt. Then as the only jumper remaing Django had the bar raised to 7 2 1/2. He was not able to scale that height but if his first UNM competition is any indication of things to come, then it certainly will be good things for the Lobo tracksters. Pitts Moves to #4 All-Time with PR s in both 200 & 400 Sophomore Shirley Pitts (Bonanza, Las Vegas, NV) moved up the all time ranking by performances of in the 200 and in the 400 placing 8th in the shorter dash and 7th in the longer sprint. The marks she put up at the UNM Invt. replace her old PR s of set earlier this season, and set last year at Air Force. Walker Lowers Seasonal Hurdle Best to Fifth Fastest Performance All-Time Sophomore De Vron Walker (Los Angeles, CA) who had been nursing a sore hamstring the previous two weeks showed he is rounding into form and ready to take on the best in the conference with his meter Hurdle clocking. After not competing at the Lobo Open DW skimmed the barriers to 8.23 at the Cherry & Silver. This week De Vron opened up with an 8.24 in the prelims before coming back to hit a 8.16 in the finals, good for second place. That time is the fifth fastest performance all-time and slightly off DW s school record of 8.09.

3 Willis Rides Hot Streak in Distance Races Last week at the Cherry & Silver Invitational sr. Alex Willis (Lake County, Leadville, CO) lowered his 1 Mile all-time best from 4:28.00 to 4:11.65, a significant drop by any standard. This week AW took aim at the 3000 meter race where he entered with a PR of 8:33.94 set at the MWC meet in Willis used a harddriving pace to finish with a third place effort and time of 8: Pictured is Alex in the lead and the picture shows how hard a distance runner must work to establish, and then maintain a hard pace. Julie Brasher (Eldorado, ABQ, NM) is shown in the white top during her first 800 of the season. JB finished 6th overall with a solid 2:18.91 clocking. Kayla Fisher- Taylor (Denver, CO) is shown during the 60 meter sprint. KFT lowered her PR in the 200 meters from to Tucker Places Second & Vaults to 7th Highest Performance All-Time Froshie Margo Tucker (Indianapolis, IN) had scaled /2 at the Cherry & Silver one week ago, which moved her to the third best all-time performer with the #3 highest height ever. This week she cleared /2 which is the 7th highest performance all-time. Froshie Yusuf Muhammad (Chandler, AZ) is shown in the starting blocks just before the starter fires the gun in the 400 meters Freshman Chaz Lewis (Highland, ABQ, NM) who is a 400 Hurdler ran the demanding 600 meters for the first time, covering the three laps of the indoor facility in 1: York Adds Two More PR s to Resume - Sophomore Richard York (St. Clairsville, MO) has been prepping for his inaugural Heptathlon of the season next week and has achieved PR s in the Pole Vault, Shot Put, and just missed his PR in the High Jump by 1/4 so far this season. At the UNM Invt. he again PR d in the Shot Put raising his best to adding slightly more than two feet to his old best. In the Long Jump, he sailed to a 23 3/4 distance adding four inches to his best. All these progressions bode nicely for what will come in the first combined event of the year.

4 WHAT DO ALL THE SYMBOLS MEAN? In parentheses after a performance will be a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. This indicates the COLLEGIATE place in the meet that athlete finished. All unattached or open athletes are removed since we are most focused on NCAA competition. After that may be two numbers like (2,8). This stands for how the athlete ranks on the All Time Top 10 Indoor Track & Field PERFORMER AND PERFORMANCE list. The number on the LEFT indicates how that athlete is ranked as far as individuals are concerned. The #2 would tell us that performer (athlete) is the second-best in New Mexico indoor history in that event. The number on the RIGHT indicates how that performance is ranked in relation to all the top performances in New Mexico history in that event. The #8 would tell us that performance is the 8th best in New Mexico history in that event. It is possible, and even probable that one athlete could have many performances which rank in the Top 10 during their four-year career. An x on the LEFT (x,8) tells us that they have achieved a better performance before, while an x on the RIGHT (8,x) tells us it doesn t make the list. PR indicates a PERSONAL RECORD (their best ever performance) in that particular event. indicates the performance has been altitude adjusted based on NCAA protocol. Results from New Mexico Invitational, January 28-29, 2011 WOMEN 60 Kayla Fisher Taylor 8.91@ PR Marin Schweigert 8.57@ PR 200 Shirley Pitts (8th) (4,8) PR Kayla Fisher Taylor PR 400 Shirley Pitts (7th) (4,x) PR Rachel Kelchner Kim Perkins Samanth Salaz Julie Brasher 2:18.91@ (5th) 1 Mile Nicola Hood 5:06.32@ (unattached) Laura Lavezo 5:22.14@ Sarah Higgens 5:26.39@ 3000 Ruth Senior 9:17.09@ (1st) (1,1) PR (New UNM School Record) Natalie Gray 9:27.25@ (3rd) (2,2) Sarah Waldron 9:40.02@ (4th) (4,4) Kirsty Milner 9:53.49@ (5th) Delyth James 9:53.92@ (6th) PR Alex Darling 10:00.38@ (7th) Kaitlyn Berry 10:04.73@ (unattached) Shawna Winnegar 10:04.55@ PR Janna Mitsos 10:20.98@ Margarett Raskob @ 4x400 Shirley Pitts (57.9), Rachel Kelchner (59.5), Kim Perkins (58.3), Kayla Fisher Taylor (63.2) 3:59.09 HJ Marin Schweigert 5 2 1/4 PV Margo Tucker /2 (2nd) (x,7) Amber Menke /2 (5th) Lauren Jaramillo /4 Nathalie Busk /4 Julia Cook /4 PR MEN 60 Richard York 7.30@ Ty Kirk 7.39@ (unattached) Dakari McCoy 7.69@ (unattached) 60H De Vron Walker @ (2nd) (x,5) Richard York 8.69@ Chad Clark 8.87@ Dakari McCoy 8.97@ PR 400 Yusuf Muhammad Chad Clark Derek Montoya 1:24.15 (7th) Chaz Lewis 1:24.96 Josh Lovato 1: Gabe Aragon 1:49.68@ (1st) (2,2) PR David Bishop 1:50.97@ (2nd) (5,9) PR JP Cordova 1:52.27@ (3rd)PR 3000 Alex Willis 8:21.11 (3rd) PR Allen Pittman 8:22.69@ (5th) PR Sean Stam 8:23.57@ (7th) PR Patrick Ortiz 8:31.08 Cory Kalm 8:32.54 PR Vincent Montoya 8:47.76@ (unattached) Chris Montoya 8:48.64@ (unattached) Matt Everett 8:49.12@ 4x400 Chaz Lewis (50.3), Derek Montoya (50.2), Chad Clark (51.7), Yusuf Muhammad (52.4) 3:24.85 HJ Django Lovett 7 1/2 (1st) (5,x) Dakari McCoy 5 6 1/2 (unattached) PV Kyle Walker /4 (3rd) Logan Pflibsen /4 (3rd) Sam Potter /4 Chris Dodds 14 8 Dane Bevins 14 8 (unattached) LJ Richard York 23 3/4 (4th) PR Dakari McCoy /4 Warrick Campbell NM Shot Richard York /2 PR Dakari McCoy /4 PR Mike Ellis /2 (unattached) Wt. Matthew Henry-Marshall /4 (4th) (x,7) Brad Maestas NM

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