Track and Field: Men's, Women's teamd aim to defend champion titles

The New Mexico men’s and women’s track and field teams will look to defend their Mountain West Championships starting today at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Last season’s conference sweep at the indoor conference championships was the first in UNM history. This year, the Lobos will have the luxury of another home meet to defend its titles.

For the men’s team, it will be a chance to make it three consecutive titles, following a winning performance at the 2013 championship in Boise, Idaho.

If the women win this weekend, it will be the first time the Lobos have won back-to-back indoor titles.

“We have a great indoor track, definitely a home-track advantage,” said senior jumper and sprinter Aasha Marler.

Marler finished fourth in the women’s long jump (6.23 meters), sixth in the women’s triple jump (12.55 meters) and just missed the cut for qualifying into the finals of the women’s 60 meter dash (7.64 seconds) last week at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, also held at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

“It gives me that extra boost,” said junior sprinter Ridge Jones on the element of having a home-field advantage.

Jones placed seventh in the men’s 200 meter dash (21.36) and qualified for the men’s 60 meter dash (6.65) and finished second only by a hundredth of a second in the finals at last week’s Don Kirby Elite Invitational.

An added lift for the women’s team could come from the squad’s first top 25 ranking on Monday. The women came in at No. 25 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll. UNM’s previous high was 28th in 2011.

“It’s awesome. Great for the women, it shows that we continue to move forward,” head coach Joe Franklin said. “We have some very talented women that lead our team and they set the standard and everybody follows and that’s what it’s about.”

UNM will face some of the toughest competition it has seen so far this year at the Mountain West Championships.

“The men, it’s going to be a very difficult task with Colorado State,” Franklin said. “On the women’s side, with San Diego State and Colorado State, it will be very close.”

The Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships begin today with a combination of sprinting, distance and jumping events.

The remaining events will be held on Friday and Saturday spanning the days until a champion, or defending champion, is crowned late Saturday afternoon.

C. Jake Schwanitz is a freelance sports writer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLoboSports.