New Mexico’s track and field team stays in Albuquerque for the third consecutive week to host the New Mexico Classic & Multis this weekend.
Last weekend the Lobos saw several athletes set personal records and hit marks that might be good enough to earn a spot at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama later in the season.
Nine schools competed at the New Mexico Team Invitational last week. Even though each school brought deep squads into the team scored event, head coach Joe Franklin said this weekend will feature a field that is significantly larger.
Franklin called it a big week for his team. He expects the team might post some lower marks, especially from athletes that are competing for the third consecutive weekend. He said the goal for everyone will be to work hard and try to see improvement.
“Just continue to get better,” he said. “We brought them back on the 11th of January, so that’s not a long time. They are going in the right direction.”
Franklin said he and the staff constantly tell their athletes that sometimes the best performances come when they least expect them. He said it is important that athletes do not put too much pressure on themselves.
Allan Hamilton did not participate in last week’s event due to a back injury, but said he expects to be ready for Friday. He and teammate Yannick Roggatz have posted conference best marks in the long jump event in back to back weeks.
Hamilton and Roggatz said they push each other in practice pretty hard and attribute that to a lot of the success. With both athletes competing for the top conference mark, Roggatz said there might be some added intensity in practice leading up to the weekend.
Franklin said the team has been dealing with some injuries that have made things difficult in certain events. This weekend might allow some of the athletes to get healthy so they can make a push before the conference championship.
The head coach said some of the athletes are still learning their event and are making strides in training. He said he expects some big improvements in marks as the season progresses.
This weekend will not be a team scored event; New Mexico is not expected to participate in another scored event until the Mountain West Conference Championships in Albuquerque later this month.
The New Mexico Classic & Multis will be held at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Friday and Saturday. The Lobos will remain home the following weekend for the Don Kirby Invitational.
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Robert Maler is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country, tennis, and track and field. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
