The Lobo track and field team competed in sunny La Jolla C.A. on Friday and Saturday at the UC San Diego Triton Invitational as a small collection of Lobo athletes represented UNM well with some solid showings.
New Mexico notched one individual victory and had over a dozen top-10 finishes at the meet, led by a standout performance from women's high jumper Ada'ora Chigbo.
Chigbo took first-place honors in the high jump, clearing a height of 5 feet, 8 3/4 inches on her third attempt to win the event — a jump that was good enough for the seventh-best mark in program history.
Senior runner Kyra Mohns turned in her best performances of the season in California, clocking a couple of impressive runs in the hurdles. She logged a personal record of 14.51 in the women's 100-meter hurdles to snag a 12th place finish in the event and finished fourth with a time of 1:01.15 in the 400-meter hurdles.
A trio of Lobos rounded out the rest of the women's track performances. Freshman Steffi Jones competed in the 800-meter run and set a new personal record with a time of 2:12.90. While Emily Martin and Kendall Kelly both garnered top-10 finishes in the women's 1500-meter run.
Martin achieved a time of 4:13.42 for a third-place finish, while Kelly completed the run in 4:35.81 to take home ninth in the event.
On the men's side, Jay Griffin IV and Alejandro Goldston each had strong showings in the 100-meter dash — though the two competed in different heats. Griffin IV clocked a time of 10.77 to snag seventh place, with Golston just a step behind at 10.85 to come in ninth.
The men's 200-meter dash appeared to be an exciting event as the top three finishers were separated by less than half a second. Carlos Salcido was narrowly edged out at the finish line and earned second place with a mark of 21.25. Isaac Gonzales won his heat and finished seventh overall with a time of 21.88 seconds.
Three Lobos competed in the men's 400-meter run, each of whom turned in top-10 finishes. Salcido was again nipped at the finish line by a Grand Canyon competitor, earning another runner-up performance with a run of 47.09. UNM teammate Mark Haywood placed fourth with a time of 48.43 and Gonzales capped things off with a ninth-place performance with a mark of 48.82.
For the men’s 4x100 relay, Beau Claffton, Goldston, Salcido and Griffin teamed up to take second place overall, finishing just behind Grand Canyon's quartet while logging a time of 40.71.
The Triton Invitational seemed to be a successful meet for New Mexico that allowed several student-athletes to work themselves into mid-season form and hopefully be clicking on all cylinders when the postseason arrives. The Lobos are likely to have all hands on deck when they return to the track next week in Azusa, California to compete in the Bryan Clay Invitational.
Alanie Rael is a freelance sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She primarily covers men’s and women’s skiing but also contributes content for football. She can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @AllyRael.
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