by Todd Burns
Daily Lobo
A group of 20 athletes from the UNM men's and women's track teams are competing at the Mount San Antonio College Relays this week.
Mt. SAC is one of the premier track meets in the Southwest. All athletes must qualify in their respective event and receive an invitation to compete.
"It's just a skeleton crew this weekend," head coach Matt Henry said.
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Freshman Ryan Voge and Dan Feltman left on Tuesday to start off the competition for the Lobos in the decathlon.
Senior Keren Sari-Bentzur was leading the women's team in the heptathlon. Sari-Bentzur was holding onto sixth place and still had several events to complete as of yesterday afternoon. Voge was in fifth place in his division and Feltman dropped out with a hamstring injury.
"Sixth place is really good for Sari," Henry said. "This is an elite field of athletes she's competing against."
Sophomore Amanda Barnes will try to continue her winning streak in the shot put on Saturday. Junior Bridgid Isworth and sophomore Amber Nolte will compete in the women's pole vault.
Sophomore Veronica Gonzales will represent UNM in the women's javelin.
"She is the most improved on the whole team," coach Henry said. "I'm expecting a big throw from her this weekend."
Juniors Craig Keish and Jimmy Minner, along with sophomore Matt Keeran, will toss the javelin on the men's side.
"We're all looking to qualify to regionals and hit new personal records," Keish said.
The men's 4x400-meter relay will once again challenge the top teams in the country. The 4x400 lineup includes seniors David Lloyd and Nick Lott along with juniors Chris Garofola and Amed Raji. It is the same team that ran just three one-hundredths of a second behind the national champions last week at Louisiana State University.
The men's 4x100-meter relay added a new addition with football player Quincy Wright.
"He hurt his knee earlier this year," Henry said. "But he has made an amazing comeback and improved his health. I don't know if he can make a cut on the football field, but he sure can run a straight-away."
Many of the preliminary races are being held today with finals on Saturday. All the field event finals will be held on Saturday. The Lobos return home on Sunday.
