The Lobo track and field team had one of its best showings of the year to wrap up the regular season in front of the home crowd at Great Friends of UNM Track Stadium on Saturday.
The UNM women dominated a powerful throwing field with juniors Jamie Fishencord and Amanda Barnes who have consistently improved in each meet this season. Fishencord set the pace for UNM early on, placing second in the hammer throw with a personal-best toss of 179-04. Barnes improved her marks in the shot-put and the discus, and now holds the school record in each event. She shattered the 10-year-old record in the discus with a 151-08 mark for fourth place and a 49-05.00 mark in the shot put for second.
"I don't think I've peaked yet," Barnes said. "Hopefully, this is just the start of something big for me."
Rashawn Jackson, Chris Garofola, Issac Burgener and freshman Jeramie White each excelled in their split of the 4x100 to combine for a flawless relay and a first-place finish.
But UNM associate head coach Mark Henry said it has not been a smooth season for the men's 4x100 team.
"We've really been having a hard time with that this year," he said. "We've dropped the baton and been disqualified a couple of times. Our hand-offs could be a little better, so we're going to work on that."
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There were four other familiar faces in the 4x100 relay race, although they did not run in Lobo uniforms. Running unattached were cornerbacks Curtis Flakes and Jerrell Malone, running back Marcus Smith and Aaron Brack, who were good enough for fourth place.
But wide receivers Hank Baskett and Mike Powdrell were competing for UNM and contributed points in the high jump. Baskett set a new personal record and qualified for regionals with a 6-foot-11 jump and Powdrell placed fourth, sailing over the 6-06.75 mark.
Head coach Matt Henry said it was also an outstanding day for the distance runners, as they continue to improve and break personal records at every meet.
"Jackie Gallegos ran a super race today," he said. "Nick Martinez set a personal record in the 1500 and Amanda Swann didn't have a bad day, either."
Gallegos and Martinez fell just short of qualifying for regionals in the men's and women's 1500-meter races. Gallegos placed second with an altitude-adjusted time of 4:30.99 and Martinez finished seventh in 3:49.92. He was 1.71 seconds shy of the NCAA regional qualifying time.
Junior Matt Gonzales arrived late and as a spectator, after returning from the elite Cardinal Invitational in Stanford, Calif., where he finished 10th in the 10,000-meter run. Gonzales was the third collegiate finisher, and his time of 28:22.7 was good enough to qualify for the NCAA Championships and the Team USA 2004 Olympic trials. But Gonzales said he had his sights set even higher.
"It was OK," he said. "I set a personal record by four seconds, but it wasn't what I wanted to run. It was just one of those days I guess."
The Lobos will take a week off from competition to prepare for the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships May 12-15 in Las Vegas, Nev.
