by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
Matt Gonzales and Ben Ortega led the UNM men to a fifth-place finish at the Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Colorado Springs last weekend.
UNM finished with 67 points, the highest score the Lobos have recorded in 15 years. The Lobo men trailed the University of Wyoming by a mere 11 points. Brigham Young won the MWC men's team title with 207 points, beating Colorado State's 203 and Air Force, which finished with 94 points.
On Saturday, senior Matt Gonzales won the 3,000 meters for his first career indoor championship. Gonzales beat Air Force senior Brian Dunn and a field of 25 others with a time of 8:11.96.
Despite the high elevation in Colorado - Albuquerque is 5,352 feet above sea level, and Colorado Springs is around 6,000 - Gonzales was aiming for the NCAA qualifying mark of 8:06.30 but got boxed in early.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"We knew after the first 400 that it was going to be tough to hit the time, but we also knew that he had broken the race wide open," head coach Matt Henry said.
Henry also talked about why Gonzales did not compete more during the indoor season.
"I would've liked for him to have raced more, but we want Matt to stay healthy and go after that national title," he said.
As far as the overall team performance, Henry said it was not a spectacular showing by his runners.
"I think we could've done better, but I'm just trying to take care of some of the runners," he said. "I think we're better outdoors, and I just want to keep them healthy, get some people to nationals in outdoor."
Gonzales is in his final year of eligibility and will be a serious contender for a NCAA championship after finishing in the top five the past two years and competing in the Olympic Trials last summer.
"Matt is super talented as well as a very hard worker," Henry said.
Ortega, also a senior, grabbed a conference championship this weekend as well when he won the 5,000-meter race on Friday.
"Ben was the smartest guy in the race," Henry said. "About halfway through, it looked like he was going to get third, but he just raced smart in that altitude and was able to get up and win."
Henry said the two seniors being able to win MWC titles in their final season is huge.
"That's a great way to go out, especially when it comes to scoring points," he said.
Between Gonzales and Ortega, the victories accounted for 20 of the Lobos 67 points.
Junior Cameron Clarke was also key for UNM. Clarke, who was seeded No. 4 going into the 800, finished second with a time of 1:54.82.
Clarke was leading the race in the final stretch but was edged out by Wyoming senior Jeremy Thompson.
"The Wyoming guy just snuck up on him," Henry said. "I don't think Cameron ever saw him."
In the 1-mile event, UNM had two runners finish in the top eight.
Freshman Shadrack Biwott took sixth place with a time of 4:19.38, and sophomore Michael Smiel finished eighth in 4:21.74.
"Shadrack isn't in his best shape," Henry said. "He's just getting used to indoor, but he'll soon get there."
In pole vault, junior Dereck Mackel earned all-MWC honors with a third-place jump of 17-05.50.
On the women's side, UNM finished in seventh place in team standings with a score of 31. BYU won the women's conference with 188 points, followed by CSU (172) and Wyoming (80).
Senior Amanda Barnes was named to the all-MWC team after finishing second in shot put. She tossed a season best 49-04.50 and placed higher at a conference meet than any other female in UNM history.
Sophomore Riann Lucy finished sixth in the women's 800, running a time of 2:17.96.
Freshman Ariel Burr also scored for the Lobos, finishing seventh in the 400 in 56.91 seconds.
Henry said the women's team was hurt by not having senior Jacquelyne Gallegos at full strength. Gallegos was suffering from a stomach virus during the meet and not up to par. Ranked second in the 3,000-meter race, Gallegos struggled to a 21st-place finish the day after gutting out a ninth-place finish in the 5,000.
"She's one of the best in the conference," Henry said. "That really hurt not having her at full speed, but she stepped up to the line trying to do something special for us, and I'm thankful for that."
