by Riley Bauling
Daily Lobo
Sometimes the ball - or maybe in this case the shot put, javelin or track cleat - doesn't bounce your way.
UNM track and field head coach Matt Henry knows that better than anyone after the NCAA Championships, which ended June 12.
The Lobos had three athletes competing at the event in Sacramento, Calif. The last time they had that many athletes at the championships was in 1991.
Absent among those three athletes was senior Matt Gonzales, a two-time All-American in the 10,000-meter run.
The four-time cross-country All-American was dropped from one of his classes before the Mountain West Conference meet, Henry said.
Without that class, the senior fell under 12 credit hours and was not allowed to be a part of the team because athletes must have at least 12 hours to practice and compete, Henry said.
Henry said he received the news from the professor while the team was passing through Gonzales' hometown of Santa Fe on its way to the MWC meet. Henry said he called Gonzales' mother who came and picked him up. His career as one of the best runners in UNM history was over before he got a chance to run at the conference meet.
Henry said Gonzales plans to run in the U.S. Championships next week in Carson, Calif.
Gonzales will probably sign a contract with a shoe company soon and become a professional, Henry said. Though he wasn't sure which one, he did say several companies have contacted Gonzales, including Reebok, Nike and Adidas.
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Present at the meet and the first competitor for the Lobos was junior Matt Keeran, an at-large selection in the javelin. He came in 15th overall with a throw of 197-11. That throw was practically off one leg, Henry said, because Keeran pulled his hamstring a week before championships.
"I've been doing this for 30 years, and I've never seen a hamstring look like that in terms of black and blue," Henry said. "It was a very good performance considering what happened to his leg."
Dan Feltman - ranked 18th in the country in the decathlon - took the stage for UNM next. In a competition that saw only 18 of its 26 competitors finish, Feltman came in 16th.
Henry said the finish was even more remarkable because Feltman hadn't competed in a meet for more than a month.
Henry said most decathletes at the NCAA Championships compete in individual events at their regional meets to stay in shape. Feltman didn't qualify in the javelin - his best event - for the regional meet and had to cope with a month layoff.
Amanda Barnes - the UNM record holder in every throwing event other than the javelin - had three attempts to throw over 51-06 to qualify for the finals at the championships.
She threw that length or more five times last spring, but sometimes things just don't go the way they usually do. Barnes ended up throwing 48-07 1/2 to come in 23rd.
"She was trying to be conservative," Henry said. "She ended up not performing like we knew she could perform."
Gonzales wasn't the only Lobo missing in action at the meet. Senior Ben Ortega, one of the Lobos' top three distance runners, injured his foot so badly before the MWC meet that Henry said if he would have run anymore this season, it was possible he could permanently damage the foot.
The other top distance runner for UNM, freshman Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott, missed out on qualifying for the championships.
"Shadrack is very young," Henry said. "He's just worn out right now. That's all there is to it."
Henry said he is excited about the Lobos' potential at next year's championships. Now all he needs is that javelin, shot put and track cleat to bounce his way.
