by Matthew Kappus
Daily Lobo
The UNM track and field team continued to build on its early season success over the weekend at the Dan DeHart Invitational.
The Lobos had some positive individual results Friday and Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
The UNM men finished the home meet in seventh place, while the women took eighth.
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Junior Ariel Burr, who finished fourth in the women's 200-meter dash with a personal-best time of 24.55, said the Lobos welcome a challenge.
"It's really about who you run with," she said. "If you are running against faster people, then you are going to run better."
Houston's All-American sprinter Ebonie Floyd, who is ranked seventh nationally in the 200, was in the same field as Burr. This weekend, Floyd took home first place with a time of 23.44.
Burr said competing with the nation's best can only help her improve.
"Running against (Floyd), it gets your confidence up," she said.
The Lobo men raced strong and earned a third-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay.
The team of Randle McCain, Taylor Siemon, Jarrin Solomon and Kurt Henry put in a season-best time of 3:15.67 in the race.
The UNM distance runners also
performed well.
Junior Melanie Velarde won the women's 5,000-meter run - her second win in a row in the event - with a time of 19:09.64. In the men's 5,000, junior Juan Ortega recorded a second-place finish with a time of 14:40.31.
Sophomore Christina Zarrella placed fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:19.83.
Senior Mark Lamb raced to a sixth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles. On Friday, Lamb had a personal-best time of 8.29 in the qualifying round.
Another Lobo who had a good showing was Siemon, who finished ninth in the men's 400-meter dash with a career-best time
of 49.49.
This weekend's meet also allowed Lobo runners to compete in races they do not normally run. Solomon, who earned all-Mountain West Conference honors last year as the runner-up in the 400-meter, competed in the 800-meter run Saturday, placing 13th in 1:59.25.
Solomon said the race was a good workout for him as he prepares for the 400-meter run at the MWC Indoor Championships hosted at the Albuquerque Convention Center, which begin Feb. 22.
"This race gave me a little bit more strength," he said. "Hopefully, next time out I'll qualify for nationals."
Track and field hosts Dennis Heimrich
Invitational
Friday, 6 p.m.
Albuquerque Convention Center
