Top track and field athletes converge at upcoming meet

by Steven Fernandez

Daily Lobo

After a successful debut, the UNM track and field team will once again host the Modrall Sperling Lobo Invitational this weekend at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Some of the top teams in the country will compete at the event, including No. 6 Baylor and No. 13 University of Texas-El Paso on the men's side and No. 3 Louisiana State University and No. 9 Texas A&M on the women's side.

UNM head coach Matt Henry said he is thrilled to host the star-studded event for the second straight year.

"I'm really excited that we have this great opportunity for Albuquerque and the University of New Mexico to have these great teams in here," he said. "It's early in the season, but I hope some of our people can perform well."

Along with having six teams ranked in the top 20, some of the best individual athletes will be traveling to New Mexico for the meet.

The Lobo Invitational will be especially loaded in the sprinting events. The women's 200-meter dash features three of the top-15 runners, including No. 5 Brooklyn Morris from LSU.

The men's 200-meter dash features three top-10 athletes, including No. 6 Chris Dykes of Texas A&M. The men's 400-meter dash is also stacked, featuring four of the top-12 sprinters in the nation, topped by Texas A&M's Justin Oliver at No. 4.

The women's 4x400 meter relay will feature three top-10 teams, while the men's event showcases No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Texas A&M.

UNM's Jarrin Solomon of the men's team and Ariel Burr from the women's side are two sprinters who had breakout seasons last year and will have a shot to see where they stack up against the nation's best.

Henry said his sprinters are looking forward to this weekend.

"Jarrin Solomon and Ariel Burr are very, very excited to run against these people," he said. "It's going to be fun."

While there are talented runners in sprinting, the meet will also feature some of the country's best distance runners and field athletes.

Lobo Juan Ortega, who will compete in several distance events, said he is looking forward to the meet.

"We should have some really good competition as far as distance goes," he said. "We're pretty excited about it."

Track and field hosts Modrall

Sperling

Invitational

Friday, 6 p.m.

Saturday, 10 a.m.

Albuquerque Convention Center