by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
For the second straight year, UNM held one of the most successful indoor track and field meets in the nation.
Some of the nation's high-profile coaches think so, too.
The Modrall Sperling Lobo Invitational concluded Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center with Texas A&M capturing the men's title while Louisiana State University dominated in the women's overall standings. Aggie head coach Pat Henry said it was a special event that the Lobos put on.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"I don't know that the community even understands this is one of the top two or three facilities in the United States," he said. "This is a tremendous field, and it'd be nice to see this place completely full
sometime."
The competition was fierce in the women's heats, but the UNM squad held their own. Junior Melanie Velarde finished fifth in the 3,000-meter run and was pursued by four teammates who all ended up finishing in the top 10 of that event. Newcomers Lynn Brasher and Kelly McCabe also scored valuable points for the Lobos in the mile.
The meet wrapped up Saturday with an elite men's 4x400 meter relay featuring No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Texas A&M going head-to-head.
The three teams battled it out during the event before Baylor pulled away from LSU with Texas A&M finishing third.
Baylor's Quentin Summers held on to the lead heading into the final leg and staved off LSU's Reginald Dardar, securing Baylor as the top 4x4 team in the country.
Summers said he was surprised how tough it was to beat LSU and Texas A&M.
"Really, it was a little closer than I thought it was going to be," he said.
Summers said it was exciting to hold off LSU's top competition.
"That's the best feeling in the world," he said. "I hope, after today, people think that we're better than LSU. I hope we proved it today."
Along with coming out on top in the most anticipated event of the weekend, Summers said it was fun to be a part of such an important meet.
"It was real special," he said. "You don't get meets like that until nationals. We were really lucky to all be here at the same time."
Baylor head coach Todd Harbour said he was happy with how his 4x4 relay team performed with LSU and Texas A&M gunning for it.
"They kind of put the bull's-eye on their back last week," he said. "These guys know that when you come to Baylor, that's kind of to be expected. They were ready for it. It was good. It's going to be a great battle all year."
Harbour said he was excited to bring his team to the Lobo Invitational and was glad with how the meet turned out.
"That's a treat for track and field fans," he said. "Hopefully, they enjoyed it. It's always fun to end it on a good note like that."
Henry said it was an accomplishment for the Lobos to put on a meet with so many high-profile teams.
"What other team brings UCLA, Texas A&M, Baylor, those kind of schools here? That doesn't happen very often," he said. "It's a great place to come."
UNM mid-distance runner Kurt Henry, who anchored the 4x4 team that won its heat, said it was a thrill to watch the best athletes in his event compete on his
home track.
"It's fun to have the elite athletes come out because we're also spectators," he said. "It's just as exciting for us as it is for them."
UNM head coach Matt Henry said he was proud with how the meet turned out.
"To have this caliber of teams in here is really special," he said. "They don't necessarily have to come here. This is an honor for me, and it's an honor for the University of
New Mexico."
