by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
Jarrin Solomon, Jeremy Johnson and Ariel Burr were not going to let other athletes come to their home track and steal their thunder.
At this weekend's Modrall Sperling Lobo Invitational, the UNM track and field athletes held their own against a field of some of the top competition in the sport.
Johnson got the Lobos started on Friday by placing second overall in the 3,000-meter run in a time of 8:09.94, the fastest time recorded under head coach
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Matt Henry.
Henry was surprised when he found out that Johnson recorded the fastest 3K time of his tenure.
"That's a mouthful," Henry said. "We've had some pretty good ones. I tip my hat off to him. He definitely was a highlight."
Johnson said he was thrilled about how fast he ran in
Friday's race.
"I was stoked," he said. "Training's been going so good, and finally, I got a breakthrough. Finally, I got some good luck."
Johnson finished just two seconds behind University of Texas-El Paso All-American Stephen Samoei.
Johnson said competing with Samoei gave him confidence that he can stick with any distance runner he will face this season.
"Any race I go into now, I have to think to myself, 'I can run with anybody,'" he said. "I have to think that, and I can think
that now."
UNM senior Juan Ortega also scored in the event, finishing fifth with a time of 8:34.73.
Johnson came back Saturday and set another personal record, clocking a time of 14:26.94 in the 5,000-meter run.
Solomon, the Lobos' top male 400-meter runner, also had an impressive weekend.
The junior sprinted to a career-best time of 47.34 en route to a sixth-place finish in a race loaded with nationally ranked athletes.
Solomon's time was faster than No. 9 Melville Rogers of Louisiana State University and Baylor's J.T. Scheuerman, ranked No. 12 in the country.
Solomon said he was pleased with how fast he ran so early in the season.
"I think I did good for the beginning of the year," he said. "I ran pretty much the way I wanted to run. I felt good. I felt strong - a lot stronger than last year."
Henry said Solomon has been preparing for the opportunity to compete against elite athletes.
"He's studying those guys he's going to run against," he said.
In the women's 400-meter run, Burr also had success, winning her heat and placing fourth overall with a time of 55.55.
Burr was happy to win her heat and place in the event, she said.
"I was pleased," she said. "I
really didn't know what to expect. Running as fast as I did, I was happy with it."
Henry said he's excited about how Burr, Solomon and Johnson stood out at a meet featuring so many talented athletes.
"Those three were probably the performance of the meet," he said. "I'm happy with our
performances."
There were some other Lobo athletes who performed well over the weekend, too. While the focus of the meet was on the likes of Baylor, LSU and Texas A&M, Henry said he was satisfied with the overall performances of
his teams.
"I think in some ways we might have been out of our league a little bit tonight," he said. "But our kids did a great job to compete with these people, and we're going to get better for it."
Track and field hosts Roger Cox Multis
Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.
Albuquerque Convention Center
