by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
The Lobos didn't get the team results they wanted, but some solid individual performances could jump-start UNM heading into the outdoor season.
The track and field team had a rough start to the Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center, but rebounded to earn three gold medals on Saturday, the final day.
Ariel Burr, Tiyana Peters and the men's 4x400-meter relay team provided highlights for the Lobos on Saturday, as all of them earned conference titles. The men finished sixth overall, while the women placed seventh.
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Injuries and poor performances Thursday and Friday hurt UNM, but some athletes had impressive showings on the final day, head coach Matt Henry said.
"For what we had going in (Saturday), we really did as best we could," he said.
Burr demolished the field in her heat of the 400-meter dash, and her time held up as the fastest of the day in the event.
The junior broke her own school-record time, stopping the clock in 53.73. She became the first woman in UNM history to win a conference championship in an indoor track event.
The New Mexico native was the runner-up in the 400 last season and didn't want to settle for another silver medal, she said.
"I wasn't going to take any other place but first this year," Burr said. "It feels really good."
Even though Burr won her heat by a comfortable margin, her time had to hold up against the second heat in order for her to secure a win.
Henry said Burr did a good job of pushing the pace, even when nobody threatened her in her own heat.
"She really did a super job, and she did it basically by herself," he said. "She ran her own race, and from the gun, she meant business."
Burr was the second UNM woman to earn a gold medal on the day.
Peters opened Saturday with a win in the high jump with a mark of 5-10. Her height cleared a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Championships and got the Lobos off to a strong start.
Henry said Peters' win gave the other athletes momentum Saturday.
"That was exciting," he said. "(Friday) was really a tough day for the Lobos on the women's side. She brightened my day up. I think the whole day went nice just because of her high jump."
The men's 4x4 team of Taylor Siemon, Randle McCain, Kurt Henry and Jarrin Solomon closed out the meet with another victory for the Lobos.
In the final event of the day, Siemon got the Lobos a lead before Texas Christian's second runner passed McCain.
However, TCU had a bad handoff, and Henry took back the lead for UNM. He held off runners for the rest of his leg and gave Solomon the baton in first place.
Solomon had a slight lead on Colorado State's Drew Morano - who was the lone runner to defeat Solomon earlier in the men's 400-meter dash - and held him off by 0.17 seconds, securing the win for the Lobos.
The 4x4 team closed the MWC Championships with a bang, which was special because it was a home meet, Kurt Henry said.
"To end the meet with the win is really phenomenal," he said. "The best part was our fans and teammates yelling for us."
Another Lobo with a solid weekend was Jeremy Johnson. The junior had been slowed by a foot injury over the past few weeks but managed to earn a pair of second-place finishes.
Johnson finished second in Friday's 5,000-meter run before racing to another silver medal in Saturday's 3,000.
Senior Juan Ortega finished fifth in the 5K, sixth in the 3K and helped lead the distance medley relay team to a fifth-place finish.
Johnson was disappointed he didn't win one of the races but was happy he earned points for UNM, he said.
"You just try to help the team as much as you can," he said. "It'd be nice to get a W, but getting as many points as possible is what conference is all about."
