by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
Before this weekend, Jeremy Johnson and Timmie Murphy had never raced in a 10,000-
meter run.
When their results came in, you might have thought it was the two's specialty.
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Both UNM track and field members placed in the top 10 in their respective races at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on Friday in Walnut, Calif.
In the women's race, Murphy placed fourth out of 32 runners with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 34:17.47, about 10 seconds off the school record.
Murphy's race was impressive, considering she didn't run her best, UNM head coach Matt Henry said.
"Even though that time was tough, I think that little girl could run a minute faster than what she did the other night," he said. "I think really, though, she was a little bit tired going into
that race."
In the men's 10,000 meters, featuring professional runners, Johnson finished ninth overall and third among collegiate runners. His time of 28:47.76 was well under the NCAA provisional mark of 29:30 and just a couple ticks off the automatic qualifying mark of 28:45.
Henry said Johnson had a strong race and still has a chance for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
"That was a pretty good day for Jeremy," he said. "I hope the time is fast enough to get him in. He's definitely going to be high on that list."
Meanwhile, Jarrin Solomon continued to shine in the men's 400, winning in a time of 46:63. He finished more than half a second faster than any other runner, including some professionals.
Solomon has run faster than 47 seconds twice this season and three times in his career. The NCAA regional qualifying time for the 400 is 47.2 seconds.
In the women's 400, Lobo Ariel Burr won her heat and placed second overall with a time of 54.39, beating the regional qualifying time of 54.6.
Henry said the two sprinters proved they could compete with elite runners.
"That was a pretty good day for us," he said. "Jarrin really ran good that day, and Ariel did a good job, too."
In the men's 800, Brian Vallie won his second straight race and hit a career-best time of 1:51.15. Nick Arguelles also ran a personal-record time and placed ninth in 1:53.65.
Henry said it's good to see the freshman runners making some strides this season.
"That was a PR for Brian, and we know he can run faster," he said. "Nick also ran a PR that day, and that was great."
While various athletes had success at the elite Mt. SAC Relays, UNM javelin thrower Katie Coronado had an outstanding performance at Saturday's UTEP Invitational. Coronado broke the school record in women's javelin with a throw of 169-10. She finished second overall at UTEP and broke the UNM record by more than four feet.
Henry said Coronado is having an amazing season, and there's potential for her to improve on her record.
"That's tremendous," he said. "Katie throughout her throws (Saturday) just kept getting better and better. That's a great deal for Katie to be able to break that record. I hope she doesn't stop right there. I hope we can keep going with her throws."
Track and field at UCSD Triton Invitational
Friday, TBA
San Diego, Calif.
