by Brandon Call
Daily Lobo
Sophomore jumper Hagit Salamon keeps on improving for the UNM women's track and field team.
On Saturday, Salamon swept the long and triple jumps with her best marks in college at 19-2 1/2 and 40-1 1/2 at the Lobos' last home meet of the season.
Assistant coach Keren Bentzur said Salamon's success can be attributed to her devotion.
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"Hagit's dedication and will to work hard makes her a good jumper," she said. "She's always there, and she never misses practice. Also, she never doubts what we do. This is what you expect of every athlete, but it doesn't always happen. Hagit puts extra effort into her jumping."
Although the sophomore has consistently led UNM jumpers in meets this season, Salamon said she has not been performing up to her own standards.
"It's been a difficult season," she said. "I feel that with every meet, I am gaining experience and confidence and improving. So, I think that I can do a lot better than what I am doing right now."
An Israel native, Salamon started competing in track and field events at 13.
Salamon was an Israeli national champion in the triple jump and a silver medalist in the long jump at the Israeli Youth and Junior Championships. Salamon also holds the Israeli youth and junior records in the triple jump with marks of 40-3 3/4 and 41-9 3/4, respectively.
Salamon said her transition to the United States for collegiate competition was not an easy one.
"There are so many things that changed for me with my move to the United States," she said. "The first thing is the change in coach. I had to get used to a completely new way of doing things here. Probably the most difficult thing I had to deal with was the amount of competitions and scheduling. In Israel, I competed maybe once a month as a junior. Now, we have a meet every weekend during indoor and outdoor seasons. My body had to get used to the change."
She also had to overcome injuries that have plagued her throughout college.
At the beginning of the 2006 outdoor season, Salamon missed three weeks because of an ankle injury.
Bentzur said Salamon has done well overcoming her setbacks.
"In terms of injuries, she's doing much better than last year," she said. "Hagit still has to overcome a few small issues with her ankle, but it's a matter of commitment. She's there every day for treatment before and after practice, and that's what helped her get better this year and perform well."
Salamon twisted her ankle just before her first meet of the outdoor season - at the Trojan Invitation in Los Angeles - and still competed in her events.
Salamon said injuries are simply another obstacle she has to overcome.
"As a jumper, I don't think there is any jumper out there that doesn't have any problems physically," she said. "There's always going to be aches and pains. The question is how you deal with them. And to be honest, during competitions, I'm so filled with adrenaline that my injuries really don't bother me."
With a 4.13 grade point average, Salamon was an Academic All-Mountain West Conference selection and an MWC Scholar-Athlete award winner.
Salamon said it has been a struggle to balance school and athletics.
"I am very, very demanding of myself when it comes to school," she said. "I wouldn't give up school for track, and that was a problem sometimes. So, I have to give up sleeping and really have to manage my time effectively in order to do my best at both school and
athletics."
With her finals completed by the time the MWC Championships roll around May 9, Salamon said she has lofty goals for conference.
"I have an expectation just to place as high as I can," she said. "Obviously, I'd like to improve my fourth place in triple jump last year, but as long I go out there and perform my best and just focus, I'll be happy."
Track and field at MWC
Championships
May 9, all day
San Diego
