UNM's Sandy Fortner leaps over the high-jump pole Saturday during the Don Kirby Memorial Invitational at the UNM Track Complex. The Lobos won nine events at the meet.
Events UNM won at the
Don Kirby Memorial
Invitational:
Women's 200-meter dash
Ariel Burr - 23.67
Women's 500-meter run
Sheyenne Lewis - 18:15.87
Women's 4x100 relay
Burr, Sandy Fortner, Alesha Walker and Kristan Matison - 45.58
Women's pole vault
Whitney Johnson - 12-1.5
Women's long jump
Walker - 20-5
Women's triple jump
Deanna Young - 42-10.75
Men's 1,500-meter run
Matt Everett - 4:16.1
Men's 110-meter hurdles
Brian Wilson - 15.31
Men's discus throw
Matthew Henry-Marshall - 160-7
Playing host to the Don Kirby Memorial Invitational on Saturday, the Lobo track and field team outperformed the competition and won nine events.
UNM head coach Joe Franklin said the Lobos were up for it.
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"It was a great day at the track stadium," he said. "We had lots of winners and regional qualifiers. It was really a unique day."
The Lobos qualified to compete in the 4x100 relay race at the NCAA Mountain Regionals, as Ariel Burr, Sandy Fortner, Alesha Walker and Kristan Matison blazed across the track in 45.58 seconds.
While Burr, Walker and Fortner held their own on the track, Anthony Fairbanks was busy tossing his way to a second-place showing in the javelin throw.
Although Fairbanks said it wasn't his best showing of the season, he managed a throw of 211-8.
"I didn't do too bad," he said. "Today was kind of an average day for me."
UTEP's Alex van der Merwe secured first place, throwing a meet-best 227-2.
In the ladies' competition, junior Katie Coronado finished second with a throw of 155-5 and was handed her first loss of the season.
It was former UTEP All-American Erma Gene Evans who spoiled Coronado's undefeated run. Coronado was 6-0 before Saturday's meet.
Franklin said the loss will make Coronado hungrier heading into the Mountain West Conference Championships, which begin May 14.
"Katie is a very competitive woman," he said. "She's quiet, but don't let that pull the wool over your eyes. She was competitive yesterday. She'll be competitive in the future."
Franklin said going undefeated was a goal for Coronado, but there are more important milestones on the horizon.
"For Katie, it's all about throwing far," he said. "Making the Olympic trials. Maybe making an Olympic team in two or three years. But those are things that Katie strives (for). And sure enough, the loss at home will sting a bit, but the nice thing about our sport is there is another day."
In the long jump, the Lobos dominated, rounding out the top three.
Walker won the event with a mark of 20-5, while Fortner took second with 19-9 and Deanna Young finished third with 19-7.5.
Although Walker ended up winning the event, she said she underperformed.
"Basically, I wasn't happy with my long jump," she said. "Because in my warm-ups, I was on the board, and in my real jumps, I was missing and was reaching for the board. The whole time I was reaching. I didn't get a good pop up."
Walker also competed in the women's 4x100, which she said detracted from her long jump.
"I had to worry about the relay," she said. "And that took all my energy out. I tried to finish my long jump, but it didn't quite work out because I didn't have any more energy."
Still, Walker said after a season of traveling, it was great to come home to compete.
"The atmosphere was great," she said. "It was a great day today. I was disappointed because I didn't get the jump I wanted. But it was great because you have friends and family here to support you."
