The UNM track and field team maintained its level of excellence in the New Mexico Multis and Invitational on Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
The Lobos posted two NCAA provisional qualifying times and three first-place finishes.
Ariel Burr ran a 54.38 quarter mile, taking first and setting a qualifying time. She also took home a second-place finish in the 200-meter run.
But it was the distance runners who stole the show.
In her first indoor race, junior transfer Nicky Archer took home the gold in the 3,000-meter run, falling only six seconds shy of a qualifying time.
"Before the race, I was dreading it because it was the first time I have stepped on an indoor track," Archer said. "I was just like 'Oh, God.' But once you start, you focus on the race; that is all you can do."
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Archer is better known for her performance in cross country. Last fall, Archer led the Lobos to their first Mountain West Conference victory in cross country.
She is still adjusting to life indoors.
"I still think I prefer outdoor," Archer said. "I guess on the track, you have more of a gauge of where you are and you have feedback every lap, whereas you only get a marker every kilometer in cross country. It is just a different sport, really."
Junior Rory Fraser is another cross country runner. He took first in the 3,000 meter on the men's side, posting a school record (8:03.75) and provisional qualifying time.
"I am pretty happy," Fraser said. "To break the school record is what I was going for. I would have liked to get the Convention Center record, but it was enough to get the win and the record."
Even with the first-place showing, Fraser said it was not easy.
"Before the race, I was pretty confident," he said. "Then, during the race, I was thinking, 'Whoa, this is pretty hard.' Then, the pace picked up a little bit. It was just terrible, to be honest."
While the Lobos performed well, the field wasn't as stout as the one that descended upon the Convention Center a week ago. Only two Division-I schools graced through the Convention Center track on Saturday, compared to eight a week ago. Nationally ranked Texas Tech (No. 7 men/No. 11 women) and Arizona (No. 13 women/No. 22 men) joined UNM as the only D-I schools.
Franklin said that wasn't the point of the meet. The meet, he said, was about self-improvement.
"When you have a good team, you are always going to run fast," Franklin said. "Even though the meet was much better last week, our 4x400 (relay team) ran almost three seconds faster today."
And improvement is what Franklin's preaching.
Though the distance runners had their moment on Saturday, Franklin said he's trying to build a balanced program.
"Look at Jarrin (Solomon), the No. 2 quarter-miler in the country," Franklin said. "Hopefully, next week we will have Lee Emanuel, the No. 2 or 3 miler in the country. I think we are pretty diverse."
