Jarrin Solomon looked like he was racing against himself.
In the past two years, the UNM school record for the 400-meter run has been broken three times, but the name next to each record is the same: Jarrin Solomon.
It was no different Saturday at the New Mexico Classic. In the Albuquerque Convention Center, the senior posted a 46.69 first-place time in the 400-meter run, finishing more than one second in front of the rest of the competition and besting his two-week-old record by .15 seconds.
His mark nabbed him an NCAA provisional-qualifying bid and the second-fastest time in the Mountain West Conference, but Solomon said he is only concerned with the victory.
"For me, it is not really about time," he said. "I try to win the race regardless of whether it is a slower heat or the fastest guys in the nation. Times come, but as long as I win, I can't be mad at myself for that."
His career began in an unlikely fashion.
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The Albuquerque native was recruited by UNM for soccer and track. As a high school soccer standout, there was little time for track and field. It wasn't until college that Solomon broke through as a top runner. But once he got a taste of the oval, he became exclusively a track athlete, he said.
"I really wanted to play soccer," he said. "But it is hard to play two sports. I started running pretty good, and I was pretty excited with that. So, I decided to stick with it."
Solomon's first of three records came in early 2007.
With a time of 47 seconds, he uprooted a 17-year-old record held by his father, Mike Solomon.
Solomon redshirted the 2008 season, yet his record remained intact. When Solomon ended his year-long hiatus two weeks ago, his record fell again. He posted a time of 46.60, a record time that lasted only until Saturday.
Don't expect his new record to last much longer. Solomon said he always looks to improve.
"I try not to take any days off," he said. "When I have a hard day of practice, I don't try to take any off. I just keep working hard, and it pays off on the weekends."
In other action, Lee Emanuel, who also traveled to the Meyo Invitational, broke his school record in the mile. Emanuel became the first person in UNM history to break the four-minute barrier, posting a time of 3:57.91 and getting an automatic bid to the NCAA meet.
"I thought I would come here and run hopefully a decent time," Emanuel told FloTrack.org. "Obviously, the race went all right. I wish I could have won, but unfortunately got second, but I got the automatic time. That was the main reason for coming. So I'm pleased with that."
Nicky Archer, who made her indoor debut only one week ago, broke a 15-year-old school record in the mile with a time of 4:55.59.
The record lasted little more than an hour. Ashley Gibson, who traveled with fellow distance runners to Notre Dame for the Meyo Invitational, outran Archer's time by eight seconds.
