Staff Report
The indoor track season culminated in coronation for one Lobo.
On March 14, Lee Emanuel became UNM's first national champion since Michael Solomon won the 600-yard run in 1977.
"Coach told me that if I thought someone was catching up to me, to just run harder and go after it," Emanuel told GoLobos.com. "He knew I would be strong enough to do that."
Upon crossing the finish line in the one-mile race, Emanuel spread his arms like an eagle. It was his day to fly, as Emanuel burned track rubber, turning in a time of 4:00.36.
Emanuel entered the meet as the No. 5 seed, but he made the seeding look low. Emanuel picked his spots, moving into second behind Michigan's Justin Switzer at the 400-meter mark.
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But around the second 800-meter mark, Emanuel was out of position, gridlocked among the other 11 competitors and ran a slower 64 second 400.
But then Emanuel came on, kicking out his last 800 meters. With a claustrophobic five-to-six-man lead group emerging, Emanuel sped outside, taking control of the race at about the 700-meter mark.
His next 400 was clocked at 59.21. Wisconsin's Craig Miller, though, pushed Emanuel, and the two began to distance themselves as their competitors sagged behind.
Miller pressed Emanuel and, at one point, appeared to pull ahead of the England native with about 100 meters left. But Emanuel hit his last wind and dusted Miller, before celebrating momentarily and shaking hands with Miller.
"There at the end, I knew for sure that I could do it, and that it was a chance of a lifetime," Emanuel told GoLobos.com. "So I pushed harder and got the victory. I hope this puts my name on the map a bit more."
