A win by UNM senior javelin thrower Anthony Fairbanks broke the gloom of a rainy day at the Don Kirby Memorial Invitational.
Three lightning delays halted action for more than an hour and a half at the UNM Track Stadium, but Fairbanks wasn't affected by the distractions.
"It was definitely tough with all of the delays, but I just had to keep doing my thing and do what I usually do," he said. "I just kept concentrating on hitting my positions and drawing hard."
In Fairbanks' last career regular-season home meet, he threw a season-best 219-1 on his fifth attempt and beat his closest competitor by more than a foot.
"This is still kind of a shock knowing that this was the last time I will be throwing here at home in front of my friends and family," Fairbanks said. "But I think this is also a milestone in my career."
Head coach Joe Franklin said the win is also huge in Fairbanks' goal to make the national championships.
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"He has worked really, really hard for four years, and it's all coming together at the right time," he said.
Fairbanks' focus paid off as he notched his second home win of the season, his longest throw of the year, a higher national ranking (24th) and an upset of UTEP All-American, Alex van der Merwe.
Van der Merwe was fifth at the NCAA Championships last year, but he finished second to Fairbanks on Saturday.
The defeat was more important than just any win though. Fairbanks said he received a trash-talking text message from van der Merwe, which made victory that much sweeter.
"He sent me a text and told me, 'I'm coming up there to whoop your butt, so you better be ready,'" Fairbanks said. "It was some friendly competition, but it felt great to win against Alex."
UNM also combined for nine other individual wins. Kim Perkins won the women's 400-meter hurdles with an altitude-adjusted time of 1:01.33.
Senior All-American Katie Coronado finished in first place after hitting a 159-6 mark in women's javelin. And Tyler Kirk had an impressive collegiate debut in triple jump. Kirk leaped 50-11 (15.52m) and qualified for NCAA Regionals with the longest mark by a Lobo in 25 years. It was enough to earn him the sixth spot in UNM's all-time record book.
However, Jarrin Solomon, who was looking to win his third straight 400-meter race at the invitational, was beat by UTEP sophomore Anderson Mutegi despite running his second-best time of the season.
The Lobos will head to the MWC Championships in Laramie, Wyo. If Saturday's performance is any indicator of how things will shake out in Laramie on May 13, Franklin said UNM is in a good position.
"We need to realize that BYU and TCU aren't untouchable," Franklin said. "With our performance this weekend, it shows that we can perform with anybody in our league and anyone in the top 25 in the country."
MWC Championships
May 13
Laramie, Wyo.
TBA
