It has been a long and winding road for Sandy Fortner in the last year of her athletic stint at UNM.
The fifth-year UNM women’s-track-and-field senior is coming off a 2009 redshirt season because Fortner busted one of her kneecaps.
At the Lobo Opener on Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center, the Fort Sumner, N.M., native made a glorious comeback to the Lobo track-and-field team.
In her first race of the day, Fortner started with a victory in the women’s long jump. She won the event with a leap of 19-4 on her third attempt of the day.
“I feel that I have kind of proven myself with the time off,” she said. “I have worked hard and now I feel great. I think I feel better than I ever did when I wasn’t hurt, so it’s a great feeling, and it’s a great way to start off the new year.”
After her success in the long jump, Fortner clocked an altitude-adjusted 8.97 in the women’s 60-meter hurdles. She won the event with a time of 8.82. She finished the Lobo Opener by anchoring the women’s 4×400 relay to victory with a time of 3.55.12.
The 19-4 leap in the long jump and her time in the hurdles were near career bests for Fortner, said UNM track-and-field head coach Joe Franklin.
Franklin said seeing Fortner back and healthy was a treat for him.
“She actually hurt her knee long jumping, and the first event of the weekend was the long jump,” Franklin said. “So, there were definitely nerves with her, because she has to plant that foot and take off. The coaching staff really instilled confidence in her to plant her feet and feel no pain. Once she got the first land, it kind of spiraled upward for her and she got better.”
Before her knee injury, Fortner swept the Mountain West Conference multi-event crowns. She won the pentathlon indoor and heptathlon outdoors events that qualified her for both in the 2008 NCAA Track and Field Championships.
Fortner’s knee injury was nothing like she had been through before during her athletic career, she said.
“They had to go in and take all the little bone shards out,” Fortner said. “The doctors actually reshaped my kneecap.”
Nonetheless, Fortner said she is optimistic about the upcoming season — for herself and the Lobos.
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She said she feels this is one of the most talented teams she has been a part of since she has been at UNM.
“I say we are going to take the biggest group to nationals that we ever had, and I am looking forward to it,” Fortner said. “I think we have the opportunity to achieve a lot, especially with conference being here in Albuquerque.”
Of all the events in track and field, Fortner said her passion is doing hurdles and high jump, and she is glad to be back competing in them.
“I like doing relays too, because of the team aspect of the event,” Fortner said. “When you are in relays you are working for that team trophy. It’s just a way to encourage your individual effort into a team effort.”
