A handful of Lobos set personal and school records, while a former Olympian set a new track record at the Don Kirby Invitational over the weekend.
Georganne Moline, who finished fifth in the 2012 Olympics in the 400 meter hurdle, competed in the women’s 600 meter run on Friday. The extra 200 meters didn’t seem to faze her, as she cruised to a first place victory, setting a new Albuquerque Convention Center record with a time of 1:26.70.
New Mexico saw several athletes register performances that likely earned them a trip to the national championships. Head coach Joe Franklin said qualifying was very positive and important.
Sophie Connor turned in the second-best time in school history in the women’s 1-mile run. Connor took first place with a time of 4:42.53, while teammate Emily Hosker-Thornhill came in second place at 4:50.88.
“I’m overwhelmed, to be honest,” Connor said. “I knew I had it in me to run this race; I think today everything just came together.”
Connor said one of her teammates, Molly Renfer, set a good pace for her and things worked out for the best.
Zoe Howell finished in fifth place with a time of 2:12.22 in the women’s 800 meter run, while Adam Monroe ran the men’s side in 1:53.47 to finish third.
In the men’s 1-mile run, Elmar Engholm ran 4:05.39 to place fifth and Adam Cotton finished eighth with a time of 4:10.12.
Jannell Hadnot also set a personal record and tied the school record in the women’s triple jump. Franklin said in order to make a run at the national championship one has to have consistency, and Hadnot has that.
Hadnot said she realized after last week how close she was to setting the school record. While she normally competes in multiple events, she decided to focus solely on the triple jump this week. Hadnot finished in fourth place with a jump of 43 feet 2 1/2 inches.
“I took a rest from everything else,” Hadnot said. “It was one of the best jumping series I’ve had in my life, so I’m really excited about that.”
Franklin said Amaris Blount’s performance stood out for him as well. She continued to increase her distance, finishing in ninth place in the women’s weight toss with a throw of 58 feet 6 1/2 inches.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“To beat the Colorado State women in your first year, that’s a good throw,” Franklin said. “She just keeps getting better and better and now she’s getting consistent; everything is going great right now.”
Franklin said New Mexico will send a distance medley relay to North Carolina next weekend to compete at the Kent Taylor Invitational, but the rest of the team will be off.
The head coach said the long jumpers have typically performed very well at the conference meet, and believes Yannick Roggatz and Allan Hamilton are moving in the right direction.
He also said runner Mustafa Mudada appeared to suffer a cramp or tweaked his hamstring. He said that will be a concern because he is part of a really good relay team. Franklin said they will have to evaluate him and see how things go.
New Mexico will host the Mountain West Indoor Championships in two weeks at the Albuquerque Convention Center from February 25-27.
Robert Maler is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country, tennis, and track and field. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
