The New Mexico track and field distance medley team achieved its goal at the UCS Invitational on Saturday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Sophie Connor, Callie Thackery, Emily Hosker-Thornhill and Holly Van Grinsven combined to run a time of 11:08.95 and finish in second place behind Clemson. The time, after being converted to 11:01.86 due to track size, puts the relay team’s time at seventh in the nation.
According to a release recapping the meet, the team came within a second of setting a new school record. The time ranks second in school history and third in conference history.
The run also likely secured the Lobos a spot at the national championships as the top 12 teams in the nation receive a bid.
“Great run for the women,” Franklin said in the release. “They flew all the way across the country with one purpose: to qualify the relay for the NCAA Championships. They did that in remarkable fashion.”
In other events, Zoe Howell completed the women’s 600-meter race in 1:35.45 to finish in second place, while Elmar Engholm placed third in the men’s 1-mile run with a time of 4:09.49.
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.
