The fierce competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships are the pinnacle of the world of track and field, and College Station, Texas will host the event this weekend.
The national meet will be held on Friday and Saturday in Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium. The host school, Texas A&M has hosted the event in 2009, 2011 and will be the venue again in 2018.
The seasonal winds at College Station will not be enough to put out the fire that will burn for four Lobo newcomers to the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Redshirt freshman Josh Kerr ran his way into two national events in his debut season competing in indoor track and field.
Kerr was seeded No. 7 in the top half of the one-mile run with his personal record time of 3:58.04.
“Josh (Kerr) is very favored right now, he is in a good spot.” New Mexico head coach Joe Franklin said of the runner. “His conference triple was one of the most impressive ones I’ve ever seen.”
Kerr finished three times in three minutes and 58 seconds in the conference week. His consecutive solid performances should give him the confidence to compete with the fastest runners in the nation.
Men’s Track Athlete of the Year (West Region) Edward Cheserek from Oregon may be the stiffest competition Kerr will face in the mile run, as Cheserek set a new collegiate record for the indoor event.
Kerr will also team with two NCAA championship newcomers, Mark Haywood and Kristian Uldbjerg Hansen, and veteran Elmar Engholm to compete in DMR.
Engholm clinched eighth place in the mile run in the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships, which were held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The Lobo DMR group ran a school record of 9:30.07 to earn the sixth seed in the 12-team field and it seems likely to score in the event this weekend.
“The DMR is kind of wide open, a lot of teams will change their lineups,” Franklin said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
On the women’s side, Alice Wright received her first-ever NCAA indoor bid in the women’s 5,000-meter run. Her time of 15:56.94 has her entering as the 14th seed.
Wright is no stranger to the national stage though, as she has been a five-time All-American in cross country and outdoor track.
NCAA veterans Sophie Connor and Jannell Hadnot became two of three Lobos to find themselves in back-to-back nationals competing in the same event.
Connor was an All-American in the one-mile run last year. Here fastest time this season of 4:36.86 has her seeded at No. 14 in the event this time around.
Hadnot jumped a school record of 43 feet, 6 inches earlier this season, which qualified her at 15th place in the event at nationals.
The event is likely to be a tight competition, with Georgia jumper Keturah Orji being one fo the favorites. The Olympian was named Women’s Field Athlete of the Year (South Region).
The seven individuals made it the ninth consecutive year for the Lobos to send at least four athletes to NCAA indoors.
Despite of the fact that New Mexico is competing against the best athletes in the country, and athletes may not have sterling performances in all five events, Franklin said he expects the Lobos to score well at the national meet.
“The level of competitions is really close, everybody taking into the NCAA Championships has an opportunity,” the head coach said. “Make sure to do what you can in your position.”
