The University of New Mexico track and field team showed some teeth this weekend while competing in the Albuquerque Collegiate Classic home meet.
New Mexico clocked a collection of personal bests and brought home three wins by the end of the competition at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
On the men’s side, freshman Aidan Quinn took first in the men’s triple jump, achieving a personal best mark of 49 feet, 3 inches, surpassing his previous PR of 48 feet, 7 1/2 inches.
In the men’s 800-meter run, UNM's Max Wharton finished in first place with a season record of 1:52.72. His teammate, Harrison Smith — who was running unattached — clocked in a couple of seconds later — placing second with a time of 1:54.30.
On the women’s side, sophomore Adva Cohen started Saturday’s races by taking the win in the women’s mile with a time of 4:39.98. The result landed Cohen on the program's all-time list, putting her in eighth place overall in the history of the school's individual performances.
Cohen added to her successful weekend by placing second in the women’s 800-meter run with a time of 2:10.10, She was edged out by just .08 seconds by San Diego State runner, Nyjari McNeil.
Cohen wasn’t the only runner making history on the indoor track. Teammate Hannah Nuttall ran the women's 1-mile in 4:41.25, putting her in third at the Classic and 10th on the all-time list.
Also ranking in the weekend’s events was Lobo jumper Tanner Battikha who finished second with an overall jump of 24 feet, 1 inch, setting a new indoor PR for Battikha.
Redshirt junior Jared Garcia took third place in the men’s 3,000 meter run, ranking highest collegiately as he finished just seconds behind unattached New Mexico runners, Jonny Glen and Toby Cooke. Garcia finished with a time of 8:26.44.
In the women’s pole-vaulting event, UNM grabbed fourth and fifth place as sophomore Shannon Fritz and senior Katherine Whiting finished with their best marks of the season, both finishing by achieving a mark of 12 feet, 2 inches, but falling short of clearing the next height.
UNM showed solid performances in the short-distance dashes over the weekend, but faced stiff competition from Louisiana State University and the University of Texas El Paso. Those schools dominated on both the men's and women's side — collecting wins in several of the sprints.
Arizona State and New Mexico on the other hand, enjoyed plenty of success in the distance runs. UNM had three of the top-10 runners in the women's 1-mile and four of the top six finishers in the women's 800-meter run.
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In the men's 800-meter run, seven of the top-10 times were turned in by New Mexico or Arizona State — though many of the student-athletes competed unattached.
The Lobos continue their indoor season next weekend, remaining at home to host the Don Kirby Collegiate Elite Invitational. Events will start Friday, Jan. 8 and last through Saturday.
Alanie Rael is a freelance sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She primarily covers volleyball, hockey and track and field, but also contributes content for football. She can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @AllyRael.
