It was an evening of record breaking at Friday night’s track meet, especially for freshman sprinter Beejay Lee.
Lee broke the school record for the 60-meter dash in the prelims with a time of 6.72 seconds. That time was good enough top Lamaar Thomas’ old record of 6.77 seconds.
In the finals, Lee broke the record he had set an hour earlier with a 6.67 second finish. He placed fifth in the race.
“I feel like it’s an accomplishment and a challenge,” he said. “All due respect to Lamaar Thomas; he earned his record and he’s well deserving of it. I know he’ll come back just as hard and challenge me again, so it’s good to go back and forth.”
Even though Lee ran a faster time in the finals, he said his first race felt better.
“During the (final) race, I didn’t really feel myself running fast. I felt myself trying to keep up with the pack,” he said. “But running with an elite field like that, you have no choice but to run fast if you want to win.”
The field at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational included UCLA, Stanford, University of Texas at Austin, Oregon, Florida, Texas Tech and Ohio State, as well as top competitors from around the country.
Head coach Joe Franklin said keeping pace with these top-notch schools showed UNM’s prowess on the track.
“We competed very well with the best in the country, and that’s something very important,” he said.
Lee wasn’t the only one to make it into the Lobo record books. Junior pole vaulter Amber Menke broke the nine-year pole vaulting record with a height of 13’-4.25”.
Not everyone broke records for the Lobos, but there were some exciting finishes, especially for sophomore mid-distance runner Gabe Aragon who was seconds away from claiming two victories for UNM.
In the 800-meter dash, Aragon was able to come back after trailing in second place for most of the race. He took the lead with less than 200 meters to go. However, Aragon couldn’t hang on for the win and lost by seconds to Arizona State University runner John Kline.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“He (Kline) just had a kick,” Aragon said. “He has a real long stride and he ran a smart race. I thought I ran a good race, too. It was a good P.R. and I’ll take the time over the race any day.”
In the 4×400-meter relay, Aragon was once again in position to take the victory when Richard York handed him the baton at the same time as the Texas Tech team. Aragon was meters away from Texas Tech, but in the end was outdone in the final stretch.
“I told York before the race to just put me in and give me a shot and he did that, so did the other legs,” Aragon said. “They all did really well. We were within striking distance and I tried to close the distance.”
Floyd Ross, junior triple jumper, was another standout for the Lobos. In the triple jump, he got the crowd going for his sixth and final jump and that helped him capture third place with his best jump of 51 feet, 5 inches.
Ross said that the crowd noise helps, but that he needs to have his head straight before he jumps.
“It’s just a mental thing,” he said. “Once I start to feel more comfortable on the runway, I’ll be good.”
