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Before the MWC indoor track and field championships, jumper Kendall Spencer said winning New Mexico’s first conference indoor title would bring a lot of pride to the team.
The Lobos must be proud.
Behind strong performances in a number of categories, the UNM men captured that first indoor crown Saturday in Boise, Idaho. The Lobos scored 185 points, beating runner-up Air Force by 40 points. Boise State took third with 141 points, followed by Colorado State with 102 and Wyoming with 72.
“To accomplish something that hasn’t happened in 47 years and never in the history of the school indoors really shows (the athletes’) commitment to each other, getting better and trying to win championships,” said New Mexico head coach Joe Franklin, who was named the MWC men’s coach of the year.
The UNM women had a strong showing as well, taking second place in team standings with 103 points. San Diego State won the women’s meet with 123 points. Nevada was third with 86.
Seven individual championships, many coming in the jumps and distance events, spearheaded the Lobo men in their title run.
Spencer, the defending NCAA indoor long-jump champ, claimed that event at the MWC with a 7.56-meter leap. UNM took three of the top four places in the long jump with senior Floyd Ross in third at 7.21 meters and freshman Yannick Roggatz in fourth at 7.14 meters.
Ross followed his long-jump effort with a victory in the triple jump. With a 15.82-meter jump, Ross beat runner-up Rolando Trammel of Boise State by nearly a meter. UNM senior Ty Kirk was fourth with a 14.55-meter leap.
UNM’s third jumping win came from sophomore high-jumper Django Lovett, who recorded 2.11 meters. Senior Richard York and sophomore Markus Miller added points as well, tying for fifth place with 1.96 meters.
Distance runner Luke Caldwell captured two individual titles in his events. The junior clocked 14:30.30 in the 5,000-meter race and 8:14.66 in the 3,000-meter event.
Sophomore Edwin Herring earned conference gold in the 800 meters in 1:50.59, and senior Richard York scored 5,590 points to take the heptathlon. York had the best mark in each heptathlon event except the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000-meter run.
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UNM picked up key points in the mile, 60-meter dash and pole vault. In the mile, junior Sam Evans clocked 4:10.04 for second and Caldwell was third in 4:10.91. In the 60 meters, freshman Ridge Jones took second in 6.87 and Spencer placed third in 6.95.
Junior Logan Pflibsen was the pole vault runner-up with a 5.25-meter leap.
In the women’s meet, senior Josephine Moultrie highlighted UNM’s performance with two first-place finishes. She won the mile run in 4:42.33 and the 800 meters in 2:09.75. Another Lobo distance runner, senior Kendra Schaaf, claimed the 5,000 in 16:48.35.
UNM’s distance medley relay team of juniors Julie Brasher, Mia Weaver and Janna Mitsos, and freshman Jasmin McCray recorded a second-place time of 11:56.65, and senior Amber Menke took second in the pole vault with a 4.03 leap.
The Lobos had bronze efforts from freshman long jumper Casey Dowling (5.93 meters) and 3,000-meter runner Kirsten Follett (9:41.29).
“It was a phenomenal performance,” Franklin said, referring to the women’s team. “If we had a couple of things happen a little better, we could have been in the hunt (for first place).”
