The New Mexico track and field squad turned in some impressive performances in its first action this season at the Cherry and Silver Invitational in Albuquerque.
Head coach Joe Franklin said he was encouraged by the high marks on Saturday. Although there was no team scoring for the event, 12 Lobo athletes finished top 10 in a field of 566 competitors.
Jannell Hadnot had the top performance in the women’s triple jump, executing a successful jump with a distance of 41 feet, 8 3/4 inches.
“That was a really good season opener for me,” she said. “My series was really consistent, which I was really happy with as well.”
Hadnot said it was important to get off to a good start and set the tempo for the season. She said her goals are to continue to improve throughout the season and make sure she hits her marks.
Allan Hamilton also had a successful day jumping. He placed 2nd in the long jump competition with a jump of 24-9 1/4. Teammate Yannick Roggatz achieved a tie for fifth place with his best jump which totaled 24-2 1/2.
Hadnot nailed five of her six jumps, while both Hamilton and Roggatz did so in four of their six total jumps. Franklin said that the athletes’ ability to complete so many legal jumps was very positive.
Franklin said he was very impressed by the performances considering the team did not get a lot of practice time at the venue prior to the meet.
“This track literally got released to us on Thursday,” he said. “I was very excited for those guys to come out and do what they are capable of doing without having the benefit of being in a controlled environment.”
In the women’s weight throw, Amaris Blount was able to accomplish a throw of 54-1 3/4. That throw wasn’t just good enough to earn her a seventh place finish, but was also the third best throw in UNM history for thatevent.
Pole vaulter Annie Stirling said she had some mixed emotions since she is in her fifth and final year being on the team. She was among a trio of Lobos that completed a height of 3.70 meters, but was unable to finish in the top 10.
Stirling said her goals this week include improving her technique, having good practices, staying positive and just having fun.
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“Everybody started out extremely well and our technique is really improving,” she said. “We had a lot of little things happening. Everybody has their own individual things to fix. We can work on the little stuff to help us jump a little bit higher.”
The Lobos enjoyed success in the running events as well.
In the 1,600-meter relay event, the women’s team of Larimar Rodriguez, Zoe Howell, Haley Sanner and Holly Van Grinsven came in fourth place with a time of 3:48.88, while the men’s ‘A’ group of Cheyne Dorsey, Chris Kline, Mustafa Mudada and Mark Haywood came in fifth with a time of 3:16.44.
Howell also came in fourth place in the women’s 600 meter, running it in 1:53.84, while Van Grinsven came in seventh in the women’s 60 meter hurdle final with a time of 8.54.
Haywood had a seventh place finish by running the men’s 400 meter in 48.58. His teammate Elmar Engholm finished fourth in the 800 meter running 1:53.84, while Tyler Valdez posted a time of 8:58.86 to come in eighth place in the 3,000 meter.
In the women’s one-mile event, Kendall Kelly came in 10th place with a time of 5:23.05. Natasha Bernal, who was competing unattached, finished in first place posting the top time of 5:02.80.
Franklin said Bernal ran exceptionally well and her status is something he will be evaluating as the season progresses, although she will not run next week.
The Lobos will next stay at home and host the New Mexico Team Invitational, which will be a team-scored event. It will take place on Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
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.
