ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The University of New Mexico track and field team concludes its outdoor regular season on Saturday evening, May 4, with a trip to the UTEP Twilight in El Paso, Texas. New Mexico will face regional opponents New Mexico State (women), Sul Ross State, and Texas-El Paso at Kidd Field. A trio of Lobo distance runners will also be in action on Friday night, May 3, at the elite Cardinal Invitational in Stanford, Calif.
Hosted by Stanford University, the Cardinal Invitational is conducted for athletes attempting to qualify for the NCAA Division I Championships, USA Track & Field Championships, or the IAAF World Championships. With 11 of the 19 track events being races of 1,500 meters or more, the meet is a showcase of some of the finest distance running talent in the country. UNM sophomore Matt Gonzales will lead off the night in the B Section of the men's 5,000 at 8 p.m. (MST), followed by freshman Jacque Gallegos in the women's 1,500 at 10:15, and sophomore Ben Ortega in the B Section of the men's 10,000 meters at 11:15 p.m. Currently ranked 33rd in the nation (29:35.07) in the 10,000, Ortega will be looking to improve his NCAA qualifying time and his chances for a national championship berth in the event. Gonzales will need to shave at least 1.55 seconds off his personal-best in the 5,000 (14:08.55) to record his first NCAA qualifying time, while Gallegos is 15.22 seconds off the provisional mark of 4:24.00 in the women's 1,500.
Saturday will mark New Mexico's second trip to El Paso this year. In their first visit, the Lobo men and women finished third and fourth, respectively, at the UTEP Springtime Invitational on March 30. UNM has enjoyed its time at Kidd Field over the last few years, recording several strong performances. Seven of the team's top event marks came at UTEP last March, including junior David Lloyd's NCAA provisional qualifying time of 50.75 (No. 16 in the nation) in the 400-meter hurdles. Conditions should be ideal on Saturday evening for the Lobos to boost their conference rankings as they approach the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships. The MWC Championships will be held at Falcon Track in Colorado Springs, Colo. from May 16-18.
MEET INFORMATION/RESULTS
Complete information and results from this weekend's track and field meets will be available on the following websites following the competitions:
LAST TIME (12th Don Kirby Memorial Invitational)
The University of New Mexico capped its 2002 home schedule with a solid performance at the 12th Don Kirby Memorial Invitational at Great Friends of UNM Track on April 27. Seniors Monica Christofferson, Jammy Kiggundu, and Justin Massey claimed three of the Lobos' seven victories on the day. Athletes from several regional schools were among the field, including Adams State College, Garden City College, University of Juarez, New Mexico State, New Mexico Highlands, Dine College, South Plains College, SIPI, and Texas-El Paso.
Freshmen Kelli Myers and Amber Nolte picked up the first UNM wins of the day, taking the high jump and pole vault, respectively. Myers earned her third victory of the year, and second in Albuquerque, with a mark of 5-06.50 in the high jump. Teammate Erin Johnson was second, two inches off Myers' mark. Meanwhile, Nolte recorded her first victory of the outdoor season, clearing 11-09.75 in the pole vault. She later finished her day with a second place finish in the 100-meter hurdles.
Although competing without junior Nick Lott, the 4x100-meter relay team claimed the men's first victory of the day courtesy of an illegal exchange disqualification of the apparent winner, Garden City College. There was no doubt In the men's 1,500-meter race, however, as sophomore Chris Orrell never trailed en route to his first outdoor victory. Orrell led an easy 1-2-3 finish for the Lobos, followed by freshman Cameron Clarke and junior Joe Lopez.
Back in the field, freshman Amanda Barnes notched her second win in impressive fashion with a season-best toss of 45-01.00 in the shot put. Sophomore Bobbi Hall took second in the event with a throw of 44-00.75. Kiggundu led another 1-2 UNM finish in the triple jump to close out the field event competition. The fifth-year senior matched his season-best with a leap of 45-09.25, while freshman Willie Yuen also notched a season-best mark of 44-05.25.
It was a senior sweep in the 400-meter hurdles as Christofferson earned her first victory of the season (1:03.47), and Massey cruised to his second-straight win (53.50). New Mexico also had several runner-up finishes, including a pair by senior Monique Harris in the long and triple jumps. Junior Kim Baca clocked her fastest 1,500-meter time of the year (4:55.85), while fellow junior Dayna McMillen and freshman Jaime Hall finished second in the 100 and 800 meters, respectively.
On the men's side, junior David Lloyd ran the team's fastest 100-meter race of the year as he finished third among collegiate competitors (7th overall). He clocked an altitude-adjusted 10.67, despite running into the wind, then later paced the collegiate field (3rd overall) with a time of 21.54 in the 200. In the 800, sophomore Sean Flaherty ran a season-best 1:54.13 to take third, while the men's 4x400-meter relay team finished second in the meet finale. Sophomore Jason Barkermeyer also had a fine day, leading the collegiate competitors (3rd overall) with a personal-best throw of 50-02.75 in the shot put, before finishing second with a toss of 151-08.00 in the hammer.
ORTEGA TAKES HOME MWC ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS
The Mountain West Conference selected UNM sophomore Ben Ortega as its Men's Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week on April 25. Ortega recorded his first NCAA provisional qualifying time en route to a fourth place finish in the 10,000-meter run on April 19 at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut, Calif.
The defending MWC champion in the event, Ortega clocked a time of 29:35.07 in his first 10K race if the year. He smashed his pervious personal-best (30:02.00, 2001) by 27 seconds and was nearly 10 seconds under the NCAA provisional qualifying standard. The time is also the second-fastest in the conference (No. 33 in the nation) this season and fourth in league-history.
It was the first career Athlete of the Week honor for Ortega, who redshirted during the 2002 indoor season after completing a tremendous cross country season. The Taos, N.M. native was an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Cross Country Championship field and a second-team all-conference runner last fall. He has also earned all-Mountain West track honors three times in his brief career at UNM.
Ortega is just the second Lobo ever to be named MWC Men's Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week. Junior David Lloyd was the first honoree, receiving the award one month earlier on March 26. Sophomore Chris Orrell and senior Monique Harris each earned Indoor Athlete of the Week honors in January of this year.
SARI-BENTZUR REMAINS NINTH IN "DANDY DOZEN" RANKINGS
New Mexico junior Keren Sari-Bentzur maintained her No. 9 position in Trackwire Online's (www.trackwire.com) women's heptathlon "Dandy Dozen" rankings for the week of April 30. Trackwire's "Dandy Dozen" provides a detailed overview and ranking of the top 12 athletes in each NCAA track & field event. Revised weekly, the "Dandy Dozen" is determined by a multitude of factors such as: past performances at major competitions, peaking ability, injury history, progression of marks, and head-to-head competition. The individual rankings are then used to generate the Trackwire 25, the commonly accepted national power ranking of NCAA Division I track & field teams.
This is the second time Sari-Bentzur's has been recognized by Trackwire since arriving at UNM. The native of Eshel Hanassi, Israel and two-time Israeli long jump champion was Trackwire's preseason choice for Top International Newcomer in the women's long jump. She earned her first top-12 ranking of her Lobo career after recording a career-best and NCAA provisional qualifying heptathlon score of 5,371 at last weekend's Mt. SAC Relays. Her score is the eighth-best in the nation this year, and just 129 points shy of the automatic qualifying mark of 5,500 points.
Fellow junior David Lloyd was the first Lobo to crack the "Dandy Dozen" this year, opening at No. 11 in the first men's 400-meter hurdles rankings of the 2002 outdoor season on April 10th.
WHO'S HOT?
* Junior Keren Sari-Bentzur:
Shattered her season-best in the javelin by 14 feet last weekend with a throw of 113-08.00 in Albuquerque...her weakest heptathlon event, the vastly improved javelin performance should be a real confidence booster as the NCAA Championships approach...currently ranked No. 8 in the nation (9th - Trackwire "Dandy Dozen") in the heptathlon with her score of 5,371 at the Mt. SAC Relays...score shattered previous personal-best by 243 points, was 129 point shy of the NCAA automatic mark, and just 48 points shy of the 12-year-old UNM record...owns the Lobos' top marks and ranked among the Mountain West's top-10 in the heptathlon (2nd - MWC), long jump (2nd - MWC), and 100m hurdles (8th - MWC)...second on the team and eighth in the league in the high jump... third on the team in the javelin
* Junior David Lloyd:
Recorded the team's fastest 100-meter time of the year (10.67) and clocked the second-fastest 200 of the season (21.54) at last weekend's Don Kirby Memorial Invitational...has eclipsed the provisional-qualifying time in the 400m hurdles 3 times this season and has also won 4 of 6 races in the event, including his preliminary heat at the Texas Relays...advanced to the event finals at the prestigious meet...owns the fastest time in the Mountain West and the nation's 16th-fastest in the event...top time of 50.75 is just 0.6 seconds shy of 22-year-old UNM record...defeated defending MWC champion Seth Billy of Wyoming in Albuquerque on March 23...owns the Lobos' fastest 100 and 200m times of the year and is ranked third in the Mountain West in both events...also leads the league's second-ranked 4x100 and 4x400m relay teams...became first Lobo ever to win MWC Men's Outdoor Athlete of the Week award on March 26
* Sophomore Ben Ortega:
Became just the second Lobo ever to be named MWC Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Week (April 25th)...was honored after he recorded his first NCAA provisional qualifying time, running a 29:35.07 to finish fourth in the university 10,000 at the Mt. SAC Relays...time was 10 seconds under the provisional standard and shattered his previous personal-best in the event by 27 seconds...currently ranked second in the conference and 26th in the nation in the 10K...has three straight victories in the 5,000-meters, where he is ranked 5th in the MWC...personal-best (altitude adjusted) 5K time of 14:34.53 on March 30 in El Paso was nearly seven seconds faster than his previous best effort...has never finished lower than fourth in 11 collegiate races at distances of 3,000m or more
* Sophomore Jason Barkermeyer:
Destroyed his previous personal-best mark by 1.5 feet in the shot put last weekend in Albuquerque with a throw of 50-02.75...finished third overall in the event, but led all collegiate competitors...also grabbed second place in the hammer throw with a toss of 151-08.00, the second-best mark in his career...currently leads the team in both the shot put and the hammer, ranked 6th and 9th in the league, respectively...owns the team's fourth-best discus mark and is ranked 10th in the MWC in the event...7 top-5 finishes with one victory this spring
* Senior Justin Massey:
Picked up his second straight victory in the 400m hurdles last weekend in his home meet finale...also ran third leg for the Lobos' winning 4x100m relay team...clocked a personal-best time of 52.45 en route to his first victory of the year in the 400m hurdles on April 12 at the Mesa Classic...missed all of the 2002 indoor season and outdoor season-opener due to a broken ankle suffered in November...recorded a time of 52.88 on April 4 to finish a very respectable 17th in the prelims of the prestigious Texas Relays...was the Lobos' best 400m hurdler last spring with a top time of 53.10...also helped the 4x400m relay team capture its second victory of the season with a time of 3:14.04, its second-fastest outdoors, at the Mesa Classic.
* Freshman Amanda Barnes:
Notched the team's top mark in the shot put en route to her second victory of the year at the Don Kirby Invitational last weekend...throw of 45-01.00 is 8.75 inches further than the Lobos' top mark in the event last spring...owns the team's top 2 marks this season and is currently ranked 7th in the Mountain West in the shot put...7 top-5 finishes in the shot put and discus this spring
* Senior Jammy Kiggundu:
Recorded his third win of the season in his final home meet last weekend...tied a season-best of 45-09.25 in the triple jump and finished 2-0 in the event at home this spring...currently ranked ninth in the MWC and owns 3 of the team's top-5 marks in the triple jump...has made a strong recovery from a multitude injuries suffered over the past year...missed all of the 2001 season as a medical redshirt
* Sophomore Sean Flaherty:
Clocked a personal-best time of 1:54.13 in a third place finish in the 800 last Saturday in Albuquerque...time is the second-fastest on the team this season...also owns two of the team's top-5 1,500-meter times...3 top-5 finishes competing in the 800 and 1,500 this season...ranked 11th and 14th in the MWC in the 800 and 1,500, respectively
