UNM’s Wright cruises in 5,000
But her qualification for NCAAs is still up in the air
For Alice Wright, it appeared, Friday’s 5,000-meter race at the Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships was a breeze. It really wasn’t. The University of New Mexico junior from Worcester, England, bettered her own MWC meet record with a time of 16 minutes, 22.94 seconds, leading wire to wire and finishing more than 20 seconds ahead of runner-up Emily Myers of Nevada.
But, in truth, Wright was racing not against the Mountain West field at the Albuquerque Convention Center but against the clock and against unknown competitors at other conference meets — striving to qualify for NCAA National Championships.
The top 16 nationally in each event qualify, and Wright was 16th with one conference meet yet to come after Friday’s race. But UNM coach Joe Franklin said athletes ranked ahead of her are likely to scratch.
All Wright knew was that she’d given everything she had.
“I’m not going to say it was easy,” she said. “My stomach felt a little rough after five laps and I was like, ‘Oh, gosh, I don’t know what’s going to happen here.’ But I had my whole team cheering me on, my coach over there telling me my splits ... Joe was just screaming, so I really had no choice (but to go all out).
“Obviously there’s other conference meets to run, and some girls might post quick times. But I know I did everything I could today, and that’s all I could ask for.”
For weight thrower Amaris Blount and heptathlete Ryan Chase, there’ll be no trip to nationals. But, for both UNM athletes, Friday was a day to remember.
Blount, a redshirt sophomore, finished third in her event with a personal best and UNM record throw of 63 feet, 6¾ inches.
“Amaris is a great story,” Franklin said. “... We haven’t had many throwers recently, and she walked on 2½ years ago and has just gotten better and better.”
Blount is from Virginia Beach, Va., but attended Rio Rancho High School as a prep senior.
“Coach Franklin didn’t have a throws team,” she said. “... So I decided to come out and give it a shot, and it worked out for the best.”
Chase, a sophomore from Olympia, Wash., finished third in the heptathlon with a personal-best score of 5,333.
“I wound up getting personal bests in five of the seven events, so it went pretty well,” he said. “There’s a couple of events that I wanted to do a little bit better in, but overall I’m pretty excited about how it went.”
Blount and Chase are eagerly looking forward to the outdoor season, Chase competing in the decathlon, Blount in the hammer throw.
“I just keep learning and getting better and better each meet,” Blount said. “I’m very proud of myself for that, and my coaches are amazing.”
Chase said he feels the decathlon suits his skills better than the heptathlon does.
“I’m a pretty good thrower,” he said. “The 400 meters, I’m pretty decent at.
“For the decathlon, my goal is to try to make nationals this year. It will be pretty tough, there’s a lot of good decathletes. But I think with a good spring of training, technique work, I’ll be able to do it.”
Tanner Battikha’s third place in the men’s long jump (23-11¾) was another UNM highlight Friday. Lobos sprinter Ben Shields qualified for today’s 60-meter finals with a time of 6.81 seconds, the seventh-fastest time ever at UNM. Lobos sophomore Carlos Salcido qualified for the 200-meter final with a clocking of 21.64, sixth-best all-time in program history.
After Friday, day two of the three-day Mountain West meet, the UNM women led with 35.5 points. The New Mexico men were third with 34 points.
Franklin said the women’s lead probably will not hold up against the assault of Colorado State and San Diego State today. In the men’s meet, he said, “Colorado State and Air Force, they’re way out there.”
Franklin said today’s men’s mile, featuring Lobos freshman Josh Kerr and Utah State junior Dillon Maggard, should be a highlight. Kerr has the nation’s eighth-fastest time (3:58.04, adjusted for altitude). Maggard is 11th with a season best of 3:58.23 (also run in Albuquerque and adjusted for altitude).
Kerr and triple jumper Jannell Hadnot (13th nationally entering the weekend) will be seeking today to cement their berths in nationals, scheduled for March 10-11 in College Station, Texas. Miler Sophie Connor and 3,000-meter runner Callie Thackery, like Wright, are on the bubble entering their races today.