UNM’s Kerr ready to compete at world meet

3 former Lobos also set to run

The University of New Mexico’s Josh Kerr, the reigning NCAA 1,500-meter outdoor and indoor champion, is poised to compete at the world track and field championships which begin Friday in London.

Kerr will represent Great Britain in the 1,500.

Three former Lobos are also scheduled to compete — Courtney Frerichs (an Olympian for the U.S. in the steeplechase), Jarrin Solomon (a sprinter for Trinidad & Tobago) and Tamara Armoush (1,500 runner for Jordan).

Kerr, the 2016-17 Mountain West Male Athlete of the Year, swept both NCAA titles (indoor mile, outdoor 1,500) in 2017. He is just the 11th athlete in NCAA history — and the first since 2008 — to accomplish the indoor/outdoor sweep.

Kerr also ran the sixth-fastest 1,500-meter time in NCAA history at the Bryan Clay Invitational in April, clocking in at 3 minutes, 35.99 seconds. That time met the qualifying standard for the World Championships, and he claimed a spot on Britain’s team after a secondplace finish at the nation’s World Championships Team Trials in July.

Frerichs was also an NCAA champion, helping the Lobo women to the 2015 cross country championship. Then she won the steeplechase in NCAA record time at the 2016 outdoor meet. She also represented the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics, finishing 11th in the steeplechase. She ran second in the event at the 2017 USATF Outdoor Championships to secure her spot in London. Her personal record of 9:19.09 was set in May.

Solomon, an All-American for New Mexico in the 400 meters, earned bronze in the 4x400 meter relay for Trinidad and Tobago at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The La Cueva graduate also earned silver at the 2015 World Championships and bronze at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2014 World Relays.

Armoush, a 2015 graduate of UNM and native of Derbyshire, England, competes internationally for Jordan, including an appearance at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships. She won the 1,500 at the 2017 South of England Senior Championships and set a personal record of 4:18.25 at the BMC Grand Prix in June.

Armoush leads off the Lobos competing as she opens in the heats of the 1,500 on Friday. Frerichs follows with heats of the women’s steeplechase on Aug. 9, Kerr with 1,500 heats on Aug. 10, and Solomon with 4x400 heats Aug. 12.