MLK JR. INVITE STARTS INDOOR TRACK SEASON
UNM stars Josh Kerr, Ednah Kurgat and numerous other college and pro athletes will be in action today and Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
The indoor track and field season gets underway today for the University of New Mexico, the host team for the two-day Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational.
Some 800 athletes are expected to compete at Albuquerque Convention Center. Most are collegiate, and some will be professional, with the U.S. Indoors national championships coming to the same site Feb. 16-18.
The MLK Jr. Invitational, formerly the Cherry & Silver meet, is in its second season under the new name. It is the first of four consecutive weekends that UNM will host competition.
“We’ll get to find out where we are and who trained over break,” UNM head coach Joe Franklin said. “That’s the goal. A lot of schools have competed once or twice already and this is our first meet. There will be about 800
athletes competing, and it should be a great opener.”
The Lobos’ stars will be out. Reigning individual cross-country champion Ednah Kurgat, already ranked No. 2 in the NCAAs in the 5,000 meters, will run the mile. Josh Kerr, a preseason Bowerman Watch list member, also will step down in distance from his specialty. The reigning NCAA champ in the 1,500 (outdoors) and the mile (indoors) will run the 800 meters.
After that, it’s a mix of contributors and newcomers hoping to impress for UNM.
Other teams scheduled to compete are UCLA, USC, New Mexico State, Fresno State, Cal State Northridge, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and North Texas. The list of pros includes Brittney Reese, Kendell Williams and Marquis Dendy.
It is the Aggies’ first performance under new coach Doug Reynolds, most recently assistant coach in charge of throws at Alabama.
“We are excited to get the season started. Our goals are simply to compete with intensity and leave everything on the track,” Reynolds said. “At this stage of the season, we know that tactical and technical mistakes happen, but we can’t expect anything less than our best effort with fierce competitiveness.”