Kerr appears ready to defend NCAA crown
Lobo star wins mile, but UNM finishes in middle of pack at MWC meet
Not only is Josh Kerr fast, but he has also developed some reliable climbing skills.
As in climbing to the top of the podium.
The University of New Mexico redshirt sophomore captured his second straight Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field title in the mile clocking 4 minutes, 00.62 seconds Saturday afternoon at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Runner-up Cole Rockford of Colorado State kept Kerr honest to the end, finishing in 4:02.13, a time that would have eclipsed Kerr’s winning time from last year (4:03.41) by over a second.
“You’ve got be there on that day (of the finals), you have to be psyched, and you have to be ready,” Kerr said, who will look to defend his NCAA title next month. “…You’ve got to be better every year, and that’s exactly what I’m trying to do — take big steps every year.”
On the final day of three-day championship, Air Force’s men and UNLV’s women cruised to the team titles, while the Lobos’ men were fourth among six teams, and the 11th-ranked women were fifth in an 11-team field.
“Our goal all along is to finish in the top 20 nationally,” said UNM head men’s coach Joe Franklin, who said he chose “not to double and triple people” in this meet. As an example, UNM’s Ednah Kurgat ran only in the mile, finishing third. She has qualified for and will compete in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 9-10 in College Station Texas, but did not do those events this weekend.
“It shows how deep our conference is,” said Franklin. “We can finish fourth or fifth in this, and then go to nationals and finish in the top 10 or 15 competing against the power-five conferences.”
Kerr was one of two Lobos to earn conference titles on Saturday. True freshman Weini Kelati raced to the front from the opening lap and never relinquished the lead to win the women’s 3,000 meters in 9:13.40.
It’s been a banner year for Kelati, originally from Eritrea in Northeast Africa before moving to Virginia to finish high school.
Kelati was part of UNM’s national championship cross country team, and now she has an individual conference championship.
“It’s been a dream come true,” Kelati said, who said she is inspired by teammate Ednah Kurgat. “You see someone like her (one of the best in the nation), and you just want to follow it.”
Kurgat again stepped out of her comfort zone in the women’s mile. She occupied the second or third spot most of the eight-lap race, but was outkicked at the finish by Boise State’s Alexis Fuller and Allie Ostrander.
Kurgat finished in 4:46.54, a 1½-second drop from her preliminary qualifying time.
“Coming in I was feeling quite good,” Kurgat said. “I was expecting that anything could happen, and (in the last 200 meters), I was trying to give it my best, but it’s been quite a tiring week for me.”
Senior Mark Haywood was one of the happiest Lobos on the track. While he couldn’t catch Air Force’s Tyler Koss over the final 50 meters of the 400 meters, his second-place time of 47.69 seconds was a personal-best.
Haywood slapped his hands in celebration when his time was made official, and was especially pleased with the UNM contingent. Teammates Ben Parmoon and Isaac Gonzalez also scored among the top seven.
“Three (UNM) guys placing in the finals, I’m really happy about that,” Haywood said.
Elsewhere for UNM
■ Sophomore Carlos Salcido won his 200-meter heat, but in the time-trial format, he ended up placing third clocking 21.34 seconds. Salcido said his groin tightened during his race, and as a result, was not able to approach his personal-best time. Due to the injury, Salcido ceded his spot on the meet-closing 1,600-meter relay.
■ UNM freshman high jumper Ada’ora Chigbro cleared 5 feet, 11¼ inches, tying for the second-highest height cleared, but placed third overall on miss criteria Friday.
■ The men’s 1,600-meter relay did not set a record like last year, but did match its third-place showing from 2017. Minus Salcido, the combination of Haywood, Parmoon, Gonzales and Bryan Cutler timed 3:15.68 seconds.
■ Sophomore Charlotte Prouse also made it to the podium in the 3,000 meters, placing third in 9:26.39.
■ Sarah McKeever cleared 13-2½ in the pole vault, placing fourth.
■ Sophomore Tanner Battikha added a third-place showing in the men’s long jump (23-8¼) Friday.
■ Beau Clafton was second to teammate Daniel Lam in the heptathlon, his 5,339 points the third-best score in program history.