Lobos, preps to serve as precursor to US meet
Don Kirby, Great Southwest are set
The record-setting University of New Mexico men’s 4x400 team will get a stern test Friday night at the Don Kirby Invitational on the Lobos’ home track at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
The two-day Don Kirby — and a meet of top high school athletes on Saturday, the Great Southwest Indoor Classic — whets the appetite for next week’s star-studded U.S. Indoor Championships competition, to be held on the same track Thursday through Saturday.
The Lobo quartet of Jevon O’Bryant, Jovahn Williamson, Rivaldo Leacock, and Brodie Young, which broke the school and Mountain West Conference records in the event last week in 3 minutes, 6.58 seconds (converted from 3:06.14), enters the week ranked No. 22 on the NCAA performance list. The Lobos will toe the line on Friday at 6:30 p.m. against third-ranked Alabama (3:03.99), 12th-ranked UCLA (3:05.47), and 13th-ranked Florida State (3:05.82).
Before the focus shifts to the high-stakes 4x400-meter relay to close out Friday, reigning Mountain West Athletes of the Week Elizabeth White and Jake Burkey will be in action in an evening long jump session. White broke the school record on her first attempt last week, with a jump of 6.25 meters (20 feet, 6¼ inches). That was good enough to lift her to No. 14 on the NCAA performance list. Burkey leapt his way to a lifetime best of 7.75 meters (25’ 5.25”) last week, which vaulted him to the top spot on the Mountain West list and No. 19 in the NCAA overall.
More of UNM’s elite performers will be running on the West Coast this weekend, with the distance crew scheduled for the UW Husky Classic in Seattle on Friday and Saturday.
HIGH SCHOOL MEET: When the Don Kirby meet wraps up Saturday, it will be time for the preps to take the stage and the track by 5 p.m.
The Great Southwest Indoor Classic will bring more than 300 athletes from five states to the meet. Elite athletes are coming in several events, particularly the pole vault, per Executive Director Fred Polich. Local competitors can sign up as late as noon Saturday, meet organizers say.