Lobo Mazza-Downie runs to impressive win in Seattle
Albuquerque is the indoor track and field capital of America for the next week and beyond, as the home program is acutely aware.
That said, not all good things Loborelated are happening in the Duke City.
While the Don Kirby Intercollegiate took place at the Albuquerque Convention Center Friday and Saturday, a group of University of New Mexico athletes ran at the Washington Husky Classic in Seattle, and one was a star.
Amelia Mazza-Downie cruised to victory Friday in the women’s invitational 5,000-meter run at Dempsey Indoor, running the fourth-fastest time (15 minutes, 18.54 seconds) in the NCAA this season. It shattered her personal best by nearly a half-minute.
“The whole time I was really relaxed and not stressing about qualifying for nationals,” said Mazza-Downie, a junior from Melbourne, Australia, who most certainly punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships in Albuquerque on March 10-11.
“I was just thinking about winning and that time would come. I sat behind the pacer and first girl the whole time until the last lap, and then I just picked it up to win.”
Mazza-Downie topped a field of 60 competitors in the event, flirting with Weini Kelati’s school record of 15:14.71 minutes along the way. It was the fastest time by any Mountain West runner this season and just 2.61 seconds off North Carolina State star Katelyn Tuohy’s national-leading mark of 15:15.92.
“Amelia has now put herself not only in UNM history but also NCAA history with this being a top-20 all-time mark,” said UNM head coach Joe Franklin. “For her to achieve a time like the one she did proves she is competing at an elite, world-class level.”
Lobo Ethan Brouw followed on Saturday in Seattle by breaking the school record in the men’s 800-meter run in 1:47.21. That third-place finish topped Michael Wilson’s UNM mark of 1:47.66. And Abdirizak Ibrahim rewrote his personal best in the mile with a time of 3:57.21 minutes on Saturday to win among a field of 106 runners.
At the Don Kirby, perhaps the top comprehensive performance came from newcomer Logan Neely, who established PRs in both the 200- and 400-meter dashes, and unleashed the most thrilling performance of the weekend running the closing leg of the women’s 4x400-meter relay on Friday.
The sophomore from Desoto, Texas, took down her counterparts from Oregon and Alabama down the stretch in the final lap, but Illinois’s Madison Hardamon had just enough in the tank to hold her off by 0.23 seconds at the finish line. The UNM time of 3:38.39 minutes (altitude-converted from 3:37.95) is the best in the Mountain West.
Meanwhile, the Lobo men’s 4x400meter team ran toe-to-toe with three of the top squads in the NCAA on Friday night. UNM narrowly missed improving upon its own record of 3:06.58 (altitude-converted from 3:06.14), finishing in 3:06.80 (3:06.36). That slated the Lobos in third place, behind Alabama and UCLA. Jovahn Williamson ran the lead leg, and was followed by Jevon O’Bryant, Victor Akhalu, and Brodie Young.
The Convention Center now turns over for the U.S. Championships, Thursday-Saturday; then, the Mountain West Conference meet on Feb. 23-25, and the indoor season-concluding NCAA Championships.