Nosed out at the finish line
UNM women finish 2nd at MWC meet
Oh so close.
That was the takeaway for the New Mexico women’s indoor track and field team Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center as its drive to win its first Mountain West indoor championships since 2015 came up just short to Colorado State 125½-124½.
“It stinks,” coach Lobos coach Joe Franklin said. “There are not any other words. They gave everything they had. We had women scoring in places we needed them to score. They did a great job. We knew it would be close. We knew it would probably come down to the relay. It did. And everybody ran their heart out.”
Lobo Tianna Holmes, who pulled a double by winning both the 200 and 400 meters, also busted out a sterling third leg in the closing 4x400 relay to give Lobos a brief lead that anchor Logan Neely could not quite hold. San Diego State won the heat in 3 minutes, 40.05 seconds, 0.14 seconds in front of UNM. That pushed the Lobos to third for six points, with CSU — which ran 21 seconds faster than its seeded time — for fifth for four points.
“When you look at yourself in the mirror and can say we did everything possible, and it just didn’t happen, at least you can say we did everything possible,” Franklin added. “So, that one stinks.”
In addition to Holmes, Stefanie Parsons earned MWC gold, winning the mile run in 4:41.32.
But while known for its distance prowess, the Lobos proved to be gritty competitors elsewhere, as well.
“The team culture is very good,” Franklin said. “They support each other. They’re fun people to be around. It’s so unique and now we’re scoring in all kinds of events from sprints to jumps to distance. And that’s what’s fun because now
you’re paying attention to everything that’s going on with a chance to put points on the board.”
Chief among them was Holmes, who called her star-crossed Lobos career “a rough five years.”
“A lot of trials and tribulations and injuries,” said Holmes, a senior from Moore, Okla. “I never won an individual title before so I’ve been out here to win it. My coach has been telling me all year that I can win both the 2 and the 4 and I’ve just trusted in my training and just that I’m a competitor ,and it just happened.”
Not only did it just happen, it happened in style as Holmes busted out a school record in the 200 – again – to take the title in 23.49 seconds.
“I’m not a 200 runner, so do it back to back in two days — and I broke it last year as well — but I only ran it once,” the jubilant Holmes said.
Told maybe the 200 should become her focus, she smiled and said, “That’s what I tell my coach. Now you tell my coach.”
An expected New Mexico domination of the 3,000 almost materialized with the Lobos picking up 22 points as Gracelyn Larkin, Samree Dishon and Amelia Mazza-Downie finished 2,3,4 and Emma Heckel was sixth, but Colorado State’s Sarah Carter, who also won the 5,000 on Thursday, turned on the jets with four laps to go, bursting past the UNM trio to sprint to the finish first.
The Lobo men, who also haven’t won since 2015, had to be satisfied with third with 97 points, trailing runaway winner Air Force (208) and the Rams (126).
Matthew Larkin was New Mexico’s only individual winner on the day, winning the 800 in 1:50.57.
But the UNM quartet of Rivaldo Leacock, Brodie Young, Jovahn Williamson, Jevon O’Bryant won the 4x400 in 3:09.96, with anchor O’Bryant putting on a decisive burst heading into the final bank.
“When you only suit up 17 people for the meet and you’re allowed 28, that’s pretty damned good. Where we had people, we were scoring,” Franklin said. “(The men’s 4x400 team) did a great job and those guys not having an individual 400 winner out of the four, they were hot and wanted to win the relay.”
O’Bryant said he had no doubts he would secure the victory.
“I know that’s the best part of my race, the end, the finish, so I knew I probably have the strongest finish here,” he said. “So as long as I’m in striking distance, I feel like I can win it.”
As for the team’s success, “We weren’t close to winning as a team but for us to come out and to win this, it means a lot. It shows we have a lot of fight and dog in us.”