Lobos Host Back-To-Back Indoor Meets This Weekend - University of New Mexico Official Athletic Site

Lobos Host Back-To-Back Indoor Meets This Weekend
Team USA star Allyson Felix visits Duke City; Lee Emanuel makes 2010 mile debut at Indiana

Rory Fraser will be one of the top collegiate runners in a powerful men's 3,000m field on Saturday

Jan. 29, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

LIVE RESULTS

• Lobo Challenge
• New Mexico Invitational

2010 ALBUQUERQUE CONVENTION CENTER INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CENTRAL

UPCOMING

The 2010 indoor track and field season hits another level of intensity this weekend when the University of New Mexico hosts two separate meets at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Tonight New Mexico will be one of eight teams, including Mountain West Conference rivals TCU and UNLV, battling for the team title at the inaugural Lobo Challenge - a rare regular season scored meet. Saturday's New Mexico Invitational will once again feature a powerful collegiate field, including nationally ranked LSU and Arizona, as well as some of the brightest post-collegiate talents in American track and field.

Tonight's field events begin at 5 p.m., followed by the first race on the track at 5:30. The final event is scheduled for 9 p.m. Saturday's field events begin at 9 a.m., followed by the first race on the track at 9:30. Admission each day is $5 at the door for adults, $3 for kids ages 4 to 18, and free for UNM students (with a valid Lobo ID) and children age 3 and under.

In just three years of action, the indoor track and field facility at the Albuquerque Convention Center has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the premier venues in the America. This weekend's events will be the third and fourth of six UNM home meets, including the Mountain West Conference Championships, and 13 total events held this winter at the Duke City's world class indoor facility. The Albuquerque Convention Center will also be the home of the 2010 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships (Feb. 27-28), the NCAA Division II Championships (March 12-13), and five Saturday night high school meets (Jan. 16-Feb. 21).

LOBO CHALLENGE MEET INFORMATION/RESULTS

FORMAT: Scored team competition (lone scored meet of the regular season before the MWC Championships)

TEAMS (8 women's, 4 men's): Abilene Christian (Division II), Adams State (Division II), Hawaii (women only), New Mexico, New Mexico Highlands (Division II - women only), New Mexico State (women only), TCU, UNLV (women only).

2009 NCAA DIVISION II INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS: Men - No. 2 Adams State...No. 3 Abilene Christian. Women - No. 8 Abilene Christian...No. 12 Adams State...No. 23 New Mexico Highlands.

RESULTS: Event-by-event results will be posted on the bulletin boards at the finish line corner of the facility, near the timing table. Live results will be available on www.RecordTiming.com. Complete HTML results will be available on www.GoLobos.com immediately following the meet.

NEW MEXICO INVITATIONAL MEET INFORMATION/RESULTS

COLLEGE TEAMS (10 women, 6 men): Adams State (Division II), Arizona, Hawaii (women only), LSU, New Mexico, New Mexico Junior College (women only), New Mexico State (women only), UNLV (women only), West Texas A&M (Division II), Western State (Division II).

RANKED DIVISION I MEN'S TEAMS REPRESENTED (2): No. 6 LSU, No. 20 Arizona.

RANKED DIVISION I WOMEN'S TEAMS REPRESENTED (2): No. 4 LSU, No. 17 Arizona.

2009 NCAA DIVISION II INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS: Men - No. 2 Adams State...No. 7 Western State. Women - No. 12 Adams State...No. 38 Western State.

MARQUEE EVENTS: While there will be outstanding athletes in virtually every event on Saturday, local track and field fans may want to pay close attention to the following competitions:

Women's 400 Meters - 11:25 a.m.
One of the top stars of USA track and field, Allyson Felix, will make her first appearance in Albuquerque on Saturday, running the 400 against a potent field. A two-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time World champion in the 200, Felix won gold in Beijing with the USA 4x400 relay team. She is the only woman ever to win three World titles at 200m. Felix's top competition on Saturday morning will be former UCLA star Nicole Leach who was a two-time NCAA champion in the 400m hurdles and finished fifth in the event at last year's USA Outdoor Championships. Another former Bruin hurdles standout, Mackenzie Hill, is also entered in the race.

Men's 3,000 Meters - 12:50 p.m.
Lobo senior Rory Fraser - a 2009 NCAA Indoor/Outdoor Championships qualifier in the 5,000 - will be one of the top collegiate threats in a loaded 3,000 field. Seven-time Notre Dame All-American Patrick Smyth and former Cal Poly All-American Ben Bruce may be the favorites, but there will be plenty of competition for the title and the winner will likely challenge the facility record of 8:10.18. Some of the other top contenders include: Adam Perkins (former Arkansas All-American), Kyle Miller (former Texas All-American), Jason Lehmkuhle (former Drake All-American), and Matt Levassiur (former Adams State All-American).

Men's 400 Meters - 11:10 a.m.
While Felix will be the biggest sprint star at the meet on Saturday, there is no shortage of elite talent in men's 400. The race will feature 2008 Olympic silver medalist (Bahamas 4x400) and former Texas Tech All-American Michael Mathieu, 2007 USA 400m champion Greg Nixon, two-time USA Junior 400 hurdles champion Kenneth Ferguson, former Tennessee 200m great Rubin Williams, and former Arizona State All-American Jimmie Gordon.

Men's 200 Meters - 1:20 p.m.
Many of the top competitors from the men's 400 are slated to return for the 200m later in the day. Rubin Williams, a 17-time All-American and 2008 NCAA Indoor Champion at Tennessee, will likely be the favorite, but Greg Nixon, Michael Mathieu, Jimmie Gordon and 2009 Division II 400m runner-up Dane Hyatt should make him work which could threaten former LSU star Xavier Carter's 2006 facility record (20.74).

Women's Triple Jump - 1 p.m.
USA Olympian Erica McLain leads the post-collegiate field event athletes who will be competing on Saturday. McLain was a two-time NCAA champion in the event at Stanford and won the 2005 USA Outdoor title. She was fourth in the event at the 2009 USA Indoor Championships.

EMANUEL BEGINS TITLE DEFENSE AT INDIANA

Fresh off running an altitude adjusted 1:50.31 800m time in his season debut last week in Albuquerque, Lobo senior Lee Emanuel will run his first mile race of 2010 on Friday night at Indiana. It will be Emanuel's first mile since his historic NCAA title run last March in College Station, Texas.

Emanuel will be one four collegians scheduled to run in the 10-man Invitational Mile race at 5:10 p.m. Mountain/7:10 p.m. local time in Bloomington. Former Butler standout Scott Overall, who earned All-America honors in the event in 2007 under current UNM head coach Joe Franklin, is also in the field, representing Adidas.

Emanuel clocked a school record time of 3:57.91 in his 2009 mile debut at Notre Dame.

Live results of Friday evening's race will be available on iuhoosiers.com.