By Richard Stevens - Senior Writer/GoLobos.com

The hills were alive with the sound of - well, Lobos grunting and groaning.

That's simply the way it is when Lobos attack the steep, sandy and savage hills South of the Albuquerque International Airport in a drill the Lobos lovingly call "The Grinder.

Well, maybe there isn't a whole lot of love for this training session, but the Lobos do leave respecting the hill that brings them to their hands and knees. "This was terrible," said first-year Lobo, Drew Gordon.

The drill is a conditioning drill, sure. A nasty New Mexico sun blistered the late-morning run. The sand was hot and slippery and deep. The hill was something you might expect to find at the Taos Ski Valley - or in the Alps.

But The Grinder also is a bonding drill, a teaching drill, a character-building drill that dives deep into a Lobos' heart to see what kind of push is there when the going gets tough.

"This is like the fourth quarter," said Lobo Phillip McDonald. "You find out what you got."

Said Jamal Fenton: "I think I found the fourth quarter halfway up. The rest of the way was overtime or maybe sudden death."

The Lobos, under the guidance of Mark Paulsen, UNM's strength and conditioning coordinator, first hit the hills for some agility work. That stuff wasn't too hard, mostly footwork in the sand.

Then it was time to climb, to go up, up, up.

"This is a nice little welcome to Lobo country," said Gordon, a 6-foot-9 transfer from UCLA. "But it was fun being all together. It is something the whole team experiences. The whole team struggles and suffers, but at the end everyone becomes closer and tighter."

The Lobos attacked the hills with different levels of success. At one point, A.J. Hardeman had to take a seat on the side of The Grinder and catch his breath while he refocused. When Hardeman regrouped, he charged up the hill - for a few feet and then settled into a gradual climb.

Newcomer Tony Snell, a 6-7 freshman from Riverside, Calif., reported to UNM in pretty good shape. He was in the front of the pack up The Grinder and twice was the first Lobo back down.

"This was my first time up this sand hill," said Snell. "You have to show your character and show that you can keep pushing forward. It's a mental thing. Your body is hurting, but you have to keep driving it. You have to forget about what your body is telling you."

Probably the message from most of the Lobos bodies was, "take a break!" That's where Paulsen often stepped in with some words of encouragement.

"I found out what I thought I'd find out, that we need to toughen up," Paulsen said. "But that was to be expected. This climb lets you find out how tough you are and if you can hang in there at the end. It's a check to see what you have in the tank."

A few Lobos emptied their tanks at the top of the hill, but there were no casualties.

"I wouldn't mind doing it again," said Snell. "It's a challenge and that makes you better."

Said McDonald: "It's mental and it's a fight. You have to fight this hill that is beating you down. I enjoy the challenge. I wouldn't mind doing it again."

Fenton said he appreciated the challenge, but said The Grinder is not is first choice in conditioning. "I didn't get to do it last year and I'm thinking now that I'm happy I missed it," he said. "This was hard.

"But it is a challenge that helps bring us together."

Editor's Note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. He can be reached at rstevens50@comcast.net.