Track & Field had a record-breaking meet last weekend at the University of New Mexico Cherry & Silver Invitational held at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The Lions broke eleven records elevating from their performance at the Bayou Bengal Invitational where only three records were broken.
“If they [athletes] felt any pressure, they responded well to it,” said Head track & field Coach Sean Brady. “It may have been our best meet we ever had indoors, certainly this early.”
On the first day of the meet, nine of the eleven records were broken. Senior thrower Jonathan Kinchen set his personal best on opening day as he finished first in the men’s weight throw, throwing 68 feet, nine inches. Senior thrower Jimmy LeBlanc finished closely behind in the men’s weight throw at third place with 56 feet, 1.75 inches. Senior thrower Jermisha Frazier threw 61 feet, 6.25 inches and took second place in the women’s weight throw.
Junior sprinter Dontrell Lyons finished second place in the 200-meter dash at 21.16 seconds. This is his third consecutive top-two finish. In the second day of the meet, Lyons also broke a record-time in the 400-meter dash at 46.32 seconds that was previously held by teammate senior sprinter Ashley Riley. Senior sprinter Raheem Brown qualified for the semi-final round in the 60-meter dash after finishing eighth place. Brown finished in fifth place in the semi-final round.
Four of the top nine finishers in the 600-meter run were the Lions. Senior middle distance runner and hurdler Andre Colebrook finished fourth with a personal best 1:18.59. Junior middle distance runner Alex Holden finished fifth and reached his personal best 1:19.20. Riley finished sixth with a personal best 1:19.38. Lastly, freshman middle distance runner Tajh Lewis finished ninth with a personal best 1:21.25.
Both senior sprinters Nakiya Smith and Sharonna Williams recorded their personal best in the women’s 60-meter dash. Smith finished first in her heat and sixth overall with 7.61 while Williams finished second in her heat at 7.59. Williams would go on to win her section in the women’s 200-meter dash and finish 12th overall in 24.76.
Sophomore Devin King had two record-setting wins and topped it off with a second place mark of 17 feet, 6.5 inches in the pole vault. King was named Southland Conference Athlete of the Week after his performance at Bayou Bengal two weekends ago.
“Devin jumped very well in Albuquerque in a nationally ranked competition,” said Assistant Coach Michael Bartolina. “Devin is maturing a lot and we expect in the next few weeks for him to be jumping significantly higher. He is already jumping pretty high, but I think he can jump even higher. This was another good step for him in competing at the national level with the top guys and he did really well.”
The final record broken at the Invitational was broken by the 4×400-meter relay team. The team consisted of Lyons, Riley, Colebrook and junior sprinter Maverick Bowleg. They won the relay in 3:11.64 seconds, surpassing their previous school record of 3:16.09 that was set at the Bayou Bengal Invitational just two weeks ago.
The Lions will be traveling to Birmingham, Alabama this weekend for the UNO Privateer Invitational but not everyone may be competing.
“We are gonna take a little load off from competition,” said Brady. “We may not compete everybody. Right now we have to get our bodies rested and healthy and start training for next week, and we will see how things are going throughout the week and make some decisions on what we will compete in.”
For more information and statistics visit lionsports.net.