The Eastern New Mexico track and field team is set to host the 2019 Lone Star Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Greyhound Stadium from May 2-4.
Eastern is hosting the conference championship meet for the first time in program’s illustrious history.
The women’s team will be looking to carry the momentum they picked up during the indoor season as the Greyhounds are coming off a fourth place team finish in the LSC Indoor Championships after scoring 61.5 team points.
Junior Kandice Miles highlights a strong sprinting core, as the Houston, Texas native is entering the meet with the ninth-fastest 200-meter time in NCAA Division II after turning in a 23.95 at the West Texas A&M Classic and Multi on April 6. Miles’ mark is currently the second-fastest set by any runner in the Lone Star during the 2019 outdoor season and also broke the ENMU record by .12 seconds.
Miles is one of two Greyhounds that possesses two NCAA provisional qualifying marks as she also qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 100-meter dash. After turning in a time of 11.73 at the WTAMU Invitational on April 20, Miles currently holds the 19th fastest time in Division II and the second-fastest time in ENMU history.
The second of the Greyhounds’ multiple provisional qualifying mark holders is junior sprinter Maijah Mathis. The Wellington, Fla. native currently holds the school record in the 100-meter dash after crossing the finish line in 11.71 at the WTAMU Invitational, setting the 16th-fastest mark in Division II this season. Mathis also possesses the 14th-best time in Division II in the 200-meter with a time of 24.07 that was also set at the WTAMU Invite and ranks as the second-best time in the history of the program.
In the distance events, senior Mercy Rotich will be looking for a second LSC track and field championship event win in 2019. Rotich was the 3000-meter event winner in the LSC Indoor Championships when she crossed the finish line in 10:25.14 while also turning in a time of 18:08.72 for third place in the 5000-meter event. Rotich set a personal-best in the event when she turned in a time of 18:05.67 in her win at the WTAMU Classic & Multi.
In the multi-events, freshman Jessica Campbell be seeking a conference victory in the heptathlon in her own hometown. The Portales, N.M. native broke the ENMU heptathlon record at the WTAMU Classic & Multi with a score of 4107, becoming the first ENMU women’s multi-events competitor to ever break the 4000-point mark.
On the men’s side, junior middle distance runner Ivar Moinat will be gunning for a LSC Championship victory in the 800-meter run. Moinat enters this weekend’s meet with the 11th fastest time in Division II after turning in a 1:51.03 at the WTAMU Classic & Multi. Moinat is coming off a strong showing at the Drake Relays this past Saturday after coming away with a third-place time of 1:52.25 in the wet and frigid 800-meter event against some of the top NCAA Division I runners in the country. Moinat will be looking to return to the NCAA National Championships after finishing seventh and earning All-American accolades in the 800-meter event in the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships.
Moinat currently owns the second-best outdoor 800-meter mark in program history, only behind former Olympic bronze medalist and member of the ENMU Hall of Honors Mike Boit. Moinat is a member of the 4×400-meter relay team with Travonne Armstead, Brandon Chavez, and Andrew Villegas that owns the program record with a 3:15.48 that was set at the WTAMU Invitational.
Senior Ezra Bagwell will also be looking to build upon his top five finish in last year’s LSC Outdoor Championship in the decathlon event. In last year’s meet, Bagwell scored a 6119 with his top score coming from a second-place finish in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:36.77. During the 2019 outdoor season, Bagwell has scored career bests in three events, including a 6.48-meter mark in the long jump and 30.02 meter throw in the discus at the Greyhound Open on March 23. Bagwell also notched a personal best in the 110-meter hurdles at the WTAMU Invitational when he crossed the finish line in 16.06.
The championship meet will open on Thursday with the heptathlon and pentathlon events starting at 1 p.m. The heptathlon and pentathlon will wrap up on Friday while the field and track preliminary events will begin. The heptathlon and pentathlon events will start at 10:30 a.m. field events will begin at 1 p.m., and track events start at 5 p.m. on Friday.
The three-day event will wrap up on Saturday with field and track finals. Field events will begin at 11 a.m. and track events are slated for a 4:30 p.m. start. Team trophy presentations will take place immediately following the events with an approximate start of 7:20 p.m.