NORMAN, Okla. – Eastern New Mexico men's track and field saw several new team members set high marks in several events and one returner set a new school record at the J.D. Martin Indoor Invitational hosted by the University of Oklahoma.
"Our men did a great job competing today," said coach
Joshua Harden after the meet. "I think this was a great meet to knock off some rust."
Noe Ybaben is easily one of the most improved Greyhounds coming into 2023-24. He broke the previous school record in the weight throw by more than a meter Saturday afternoon. On his final throw, he launched the weight 13.97m (45-10) to take fourth just behind a pair of DI student-athletes and a fellow conference foe from Oklahoma Christian.
Ybaben also competed in the shot put where he tossed 12.61m (41-4.5) to take fifth overall.
A newcomer participated in the long jump. Freshman Dezmond Gonzalez missed out on qualifying for finals by just half an inch. He cleared 6.11m (20-0.5) on his first jump, but was unable to exceed the distance on his next two attempts. His tenth-place finish beat out eight other competitors from schools around the region.
Luis Holguin is looking for an improved season in 2023-24 as he competes in the pole vault. He cleared his first height on his third attempt at 3.85m (12-7.5). He attempted a significantly higher vault (4.30m), but was unable to clear. He finished atop the leaderboard to begin the season.
The track at OU is flat with tight, narrow turns. It is much different than the angled track at places like the Albuquerque Convention Center or Texas Tech. This provided a unique challenge to runners in certain events that need precise turns along with high acceleration.
Three Greyhounds saw action in the 60m. Those included
John Magee (7.24s), Dezmond Gonzalez (7.27s), and Malachi Torres (7.27s).
The 200m proved to be a quick race for one first-year ENMU student-athlete. Tre Buchanan shined with a fourth-place finish at 22.63s. Torres took fourteenth crossing the line in 23.78s and
Josh Bachechi was twenty-third at 24.23s.
All-American
Timothy Frederick posted a 50.8s time in his first 400m race of the season. He finished third as fourth of the top five times came from his heat.
Another new Greyhound came close to setting a new school record as Tremaine Butler finished the 60m hurdles in 8.71s. His heat included the winning time from the University of Oklahoma going for 8.06s.
"We had a few personal bests that I believe will be solid building blocks for us going into the break," said Harden. "I'm looking forward to what we can do in January."
The Greyhounds will take three weeks off for the winter break before getting ready for the spring 2024 portion of the season. The first meet in January is slated for the 12th in Flagstaff, Arizona as the Hounds compete at Northern Arizona.
