UNM's Emanuel Named MWC Men’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week

by UNM Athletics

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of New Mexico junior transfer Lee Emanuel has been named Mountain West Conference Men’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week the conference office announced this afternoon. Emanuel is just the third Lobo to earn the men’s award during the indoor season and the first since pole vaulter Derek Mackel in 2006. 

 Just two races into his New Mexico track career Emanuel established himself as the fastest indoor miler in school history. He clocked a time of 4:02.47 to break Ibrahim Hussein's 24-year-old UNM record by 1.73 seconds on Feb. 9 at Notre Dame's Meyo Invitational.

The Hastings, England product was the sixth collegiate finisher and eighth overall in the meet's marquee event - the Meyo Mile - and was one of 10 runners in the race to run under the NCAA provisional qualifying standard. The top three finishers all ran under four minutes with Wisconsin's Jack Bolas breaking the tape with a time of 3:59.40.

Among the notable runners Emanuel defeated in the race were: two-time All-American Sam Blair of Pittsburgh, Big 10 Conference 1,500-meter champion and All-American Justin Switzer of Michigan, and NCAA regional 1,500 qualifiers Tim Cornell of Missouri and Jim Pancoast of Michigan State. 

Emanuel's time currently ranks third in the MWC and 19th nationally this year.

Three weeks earlier in his American track debut at Northern Arizona, he recorded the fastest indoor 800-meter time by a Lobo since 1985 with an altitude adjusted mark of 1:52.15.

Emanuel will look to improve his national ranking in the mile when he leads the New Mexico distance crew to Seattle for the University of Washington’s Husky Classic on Saturday. The mile is scheduled to begin at 12:52 p.m. Mountain.

Return to homepage

Your Ad Here