Puma Track & Field traveled to Albuquerque, NM this past weekend to compete at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational, hosted inside the Albuquerque Convention Center on a fast 200-meter banked indoor track. Facing strong collegiate competition, the Pumas continued to build momentum heading toward the postseason with another successful weekend of performances.
Puma student-athletes combined for nine personal bests, one school record, and five performances that moved into the program's Top 10 all-time indoor marks, highlighting continued progress across multiple event groups.
Leading the way on the women's side, Kate McKenzie delivered a standout performance in the 200m dash, setting a new indoor school record with a time of 24.18. In the field events, Mackenzie Anderson improved her position in program history, moving to seventh all-time in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.55 meters.
The men's team also added several marks to the indoor record book. Luke Mollineaux climbed to seventh all-time in the 60m hurdles, while Preston Skidmore moved into seventh place in school history in the 600m run with a personal-best performance of 1:22.22. Nathan Williams added two Top 10 performances, ranking seventh all-time in the 200m dash and tenth all-time in the 60m dash.
Several student-athletes recorded personal bests throughout the meet, including Mollineaux in both the 200m and 60m hurdles, McKenzie in the 200m, Chloe Hancock in the 200m and 60m, Sara Gardner in the 200m, Anderson in the pole vault, Skidmore in the 600m, and Braden Tenney in the pole vault.
As of February 15, 2026, the Pumas now holds nine marks ranked among the Top 20 nationally, reflecting the team's strong position heading into the championship portion of the indoor season. Anderson currently ranks fifth nationally in the pole vault, while McKenzie sits sixth in the 200m and eighth in the 400m. Additional national rankings include Mikaila Baran (10th, pole vault), Piper Pendleton (11th, pentathlon), Nathan Nitschke (12th, pole vault), Chloe Hancock (12th, pentathlon), the women's 4x400 relay (18th), and Ava Wilson (20th, 60m dash).
The Don Kirby Elite Invitational served as an important final tune-up opportunity as the Pumas prepare for postseason competition. The Pumas will return to action next week at Northern Arizona University for its final indoor meet before the NJCAA Indoor National Championships.
