Lobo Dünninger vaults to Mountain West heptathlon crown

University of New Mexico multi-event athlete Camillo Dünninger doesn’t do something midway.
As a matter of reality, the precise reverse can be way more correct.
Dünninger, a junior from Ratingen, Germany, returned from the virus-erased season with vengeance as he not solely entered the Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships as the highest heptathlon seed, however he made that rating get up with 5,489 factors, nicely forward of runner up Wyatt Murphy of Air Force with 5,227 factors on Friday on the freelancertamal Convention Center.

And the Lobos girls’s distance squad totally dominated the 5,000-meter run, with a three-pack on the entrance that sped by means of the race unchallenged, lapping nearly your complete area and propelling winner Amelia Mazza-Downie to a championship meet document in 16 minutes, 7.4 seconds.
“I didn’t know I had achieved till I had completed and somebody talked about it to me,” she mentioned of the document. “That’s fairly good. We had been attempting to qualify for nationals, attempting to get a top-16 time. It’s fairly quick, so it is sensible that it was a championship document.”
Dünninger made it only a bit scary, with a little bit of a blip within the pole vault. He didn’t come into the occasion till 15-feet, 3-inches, in any case the opposite opponents had already scratched out. He missed his first two makes an attempt on the top, placing 804 factors and first place on the road.
But on his last try, he cleared the bar handily, earlier than lacking all three of his tries at 15-6.
“I simply tried to concentrate on what we did in apply,” Dünninger mentioned. “I simply executed what I do know I can do and check out to not get the nerves going too loopy. Just try to keep relaxed. It’s all the time a little bit nerve-wracking, however I’ve been in that scenario earlier than.”
That set the stage for a triumphant runner-up end within the last occasion, the 1,000-meter run. And that was rewarding, he mentioned.
“I by no means actually thought-about myself to be robust indoors as a result of it’s all concerning the velocity and energy occasions,” Dünninger mentioned. “I’m not the quickest, so successful convention is nice. We’ve made some nice enchancment on my velocity and energy, particularly this previous 12 months. It’s good to know that coaching is definitely paying off.”
He got here to UNM as a multi-event competitor, one thing he’s been doing since he began in observe.
“There’s lots of occasions, however the coaching is so totally different from different occasions,” Dünninger mentioned. “If one occasion isn’t going nicely, you’ve got 9 (within the decathlon) others to concentrate on. That’s simply what I like. So many occasions to grasp. So many methods to all the time get higher at. Just a spread makes it extra enjoyable.”
Dünninger’s success makes him a task mannequin for different Lobos athletes, mentioned coach Joe Franklin.
“It’s tremendous constructive,” he mentioned. “The proven fact that he works so laborious and might stability elite degree lecturers and elite degree athletics. And this isn’t at a regional degree or a state degree. This is at a nationwide degree. He’s at a Power-5 degree. So to have the ability to do this, it simply reveals the youngsters, ‘Hey you are able to do something.’”
Still, his whole compiled for the seven occasions unfold over Thursday and Friday left him nicely shy of the 5,684 mark he turned in a number of weeks in the past, which is what will likely be used to find out his eligibility for the NCAA championships arising March 11-12 in Birmingham, Alabama. He is at the moment ranked thirteenth nationally and the highest 16 performers qualify.
Nevertheless, Franklin mentioned, “he’s achieved an distinctive job. And the truth that he didn’t have lots of apply the final three weeks as a result of he had an harm so to come back out and compete in in all probability his second greatest multi ever behind the one a pair weeks in the past, whereas taking 21 credit score hours in an MBA program is incredible.”
Dünninger, listed as a junior athletically, is ending up his masters and takes further programs every semester.
“I’ve all the time taken extra credit than I sort of have to,” he defined. “I wish to make the most of the scenario that I’m in. Cultivate myself not solely in observe and sports activities but additionally academically. I don’t thoughts it. It retains my thoughts off observe for a little bit bit so I don’t get too wired in that facet. I hang around with roommates. I play lots of playing cards. I attempt to hold organized and get issues achieved.”
In the 5,000, Mazza-Downie led a precision Lobos pack with Gracelyn Larkin second in 16:08.23 and Aliandrea Upshaw third at 16:21.73. New Mexico collected 26 factors within the occasion, boosting UNM into second place.
“It positively makes it lots simpler as a result of it’s like being at coaching, being at apply,” Mazza-Downie mentioned. “We all the time work very well collectively, so it felt fairly snug realizing they had been there and we had been all reaching for a similar objective.”
UNM freshman soccer participant Luke Wysong certified for Saturday’s 60-meter finals, ending eighth in 6.96 seconds. The meet concludes with finals in six area occasions and 16 observe occasions.

(For group standings and occasion outcomes, click on right here. Click right here for a schedule of occasions.)