Harden adds five to Greyhound track team
Jun. 28—PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico Cross Country and Track and Field Head Coach Josh Harden has announced his first signings as the head coach of both programs. The first signings of the Harden era will all compete in track and field.
"I'm extremely excited about where we are with this 2022 class, I believe we have some talented athletes that still have a lot of development left, and will come in and have a major impact within our program right away," Harden said.
Harden went on to say there are still a few athletes he'd like to bring in to complete the class.
Alex Bettag from Amarillo, Kennedy Ulmer from Rio Rancho, Meghan Rodriguez from Albuquerque, Mahault Lebrun from the French town of Montbrison and Ashlynn Evans from Andrews, Texas were signed to join the Greyhounds and compete in the 2023 track and field season.
Bettag and Lebrun will compete in the hurdles, while Rodriguez will take part in the sprints. Ulmer and Evans will take part in the field events, with Ulmer competing in the throws, while Evans will join the jumps team.
Bettag comes to Portales after a successful career at Canyon Randall High School. in Amarillo, finishing as a Texas State qualifier in the 100-meter hurdles in the last two years.
Lebrun will join Bettag in the hurdles, coming to New Mexico from France. In the 400m hurdles, Leburn holds a personal best of 1:04.
In the field events, Ulmer is a two-time state qualifier in the discus while at Cleveland High School, finishing 2nd this past season with a personal best of 127' 11".
Rodriguez joins ENMU from Hope Christian Academy and competes in several different events. The Albuquerque native is a two-time state finalist in the 400 meters, recording a personal best of 59.18, and taking second place at the state meet.
Evans finished as a 4A region qualifier at Andrews High School. Evans has posted a career best in the long jump (17' 9") and the triple jump (37' 2").
Eastern New Mexico Track & Field finished the 2022 Outdoor Season at the 2022 Lone Star Conference Track & Field Championship in Kingsville, Texas. Aminata Kenyawani, Malethabo Seema, and Kelvin Kipkemboi each earned All-Conferece honors. Kenyawani took home third in the 10,000 meters and scored points in the 5,000 meters, Seema snagged third place in the 800 meters, while Kipkemboi scored points in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
