Bloomfield alum hits new PR in 400 meters

By Barbara Boxleitner
Special to the Times

BLOOMFIELD, N.M.

The early-season results have Kenyon Mosley excited about the rest of the track and field season.

In the opener of the West Texas A&M University indoor season, the sophomore posted a career-best time in the 400-meter run, his specialty.

The Bloomfield High School graduate shaved more than a second off his time from last year in placing 16th among the 46 to finish.

Mosley transferred from Dodge City Community College, where he was a sprinter and hurdler. He scored by finishing seventh in the 400 hurdles at the 2021 National Junior College Athletic Association Region VI Championships.

Training during the summer and fall improved his speed, he said.

“It’s more intense,” he said about the workout runs. “It’s a little longer and faster speed. We did shooter distances at a quick pace and build up to longer distances at a quick pace.”

“This indoor season I’m feeling so much stronger and faster,” he said. “It feels like each year gets better and better.”

His strongest running event is the 400, Mosley said. But he has competed in the 60 and 200, to help him in the 400.

He ran the 60 in the opener. “I did it for fun, just to see what I could do, get my legs rolling and ready for that 400,” he said. “I really run the 200 to help with the speed component of the 400.”

“I just really enjoy the 400,” he said. “It gives you the ability to fight and compete against other people.”

In the opener, Mosley ran the second leg of the 4-by-400 relay that placed 15th. “You have to be pretty darn fast just to make the 4-by-400,” he said, noting that the first and last legs typically have the fastest runners.

He ran the first leg in a meet last year yet said he doesn’t like the anchor leg because of the pressure. “The second and third don’t matter quite as much,” he said.

The relay has grown on him.

“In high school it wasn’t exactly my favorite,” he said. “It’s so much fun. You see you do good. You see others do good.”

His primary event during the outdoor season is the 400 hurdles. Last year he finished third, second and fourth in that event during three consecutive meets, respectively.

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