To Joe Franklin, it was like a train.
“Monday, Tuesday, it just kept going,” New Mexico’s track and field coach said.
That was in reference to one long week in 2020, the last time the NCAA Division I indoor track and field championships were set to be held at Albuquerque Convention Center. Sitting with two coaches on each side of him at a press conference on Thursday, Franklin remembered how they didn’t even make it that far three years ago after COVID-19 shut down the entire state.
“Literally about this time, we’re sitting on the porch, waiting for a call from the state and from the athletic director,” he said, “knowing that this was going to be probably canceled … it was heartbreaking.