Women’s Cross Country Wins 10th Straight MW Title
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Since 2008, only one NCAA Division I women’s cross country team has won 10 consecutive conference titles.
That team? The University of New Mexico women.
The second-ranked Lobo women’s cross country team captured its 10th straight league title, winning the 2017 Mountain West Cross Country Championships on Friday at the UNM North Golf Course in Albuquerque.
Behind a quartet of top-five finishers, including Mountain West Athlete of the Year Ednah Kurgat and Mountain West Freshman of the Year Weini Kelati, the New Mexico women claimed their 10th consecutive championship for the longest active streak in Division I women’s cross country.
“They ran really well,” UNM head coach Joe Franklin said. “… This group of women is currently one of the best groups of women in the country, and they show it.”
The Lobo men also had a solid performance, taking fifth place, as both the men and women dueled a number of ranked teams in cool but sunny conditions on their home course.
Between No. 2 UNM, No. 8 Boise State and No. 12 Utah State on the women’s side, and No. 9 Colorado State, No. 17 Air Force, No. 19 Utah State on the men’s side, this year’s championship had the makings of another barnburner, with multiple teams in contention for a win.
Ten in a row. #GoLobos #MWXC pic.twitter.com/Ma3p8fyIwZ
— New Mexico T&F/XC (@UNMLoboXCTF) October 27, 2017
But the New Mexico women stole the headlines, storming to another team championship behind another individual champion.
For the third time in three races, Ednah Kurgat led the Lobo women, blitzing past the field en route to a winning time of 19 minutes, 58.77 seconds over the women’s six-kilometer course.
Having already won this season at the Joe Piane Notre Dame and Nuttycombe Wisconsin invitationals, Kurgat added another victory as she broke away from her competition for a 13-second win. She is UNM’s second straight women’s titlist, joining 2016 champ Alice Wright.
“I felt really great, running a home meet and everybody coming to cheer for me,” Kurgat said. “It felt so nice.”
Kurgat wasn’t alone however. Weini Kelati and Charlotte Prouse finished right behind in second and third place, respectively, with Wright coming in at fifth.
Kelati’s time of 20:11.63 merited her Freshman of the Year honors, the first such selection for New Mexico since Lacey Oeding in 2008. Prouse wasn’t far behind, crossing the line in 20:14.67. It’s the first time since 2010 a team (in this case, the Lobos) went 1-2-3.
“I’m always proud of the team because they’re always working hard and they always show up during the race,” Kelati said. “They are amazing.”
Wright took fifth place — her fourth top-five Mountain West finish over her career — in 20:54.87. She is the only athlete in conference history to place top-five at four straight conference meets.
Sophie Eckel rounded out New Mexico’s scoring contingent, placing 11th overall in 21:19.75. The team’s third different No. 5 scorer this season, Eckel nonetheless provided a superb run for UNM, finishing ahead of seven other teams’ top scorer.
As a team, the Lobos scored 22 points, the fewest in the low-score-wins format of cross country since posting a 20-point win in 2010. Boise State was second with 50 points, with Utah State in third with 73 points.
#MWN Highlights: @CSURamsTrack won program’s first #MWXC men’s team title, while @unmloboxctf women earned MW-record 10th consecutive win. pic.twitter.com/F5pbd6Vrxk
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) October 27, 2017
Also running for the Lobos were Alex Buck (12th place, time of 21:20.58), Alondra Negrón Texidor (20th, 21:35.60), Kieran Casey (32nd, 22:02.51) and Sarah Laverty (39th, 22:13.06).
Kurgat, Kelati, Prouse and Wright were all named First-Team All-Mountain West, while Eckel and Buck were Second-Team All-MW.
Franklin added his ninth MW Coach of the Year honor, as well, making UNM the first team to sweep Athlete, Freshman and Coach of the Year since Colorado State in 2007.
On the men’s side, seventh-place finisher Josh Kerr led New Mexico to fifth place as a team, pairing up with 12th-place finisher Alexander Palm over the men’s eight-kilometer race. The Lobos scored 97 points, just four points from finishing fourth.
“The men did really well,” Franklin said. “We’re four points off No. 19 Utah State and we still haven’t had a great race. We have parts of races, and if all the guys can put it together on a given day, then they could make the national championship.”
Despite just missing a top-four finish, the men did tally their lowest team score since posting 26 points in 2014.
Kerr’s First-Team All-Conference performance was part of that, as the middle-distance standout on the track showed his chops on the grass with a time of 24:01.47.
“I’m happy with the race I ran and I gave it all I’ve got so, you know, I can’t be disappointed at this point,” Kerr said.
Palm also provided a strong race, finishing in 24:26.95. Linton Taylor (21st, 24:41.87) also scored as he continued to improve meet by meet, with Jared Garcia (25th, 24:45.75) chipping in a scoring effort in his first appearance of the season. Jonny Glen (33rd, 24:59.00) rounded out UNM’s scoring.
Jacob Simonsen (38th, 25:10.21), Tyler Valdez (54th, 26:25.28), Taylor Potter (58th, 26:50.73) and Michael Wilson (59th, 27:43.62) also ran for the men.
Colorado State won the men’s title with 31 points, with Air Force (59 points) second and Boise State (64) third.
New Mexico will return to action in two weeks as it travels to Logan, Utah, for NCAA Mountain Regional Championships on Friday, November 10.
Fans can follow @UNMLoboXCTF on Twitter and Instagram to keep track of the Lobos!