Oct. 1, 2003

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UPCOMING

The University of New Mexico men's and women's cross country teams continue their coast-to-coast schedule when they visit San Diego State on Saturday, Oct. 4 for the Pre-Mountain West Conference Championship meet. The men's 8,000-meter race opens the action at Morley Field at 10 a.m. (MST), followed by the women's 6,000 at 11.

This week's meet allows MWC teams to familiarize themselves with the course which they will run on Nov. 1, when SDSU plays host to the MWC Championships. The Aztecs have not run on the Morley Field course in over a decade. New Mexico will be making its first trip to California since 1997 and first visit to San Diego since the 1995 Western Athletic Conference Championships, which was held at Balboa Park.

All but two of the conference schools will send teams to San Diego this weekend. On the women's side, the Lobos will be joined by host SDSU, No. 1 BYU, Utah and Wyoming. The men's race will be significantly smaller with the New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming running a triangular meet. Fifth-ranked BYU and No. 9 Colorado State will not be in attendance.

MEET INFORMATION/RESULTS

Complete information and results from the Pre-MWC Championship meet can be found on the official website of the San Diego State athletic department:

Pre-MWC Championship Results

NEW MEXICO TRAVEL SQUAD

UNM head coach Matt Henry will take 18 men and women, including eight first-year runners, to San Diego. The women's team will be composed of: Jr. Vanessa Funston, Jr. Jacquelyne Gallegos, Fr. Myrriah Gomez, Sr. Sarah Gonzales, Sr. Brooke Gosling, Fr. Riann Lucy, So. Timmie Murphy, So. Janice Tosa and Sr. Amy Yactor. Meanwhile, the UNM men will be represented by: Fr. Chris Bratton, Jr. Nate Clem, Fr. Michael Deason, Sr. Sean Flaherty, Sr. Leighton Katsuda, Fr. Stephen Martinez , Fr. Juan Ortega, Sr. Chris Rogers and So. Brandon Vigil. Martinez returns to the men's lineup after staying home last week to rest his sore Achilles. Sophomore Karina Hill-Hurtado continues to undergo treatment for a knee injury and will not compete.

LAST TIME OUT

CARY, N.C. -- Senior Sean Flaherty and sophomore Timmie Murphy led the University of New Mexico men's and women's teams at the Great American Cross Country Festival at the SAS Soccer Park on Sept. 26. Flaherty placed 75th to help the men finish 17th. Murphy, meanwhile, was 56th as the women finished 15th overall. Nine of the 13 UNM runners to cross the finish line were first or second-year cross country competitors, including four true freshmen.

For the second time in as many meets this season, Flaherty paced the Lobo men, completing the 8,000-meter course in 27:28. Junior Nate Clem was close behind, finishing 87th with a time of 27:40, while senior Leighton Katsuda was 97th (27:55). Sophomore Brandon Vigil placed 105th (28:04) and senior Chris Rogers finished 112th (28:13) to wrap up the Lobo scoring. Promising freshman Steven Martinez did not make the trip and stayed in Albuquerque to rest his sore Achilles tendon.

On the women's side, Murphy clocked her fastest 5,000-meter time, crossing the line in 19:27. Senior Sarah Gonzales led a tight pack of Lobos, finishing 78th with a time of 20:08. Freshman Riann Lucy (20:17) and sophomore Janice Tosa (20:26) followed in 82nd and 86th, respectively. Senior Brook Gosling, a member of the UNM nordic ski team, was the final scoring runner for New Mexico, finishing 94th with a time of 21:05.

Northern Arizona's Travis Laird won the men's race with a time of 25:34 to lead the Lumberjacks to their second straight Great American title. Defending NCAA Champion Shalane Flanagan of North Carolina was a 23-second winner in the women's race, but was unable to get the Tarheels past intrastate rival North Carolina State as the Wolfpack took the team title 45-55.

FROM HEAD COACH Matt Henry

(on the team's performance at the Great American Cross Country Festival): "I think our people learned a lot last week and it was a good experience for our younger runners to be in such a large, competitive field. On the women's side, this is one of the best group's we've had and it's time we start running like we're capable of. We do have some important guys out this year, but I still believe that we have some good people on our men's side. I think they just need to get out there and mix it up a little more."

(on this Saturday's race): "We're looking forward to going out there and getting a feel of this course so we can see what we need to work on before the conference meet. I've heard there are more hills than a conference meet course usually has, but we have plenty of hills in New Mexico too, so that's okay with us. Again, we want to see how well our kids will get out there and compete."

ROOKIE RUNNERS

Several fresh faces on the New Mexico men's and women's cross country teams are gaining valuable experience this fall. Through two meets, 10 runners have made their collegiate debuts, including six true freshmen. In addition, four runners on the men's and women's sides are beginning their second year of collegiate competition.

Head coach Matt Henry said he hopes this core of young runners will provide a valuable foundation for the future of the program. On the men's side, the eight first and second-year runners should give the team tremendous depth when redshirting veterans Cameron Clarke, Matt Gonzales, Nick Martinez and Ben Ortega return to action.

Lobos Cross Country

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