by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
UNM cross country head coach Matt Henry wasn't thrilled with the results of the Mountain West Conference Championships, but considering four of his runners earned All-MWC honors, he wasn't too upset with the outcome either.
"Actually, we had a pretty good day all around," Henry said. "I can't say I'm terribly pleased, but I'm not disappointed either. We ran tough today."
The women's team placed third as a team at the conference championships, the same place it was picked to finish in the MWC preseason poll.
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The Lobos were led by senior Timmie Murphy and junior Leslie Luna, who both finished in the top-10 and earned all-conference honors for the second year in a row.
In her final conference championship race, Murphy finished fourth overall, garnering first-team honors. Luna placed eighth, earning second-team All-MWC honors.
Murphy said she was pleased with how the team performed as
a whole.
"I think the girls did really well," Murphy said. "I thought they pulled it together. I think we were all pretty happy with how we raced as a team."
Luna and Murphy struggled with various injuries throughout the season, so Henry said he was happy with the outcome.
"I had been concerned about both of them because they haven't been healthy all year," Henry said. "But they're competitors, and so it was nice for both of them to have a pretty darn good race. I think they're both going to be going into regionals with a lot of
confidence."
As far as her individual performance, Murphy could have done better, but she raced well,
she said.
"It was OK. I'm not disappointed with it by any means," she said. "I didn't really know what to expect going into it."
UNM freshman Vanessa Ortiz was named MWC Freshman of the Year after her 18th-place finish.
Henry said he was happy with Ortiz's race.
"She definitely had her best race of the year," he said. "To get freshman of the year is pretty
impressive."
Murphy said Ortiz earned the award with a strong work ethic.
"That was really nice to see," Murphy said. "We were pretty excited for her. She deserves it. She's a hard worker. She's really stepped up this year."
On the men's side, the Lobos also had two All-MWC performers.
Senior Juan Ortega turned in the best conference championship race of his career, placing fourth overall. Junior Jeremy Johnson also earned first-team All-MWC honors by placing fifth.
Henry said Ortega and Johnson did a good job leading the team.
"I'm pleased with both of them," he said. "Both of them really had a nice race."
Despite the success of Ortega and Johnson, the Lobos finished fourth overall, just one point behind Colorado State University.
Henry said that was the most disappointing part of the MWC Championships.
"Getting beat by one point by Colorado State was tough for us today," Henry said. "I think all of our guys were a little disappointed. They thought that they could maybe pick off one more guy."
Cross country hosts
NCAA Mountain Region Championships
Nov. 11
10 a.m.
UNM North Golf Course
