by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
Because of the wildfires raging in California, the Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championships will be in Albuquerque this weekend.
UNM head coach Joe Franklin said the tragedy in San Diego is unfortunate, but the team is happy to host the championships.
"It will be fun at home, especially when you have such a great distance-running community in Albuquerque," he said. "We'd like to get a lot of people out
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to watch."
San Diego State was supposed to host the championships, but the MWC announced Tuesday it would be moved to UNM. The races will be at the UNM North Golf Course.
In 2003, wildfires caused the conference championships to move from San Diego to Albuquerque.
Franklin said running at home gives UNM runners an
advantage.
"The kids know the area," he said. "We know we're going to eat the same food. Absolutely, it's
an edge."
With UNM hosting the meet, fans get another chance to see the men's and women's teams under Franklin in his first year as Lobo head coach.
On Sept. 8, UNM hosted the Lobo Invitational at the UNM North Golf Course. The women won the team title.
UNM's Michelle Corrigan won the individual race, and the Lobos had four runners finish in the
top 10.
On the men's side, UNM placed second, led by Brock Hagerman's ninth-place finish. The Lobos placed three athletes in the top 15 but were without top runner Jeremy Johnson, a favorite to win the MWC Championships this
weekend.
Johnson has run the two fastest 8,000-meter times in the conference this season, including breaking a school record, and has been named MWC Runner of the Week three times in his career.
Johnson said he expects a challenge, but he has his sights set on becoming conference champion on Saturday.
"Nothing's set in stone until it happens, and anything can happen, but racing has been going great," he said. "Training has been going the best it ever has in my life, so I'm just going to run as hard and hopefully things will fall together. When you get in a race, the point of getting in a race is winning."
Under Franklin this season, UNM has had a lot of success from athletes who transferred from other programs. The Lobos will have seven runners compete in the men's and women's races, and three athletes on each team are transfer
students.
Franklin said he's happy with the mix of homegrown talent and out-of-state runners who have contributed to this year's team.
He said the transfers clicked with the team right away.
"They're all adapting very well," he said. "Every transfer that we have is running in the top five, both on the men's on the women's side, so that is solid."
Cross country hosts Mountain West Conference Championships
Saturday, 10 a.m.
UNM North Golf Course
