Lobos head to Kentucky for NCAA championships

sports@dailylobo.com
@MSolDub

The UNM men’s and women’s cross country teams are heading to Louisville, Ky.

After running at the NCAA Mountain Region championships in Fort Collins, Colo., on Friday, both teams received bids to NCAA championships. This is the fifth straight trip to the national championship meet for the women’s team, and the fourth straight for the men.

The No. 17 women’s team received an automatic bid to nationals by finishing second with 95 points. No. 13 Weber State was the women’s regional champion, scoring 63 points. UTEP senior Risper Kimaiyo was the individual champion, covering the 6K course in 20:10.8. Senior Josephine Moultrie led the Lobos, finishing fifth overall with a time of 20:25.1

“The race went really well,” senior Shawna Winnegar said. “We definitely learned that any team can come through with a win on any day. I think we have a great team vibe heading into nationals, and I’m looking forward to keeping that up.”

During the past four years, the women’s team has finished no lower than 18th at the national meet. The women finished ninth last year, while the best finish through the streak was fifth in 2010.

The No. 16 men’s team will join the women at the championships, thanks to an at-large bid. The men finished fourth at regionals, scoring 108 points. Texas Tech junior Kennedy Kithuka won the individual crown, finishing the 10K course in 29:36.8. Junior Luke Caldwell was the first Lobo across the line, finishing 12th overall with a time of 30:21.9.

“They did a great job,” UNM head coach Joe Franklin said in a press release. “They ran well as a group. They did a really solid job, and they just keep getting better and better.”

In the past three trips to the national meet, the men’s team has had mixed results. Last year, the men finished 31st. Just two years before, in 2009, the team finished eighth.

The national championships will be held Nov. 17 at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. That gives the team about a week’s rest before racing again. This differs from the rest of the season, as the Lobos usually race every other week.

“It is definitely more difficult to race back-to-back,” Winnegar said.

The 31-team championship field is made up of 18 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large qualifiers. Automatic bids are given to the top two finishing teams at each of the nine regional championships.