As if defending a national championship wasn’t big enough, the women’s cross country team heads into the 2016-2017 campaign as the No. 1 team in the nation.
The target on UNM’s back does not intimidate head coach Joe Franklin, he said in a phone interview. The preseason rankings are nothing but a token of respect from what his team was able to accomplish last season.
“The peers and the other coaches think that our team is that good,” Franklin said. “So much can happen throughout the year – people getting sick, people getting injured… In terms of added pressure and expectations, there is none. The expectation always stays the same.”
The Lobos will open up the preseason with a home meet, the only time UNM will be at home this season.
Franklin said it will be nice to race at home in front of New Mexico fans and family while gearing up for the official start of the season, occurring at the Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 30.
“This weekend for us is officially a preseason exhibition,” Franklin said. “Our RPI (official rankings) doesn’t start until late September.”
The head coach said many of the starters for the men and women will not be running, as they prepare for the road ahead and the start of the regular season at the end of the month. However, Franklin said he is happy to be able to host a meet in Albuquerque, even if it won’t be official.
“Just to be able to be at home and be with family and friends,” Franklin said. “We’re very rarely able to be at home.”
Though fans won’t be able to cheer on the team's more elite male runners or members of the 2015 national championship squad, the runners who will be competing aren’t without anything to lose.
Many of the runners will be looking to crack the starting seven mark and earn their way to join the group that will run when it matters at the official start of the season on Sept. 30.
Coach Franklin’s main priority for Saturday, though, is to put out a competitive group and keep his starting group healthy.
“What the women did last year was very special and now we’ve got a chance to see if we can get the starting line healthy in November and give it another shot,” Franklin said.
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Even with one title already under his belt, Franklin made sure to emphasize the amount of time until UNM will even be thinking about NCAA bids, let alone a shot at besting the rest of the nation.
“There literally is no pressure at all about 80 days until the national championship,” Franklin said. “It’s a long way away, so I don’t feel any pressure.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
