“It just made us hungrier. Having experienced it last year, I would love to be able to keep that.”
Lobo runner Alice Wright had that to say about the women’s cross country team’s opportunity to defend its national championship crown. The team will compete in its ninth straight NCAA Championship on Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana.
While the team’s overarching goal — go into the season and earn a Top 10 ranking — has not changed, the program’s first national title last year has probably raised expectations.
“Last year, we only talked about winning a national champion one time, and that was after the Wisconsin meet,” New Mexico head coach Joe Franklin said. “This year, it’s ‘make sure you can get to the line healthy.’”
Franklin typically does a good job of making sure the runners are at ease so they don’t feel the pressure that comes with competing at such a high level. Still, some Lobos said this year feels different.
“Definitely different than last year,” Wright said. “Naturally, I am pretty nervous, but I’m also exciting as well. The team has a lot of potential.”
The team will face fierce competition from Colorado, Washington, Providence and North Carolina State, all of whom pose a threat to New Mexico’s hopes of repeating.
“Colorado is just good. Washington is solid. Providence and North Carolina State, they are all very good teams,” Franklin said.
There is no doubt that Colorado, the nation’s No. 1 team, enters the weekend as the prohibitive favorite to take home the title.
However, UNM also has a really good chance, putting up a solid roster with two of the best runners in the nation in Wright and Calli Thackery.
“Alice has done an incredible job, and Calli has been right on her heels all year,” Franklin said. “When you talk about the leading individuals in the country, Alice and Calli are in that discussion.”
Wright registered dominant performances this year, with individual wins in both the conference and regional championships. She was the only one to post a sub-20 minute time in the 6-kilometer races (19:59.90) at those meets, as well as earlier in the season at Wisconsin.
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“That race was just a trial race for the NCAAs. I was really happy to win that,” Wright said.
Thackery was right behind Wright as the second scorer for UNM despite falling ill in the last race.
“She is in great shape,” Wright said. “We were very close and came here together in 2013.”
Although those two headline the team, the other women have been performing well and showing improvement each meet.
“They are doing very well. Everybody is in a good spot,” Franklin said.
The Lobos could make a deep run if its top four scorers — Wright, Thackery, Natasha Bernal and Sophie Connor — can all finish in under 21 minutes, as they have in the last two races.
The experience the group has gained in the past several weeks could be a benefit moving forward as well.
“For a couple of those kids, last weekend was their first race ever,” Franklin said. “There was some pain in the last part of the race, but they won’t have that issue this weekend.”
Other Lobos to watch for in the race include Alex Buck and Kendall Kelly, who have also scored for Lobos this season.
The strategy for the team is no different for the championship race than the Lobos’ previous meets.
“It’s getting out, finding your teammates and running out with your teammates, getting in the right role,” Franklin said.
The first ever national championship last year brought notoriety to an already well-established New Mexico program, and the team has taken advantage in picking up recruits.
“There is more name recognition,” Franklin said. “We signed Weini Kelati. That probably wouldn’t have happened if we did not win the national champion or had the consistency for the last couple of years.”
Kelati, the 2015 Foot Locker Cross Country High School Champion, signed with New Mexico last week.
Having tasted the sweetness of being a national champion, the Lobos would probably like to run together as a team to share the pressure and defend their crown.
“I like being the team leader, but we will work together as a team, I don’t think we need a specific leader,” Wright said. “I just want to go into that race, and give it my best.”
One concern for the team could be the weather they are expected to contend in; the Lobos might run in wet weather or even on ice. But the head coach said he expects the athletes will give their best performances.
Bo Yu is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country and volleyball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Bo_YuB.
