The University of New Mexico’s Vladimir Borombozin, Gary Davis and Brian Johnson were named to the 2001 All-Mountain West Conference first-team as selected by the league’s eight head coaches and media on Wednesday (Dec. 5).
Senior linebacker Gary Davis (Greenwood, Mississippi) had a team-high 100 tackles and he led the league with eight sacks and 20 tackles for loss. K Vladimir Borombozin set a school-record with 16 consecutive field goal makes and he finished the year hitting 17 of 18 field goals. He leaves UNM as the most accurate kicker in school history at 81.8 % (27-33). DE Brian Johnson is a two-time first-team all-MWC selection.
New Mexico players making the second team include cornerback Stephen Persley and offensive lineman Jeremy Sorenson. Persley, a senior from Fort Worth, Texas, had six interceptions this year to rank eighth nationally and finished tied for first in the MWC with 17 passes defensed. Persley ends his Lobo career with nine interceptions, good enough for 10th-place all-time at UNM, and he scored four touchdowns throughout his career. Sorenson, also a senior, was a two-year starter at offensive guard and led the team with 129 knockdown blocks while starting in every game this season. He played the entire game eight times this year and participated in 828 of a possible 848 plays.
RB Jarrod Baxter, WR Dwight Counter, S Scott Gerhardt, LB Mohammed Konte, OT Jason Lenzmeier and LB Charles Moss were all named honorable mention All-MWC.
New Mexico won four of its last five games to post its first winning season under head coach Rocky Long and the program’s first since the 1997 squad went 9-4. It’s only the Lobos’ fifth winning season since 1979. After being picked to finish seventh in the MWC in late-July, the Lobos tied Utah for third place with a 4-3 mark, their best conference finish since winning the 97 WAC Mountain Division Title at 6-2.Q