Nov. 13, 2004
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — With Mountain West Conference champion Shadrack Biwott at home in Albuquerque recovering from a severe case of food poisoning, the 20th-ranked University of New Mexico men’s cross country team was supposed to have its national championship meet aspirations dashed today at the elite NCAA Mountain Region Championships. Apparently fifth-year seniors Matt Gonzales and Ben Ortega did not get the memo as the duo turned two of the best races of their careers this morning at the Collindale Golf Course to lead New Mexico to a near-certain berth in the NCAA Championship meet for the first time since 1988.
Gonzales won the 10,000-meter race with a career-best time of 29:45.10, defeating Mircea Bogdan of UTEP by two seconds, while Ortega rebounded from a disappointing performance at the MWC Championships with one of the finest races of his career. Ortega ran a personal-best time of 30:07.3 and finished a career-best eighth out of 106 runners to help lead the Lobos to a fourth place finish, their best under head coach Matt Henry.
Needing a top six finish to likely secure a trip to the NCAA Championship meet, UNM scored 136 points, 46 ahead of No. 28 Northern Arizona and two points better than No. 24 Colorado State. Two years ago, the Rams finished six points better than the seventh place Lobos to secure the final at-large berth out of the Mountain Region. Fourth-ranked Colorado (40 points) won the men’s competition, while No. 9 BYU was second to secure the region’s two automatic team berths. No. 14 Air Force, meanwhile, was third with 106 points.
| “I’m really excited about what Jacque did today and I really think watching her run so well fired up our men’s team before their race. We’re just really excited though (about the men’s team performance). To do what we did today without a runner of Shadrack (Biwott’s) ability was really something special.” -UNM head coach Matt Henry |
The NCAA Championship Committee will make the field of 31 teams and 38 individuals in the men’s and women’s national championship meet official with an announcement sometime before 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 14. The NCAA Championships, hosted by Indiana State University, will be held in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 22.
“Certainly Matt (Gonzales) winning the NCAA Mountain Regional meet is no small accomplishment and that really set it all up for us,” said Henry. “Ben Ortega was really one of the heroes of the day though, running like we thought he’s been capable of all season. We’re just really excited though. To do what we did today without a runner of Shadrack’s ability was really something special.”
Henry also highlighted strong performances by brothers Stephen and Nick Martinez, as well as junior Cameron Clarke, in being key elements to the Lobos’ team success. Stephen, a sophomore, showed why UNM will be a dangerous team in 2005 as well, placing 40th (31:14.8), while the elder Martinez put a sluggish 2004 campaign behind him with a strong 48th place finish (31:27.1) as the Lobos’ fifth scoring runner. Clarke, meanwhile, was 46th with a time of 31:23.2.
While the UNM men’s performance was the top story of the day, senior Jacquelyne Gallegos ensured that her remarkable comeback season would roll on with a stellar performance in the first race of the day, the women’s 6K. Gallegos finished eighth out of 112 runners to secure an automatic individual berth in the national championship field for the first time since her true freshman season of 2001. The Pojoaque, N.M. native crossed the line in 21:03.2, three seconds off her career-best time and less than a minute behind the winner, Renee Metivier of Colorado.
| Gallegos returns to the national championships for the first time since 2001.
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Gallegos’ performance led New Mexico to a solid 12th place finish, just behind regional power Texas Tech. True freshman Lindsay Barr capped a strong debut season by placing 61st (22:49.1), followed by sophomore Riann Lucy (79th – 23:13.4) and junior Janice Tosa (80th – 23:15.8). Senior Vanessa Funston led a tight pack of Lobos in her final race, finishing 90th (23:26.6). Freshmen Stasia Ploskonka and Leslie Luna were just behind in 91st (23:27.8) and 94th (23:35.1), respectively.
“I’m really excited about what Jacque did today and I really think watching her run so well fired up our men’s team before their race,” said Henry. “Our ladies had a nice day and I think it was our best race of the year. I’m really pleased with how the rest of our group ran behind Jacque today. It was just a real good day for us on both sides.”