Nov. 22, 2004
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Head coach Matt Henry couldn’t have scripted it any better when he took over the University of New Mexico cross country program in 2000. Just five years after inheriting a men’s team that was a unanimous pick for last in the Mountain West Conference, Henry’s 2004 Lobos established themselves as the best team in UNM history by placing a program-best ninth this morning at 2004 NCAA Cross Country Championships at the Wabash Family Sports Center. Senior Matt Gonzales and true freshman Shadrack Kiptoo Biwott both finished among the top-15 to lead the Lobos’ historic performance.
“It was definitely a great day for us, but to tell you the truth, I still know that we could’ve done better,” said Henry. “I would say that our guys ran fair today, which just goes to show you how talented this team really is. We’re so excited about this though. These guys really did something special and we’re very happy for the University of New Mexico today.”
In his final collegiate race, senior Matt Gonzales secured his place as the finest runner in the 42-year history of New Mexico cross country. Gonzales finished second (30:40.9) in the men’s 10,000-meter race (6.2 miles), the best in school history, to become the Lobos’ second two-time cross country All-American (Ibrahim Husein – 1981 & `83). The Santa Fe native ran in the lead pack for much of the race before dropping back a bit with just over a mile left on the soggy, waterlogged course, eventually crossing the line 3.2 seconds behind the winner, Simon Bairu of Wisconsin.
“Matt made one little mistake – and he told me that – by letting those guys pull away from him a little bit,” said Henry. “He was third with about 300 meters to go and could’ve been happy with that, but that’s a special little guy though, he wasn’t going to leave anything in the tank.”
True freshman Shadrack Kiptoo Biwott, an Albuquerque La Cueva High School product, joined Gonzales on the All-America podium, placing 14th (10th scoring) with a time of 31:16.9. Biwott’s performance came just one week after he was briefly hospitalized with an intestinal virus, which forced him to miss the Mountain Region Championship meet. He and Gonzales were also the top two finishers from the Mountain West Conference in the race.
| “I would say that our guys ran fair today, which just goes to show you how talented this team really is. We’re so excited about this though. These guys really did something special and we’re very happy for the University of New Mexico today.” -UNM Head Coach Matt Henry |
“He stuck his nose in there and never let that lead group get to far out of his reach,” said Henry. “For him to go through what he went through (last week) and still run the way he did today is phenomenal.”
Senior Ben Ortega (Taos, N.M.) also capped his tremendous career with a strong performance, finishing third on the team and 106th overall (32:40.2). Ortega, who was one of Henry’s first signees in 2000, was the 77th scoring runner to cross the line in his second NCAA appearance. Junior Cameron Clarke (Albuquerque, N.M.), meanwhile, was the fourth Lobo to cross the line, placing 139th (104th scoring – 33:00.4) in his NCAA debut.
One of the stories of the day, however, was that of fifth-year walk-on Sean Flaherty, who was the Lobos’ fifth and final scoring runner. According to Henry, Flaherty was laboring near the back of the 255-man pack around the midpoint of the race before surging up the ranks. The Albuquerque Manzano High School product passed roughly 80 runners over the last 5,000 meters to finish 175th (137th scoring finish) with a time of 33:22.2. Brothers Stephen and Nick Martinez of Pojoaque, rounded out the history-making UNM top-7, finishing 190th and 235th, respectively.
Flaherty’s late surge, helped New Mexico, which entered the meet ranked 19th in the country, edge Cal Poly by three points. UNM finished 15 points behind Arizona State and was the No. 2 team from the Mountain West Conference behind fifth place BYU. Mountain Region champion Colorado upset top-ranked Wisconsin 90-94 to claim the national championship. The Lobos knocked off nine higher ranked teams, including No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 6 Georgetown and No. 9 Cal Poly.
Earlier in the women’s 6K race, senior Jacquelyne Gallegos finished a strong 69th, ahead of 181 other runners in the field. Gallegos mirrored her MWC Championship performance, finishing third among the league runners in the event. The Pojoaque, N.M. native crossed the finish line with a time of 21:38.4, just 32 seconds out of the top-30 and a place on the All-America team. Gallegos, who was 217th at the NCAA Championships as a true freshman in 2001, could be back in Cherry and Silver next fall. She and Henry plan to appeal to the NCAA for fifth-year of eligibility to replace her 2002 season, which was ruined two meets into the year by a severe auto accident.