Sept. 20, 2007
UPDATE: The University of New Mexico cross country team heads south to Las Cruces, N.M. on Saturday, Sept. 22 to compete in New Mexico State’s annual Kachina Classic at the NMSU Golf Course. The meet begins with the women running a little over 5K (5,150 meters) at 7:40 a.m., followed immediately by the men’s 7,400-meter race.
UNM head coach Joe Franklin will look to give some of his younger runners a little bit of experience before the Lobos travel to Eugene, Ore. next week for the elite Bill Dellinger Invite.
The men’s team will not only be competing with the field of regional collegiate teams, but also with themselves. Five athletes will be running for a spot on the travel squad with redshirt freshman Yuval Carmi, sophomore Alex Willis, junior Lee Emanuel, senior Chris Bratton and senior Erik Coleman representing UNM. Sophomores Nick Argüelles and Jeremy Newland, and freshmen Nathan Romero, Matt Everett and Patrick Ortiz will run unattached on Saturday.
The women’s team will be send sophomore Kelly McCabe, senior Stasia Ploskonka, senior Cheryl Gourley, sophomore Lynn Brasher, junior Ally Gronager, junior Becky Green, redshirt freshman Estelle Diaz, and freshman Brittany Cruickshank.
Results of the Kachina Classic will be available on www.nmstatesports.com.
LAST TIME OUT: The UNM women placed all five scoring runners in the top-10 en route to a dominant victory at the 2007 Lobo Invitational – the first meet under first year head coach Joe Franklin – on Sept. 8 at the UNM North Golf Course. The new-look Lobos finished 24 points ahead of runner-up UTEP as they won their home meet for the first time since it moved to campus in 2000. The UNM men, meanwhile, finished third despite running without All-American senior Jeremy Johnson.
New Mexico junior transfer Michelle Corrigan (Pulaski, Wisc.) was the first collegiate finisher in the women’s race. Corrigan, formerly of Mississippi State, covered the 5,000-meter course in 18:25, finishing 12 second behind the winner Ava Hutchinson, who was competing unattached. UNM sophomore Vanessa Ortiz – the 2006 Mountain West Conference Women’s Freshman of the Year – finished third (18:42), while Kara Henry (Elhurst, Ill.), a senior transfer from Butler, was fourth (18:43).
The UNM quintet matched the meet record set by Division II power Western State in the inaugural meet at the North Course in 2000 with a score of 21 points. UTEP finished a distant second (45), while New Mexico State was third (54).
Earlier in the men’s 8,000-meter race, the Lobos placed three in the top-15, led by sophomore transfer Brock Hagerman (Pendleton, Ind.), who was ninth. Hagerman – the 2006 Big East Men’s Freshman of the Year while at Notre Dame – crossed the line in 25:16. Senior transfer Mat Ashton (Oxford, England) was 11th (26:03), while fellow senior Joseph Garcia was 12th (26:18) and sophomore Alex Willis placed 15th (27:09).
LAST YEAR AT THE KACHINA CLASSIC: University of New Mexico freshmen Jason Petty and Rachelle Billie both finished seventh to lead a strong performance by the Lobos’ split squad. The UNM men (57 pts.) finished second behind No. 13 UTEP (15), which competed with all of its top runners, while the New Mexico women were third (94).UNM rested its top four on the men’s side and six best runners on the women’s side.