Sept. 26, 2007
UPCOMING
The University of New Mexico cross country schedule heats up this week as first year head coach Joe Franklin leads his top men’s and women’s squads into the Pacific Northwest for Oregon’s elite Bill Dellinger Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 29. The national field features eight top-30 teams on the men’s side and six ranked women’s teams, along with a large group of All-American runners, including New Mexico senior Jeremy Johnson. The women’s 6,000-meter race starts at 10:15 a.m. (Mountain), followed by the men’s 8K at 11 a.m.
MEET INFO
Host: University of Oregon
Course: Springfield (Ore.) Country Club
Schedule: Women’s 6K – 10:15 a.m., Men’s 8K – 11 a.m.
The Field: 15 men’s team, 15 women’s teams
Nationally Ranked Teams:
Men (7) – No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 4 Oregon, No. 7 UTEP, No. 14 Portland, No. 17 Alabama, No. 22 UCLA, No. 23 Cal Poly, No. 30 Washington
Women (6) – No. 4 Arkansas, No. 13 Georgia, No. 18 Colorado State, No. 19 Washington, No. 23 BYU, No. 24 Oregon
XC All-Americans: Six potential men’s individual entries were NCAA cross country All-Americans in `06 and four additional runners were `05 cross country All-Americans.
Who is Bill Dellinger?: Oregon running legend who was a three-time Olympian and bronze medalist, and hall of fame Duck coach.
THE UNM TRAVEL TEAM
WOMEN:
Jr. Michelle Corrigan (Transfer from Mississippi State…top collegiate runner in Lobo Invite on Sept. 8)
So. Vanessa Ortiz (`06 MWC Freshman of the Year…’05 N.M. 5A XC champion…career-best 3rd in `07 opener)
Sr. Kara Henry (Transfer from Butler…2nd team all-Horizon League in `05 & `06…ran in 2004 & `05 NCAA meets)
Sr. Leslie Luna (2-time all-MWC & all-Mtn. Region…Lobos’ No. 2 runner in `06…making `07 debut at Oregon)
Jr. Carolyn Boosey (Transfer from St. Mary’s University in London…7th in her UNM debut on Sept. 8)
Sr. Sheyenne Lewis (Has scored 7 times in 11 career races…10th in season-opener on Sept. 8)
Sr. Riann Lucy (First XC race in 3 years…scored in 11 of 12 races in `03-’04 seasons…all-MWC 800 runner)
MEN:
Sr. Jeremy Johnson (Making `07 debut at Oregon…10,000m All-American last spring…1st team all-MWC XC in `06)
So. Brock Hagerman (Transfer from Notre Dame…top Fr. in Big East last fall…9th in Lobo debut on Sept. 8)
Jr. Mat Ashton (Transfer from St. Mary’s University in London…British University 10K champ in `06…11th in Lobo debut)
Sr. Joseph Garcia (Scored 12 times in 14 career races…12th in `07 opener…MWC 10K runner-up outdoors)
So. Alex Willis (Has scored 4 times in 7 meets…top-15 finishes in first 2 meets of `07)
Jr. Lee Emanuel (Transfer from Sheffield (England) Hallam University…5th at NMSU last weekend)
RS-Fr. Yuval Carmi (8th in collegiate XC debut last weekend at NMSU…lettered on the track in `07)
So. Brian Vallie (3 career XC races, scoring once…making `07 debut at Oregon…MWC 800m runner-up outdoors)
MEET INFORMATION/RESULTS
Complete information and results from the 2007 Bill Dellinger Invitational can be found on the official website of the host Oregon Ducks:
www.UODucks.com
FROM HEAD COACH Joe Franklin
“This is really the start of our season. The first two meets were basically preseason, but this is the first meet where we’re looking to get solid RPI points and start working towards qualifying for the NCAA Championships. We have three big weeks – this one, the Mountain West Conference meet and the regional championship meet – when we need to run well and show that we’re competitive with some of the top teams in the country.”
“On both the men’s and women’s side we want to be compete with BYU and Colorado State at this meet. They’re both nationally ranked on the women’s side and BYU is a perennial NCAA qualifier on the men’s side, but there’s no reason we can’t compete with them. Leslie Luna is back this weekend, which gives our women’s team a boost, and this also marks Jeremy Johnson’s debut in what we think will be an outstanding season for him. Jeremy is very fit, he’s feeling good and we’re excited to see what he can do on Saturday.”
LOBOS AT FULL STRENGTH ENTERING OREGON MEET
For the first time this year, New Mexico will have its top men’s and women’s runners competing in a meet, including 2007 outdoor track All-American Jeremy Johnson. Johnson, who finished seventh in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Championships last June, will make his debut in what will be his final season of competition at New Mexico. Sophomore Brian Valllie, the Mountain West Conference runner-up in the 800, will also make his season debut at Oregon.
Senior Leslie Luna will make her season debut this weekend as well after battling a foot injury. Luna is a two-time all-MWC and all-Mountain Region honoree. Saturday’s meet also marks the return of senior Riann Lucy to cross country competition after a three-year absence. Lucy scored for the Lobos in 11 of 12 races in her first two seasons (2003-04), but injuries and illnesses sidelined her in subsequent years. Lucy did put together a full indoor track season in 2006, earning all-MWC honors in the 800 after redshirting the 2005 cross country season, but was derailed again when she underwent knee surgery in the summer of `06.
NEW LOOK LOBOS
In addition to the new coaching staff of head coach Joe Franklin and assistant coach Erin Howarth, the UNM roster has quite a few new faces and runners from new places.
The men’s team features six newcomers, while the women have five first-year Lobos. Six of those newcomers are transfers that decided to join Franklin in Albuquerque when he took the UNM job.
UNM added a trio of veteran runners from England – an area Franklin recruited heavily while the head coach at Butler – in juniors Carolyn Boosey, Mat Ashton and Lee Emanuel. Boosey (2,000m steeplechase) and Ashton (10,000m) are former British University champions, while Emanuel was a standount middle distance runner.
New Mexico also has three transfers from the Midwest in senior Kara Henry (Elmhurst, Ill.), junior Michelle Corrigan (Green Bay, Wisc.) and sophomore Brock Hagerman (Markleville, Ind.). Henry was a two-time NCAA regional qualifier in the steeplechase at Butler, while Corrigan was set the school record and was an SEC finalist in the 10,000 at Mississippi State. Hagerman, meanwhile, was the top freshman in the Big East Conference and an all-region honoree last fall, helping the nationally-ranked Notre Dame men advance to the NCAA Championship meet.
ALTITUDE AMATEURS
The 2007 Lobo Invitational on Sept. 8 marked the first career race at altitude for all six of New Mexico’s transfers. The group faced an additional challenge with unusual heat and humidity at the UNM North Golf Course, but all-in-all fared extremely well in their cherry and silver debuts.
Junior Michelle Corrigan was the top collegiate finisher (2nd overall) in the women’s 5K race, clocking a time of 18:25, while senior Kara Henry and junior Carolyn Boosey were 4th (18:43) and 7th (19:01), respectively.
In the men’s 8K, sophomore Brock Hagerman finished 9th overall (25:16) in a field that included a trio of All-Americans from the nationally ranked UTEP squad. Junior Mat Ashton crossed the line in 11th (26:03), while fellow junior and Brit Lee Emanuel was 38th (28:23). Emanuel, however, was much improved in his second race at alititude, finishing 5th last weekend in Las Cruces with a time of 23:51.5 on a 7,400-meter course.