July 23, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Santa Fe’s Matt Gonzales and Albuquerque Manzano’s Jeremy Johnson represented the University of New Mexico on the Mountain West Conference 10th Anniversary Men’s Cross Country Team the league announced this morning. Gonzales and Johnson, who were teammates in 2002, combined to earn five first team all-MWC and three cross country All-America awards during their UNM careers. New Mexico and BYU were the only schools to put multiple runners on the 10th Anniversary Team.
Gonzales made an immediate impact on former head coach Matt Henry’s fledgling program after transferring from New Mexico Highlands University in the fall of 2001. He led all Mountain West runners by placing 30th in his NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships debut and became the Lobos’ first All-American since 1982. Three years later he led the men of New Mexico to one of the greatest seasons in school history, capped by the team’s program record ninth place finish at the NCAA Championship meet. Gonzales turned in the best performance by a Lobo at the national meet, finishing second, just 3.2 seconds out of first.
After showing flashes of brilliance in 2002 as a 17-year-old true freshman, Johnson came into his own during the final two years of his Lobo career, earning first team all-MWC honors in 2006 and 2007. Last fall, under first year head coach Joe Franklin’s tutelage, he completed one of the finest individual campaigns in program history. Johnson was a wire-to-wire winner at the MWC Championship meet in Albuquerque, finished third at the NCAA Mountain Region meet, placed 20th to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Championships and recorded the fastest 8,000-meter time in UNM and MWC history. He also led the men’s team to its best conference finish (2nd) since 1988 and helped the Lobos’ earn votes in the national top-30 poll for the first time since Gonzales’ senior year of 2004.
The team was selected by a combined panel of media, institutional and conference personnel and on-line fan poll. In order to be eligible for consideration, candidates must have been a first team all-Mountain West selection at least once in their careers.
Anniversary teams will be chosen for each of the 19 conference-sponsored sports during the 2008-09 seasons in celebration of the Mountain West’s 10th anniversary.
Complete Men’s and Women’s MWC 10th Anniversary Cross Country Teams