TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The power of the turquoise prevailed. And this time, it’s bringing home a trophy.
Sporting their special turquoise vests that are reserved for the largest meets of the year, the University of New Mexico women’s cross country team surged to a third-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships as the men claimed 14th place.
Behind All-American runs by Alice Wright and Charlotte Arter, the Lobos women stormed to the highest-ever finish at the national championships in program history as the men posted a strong team performance at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute.
The women’s program, which has been competing since the mid-1970s, seized its first podium finish at the national championships under eighth-year head coach Joe Franklin. The top four teams out of the 31 teams competing earn a trip to the podium during the post-race awards ceremonies.
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| Alice Wright (left) & Charlotte Arter |
The previous best for the UNM women was fifth place in 2010, but the 2014 Lobos eclipsed that by placing all five of its scorers in the top 100.
Wright and Arter led the pack, running within a second of each other throughout the entire women’s six-kilometer race.
Wright, a redshirt freshman, covered the course in 20 minutes, 29.1 seconds, while Arter, a senior, finished in 20:29.9.
It’s the second year in a row New Mexico had two All-Americans, which the USTFCCCA awards to the top-40 finishers of each gender. Arter and Sammy Silva were All-Americans last year. For Arter, she is just the second Lobo to claim back-to-back All-American medals since Carole Roybal from 1984-86
But, as it had been all season, the Lobos had tremendous team running, with the rest of their scorers finishing less than a minute behind.
Calli Thackery crossed the line third for New Mexico, placing 43rd overall in 20:48.8, while Tamara Armoush’s time of 21:02.8 and Heleene Tambet’s time of 21:10.2 merited 73rd place and 93rd place, respectively.
Nicola Hood (111th place, time of 21:16.2) and Amber Zimmerman (141st, 21:29.9) rounded out the Lobos competing.
After winning the Mountain West Championships on Halloween and taking second at the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships last Friday, the women continued to excel in championships meets.
The Lobo women’s performance is the best in the Mountain West since 2003, when now-departed BYU took second with 128 points.
As a team, New Mexico combined for 188 points, the lowest total in program history. Michigan State won with 85 points, and Iowa State took second with 147 points. The Lobos edged fourth-place Georgetown by a single point, 188-189.
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| Jake Shelley |
Iona’s Kate Avery won the race with a time of 19:31.6.
On the men’s side, the Lobos combined for a strong team performance, racing to a 14th-place showing after taking seventh a week earlier at the 17-team NCAA Mountain Regional Championships.
Jake Shelley paced the men over the 10-kilometer course with his 50th-place time of 31:04.7. Like he did at the Mountain West Championships—where the men parlayed a ridiculous eight-second team spread en route to winning their sixth-straight title—Shelley was the first Lobo to finish.
Right behind was Elmar Engholm, who, despite losing a shoe 800 meters in, produced a 78th-place time of 31:20.9. Todd Wakefield chipped in a time of 31:30.0 for 93rd, while Ross Matheson (119th, 31:41.4) and Dan Studley (131st, 31:50.3) also scored.
Alex Cornwell (178th, 32:12.6) and Matt Bergin (did not finish) also ran for UNM.
The Lobo men, in spite of missing top runner Adam Bitchell (injury) and Bergin, combined for a team score of 394 points, just a point away from 13th place. Overall, it’s the men’s eighth top-20 finish at the NCAA Championships, with a program-best finish of eighth place in 2009.
Regular-season and unanimous No. 1 Colorado won the team title with 65 points, while Stanford (98 points) and Portland (175) rounded out the top three.
Oregon’s Edward Cheserek repeated at the individual champion, winning in 30:19.4.