Every autumn, as sure as the green chile roasts and the leaves fall from branches, Lobo cross country sets the pace. That’s just the natural order of things in Albuquerque.
But this year, that natural order is going national.
After another superb year last fall, the New Mexico cross country program is looking to duplicate it’s success this season as it heads into the 2015 campaign with a No. 1 ranking, high expectations and rosters replete with talent.
The Lobos, who open next weekend at the Notre Dame Invitational, have the nation’s top-ranked women’s squad and the 19th-ranked men’s squad. The buzz around the program is feverous, and the expectations are just as high.
“Making the NCAA Championships is always the goal,” ninth-year New Mexico coach Joe Franklin said. “The goal is always to be top 10. When you look at our teams on paper, maybe it’s realistic, maybe it’s not. But that’s the goal.”
Making national headlines or national goals is hardly a new thing for the Lobos, especially considering the Lobos’ success on the national level.
Between the women’s third-place finish at last year’s NCAA Championships and the program’s six-year streak of qualifying both the men and women to the NCAAs, the Lobos have always succeeded and received attention.
But, so far, this year is different.
While the rest of fall goes off like any other, New Mexico cross country is quickly becoming a household name.
The women are No. 1 — the first women’s team in UNM history to do so — and, paired with the men’s team, New Mexico is one of just nine schools with both its men’s and women’s program in the top 20.
FloTrack has done not one, but two 17-minute episodes focusing on the women’s team, and has placed some Lobos high on its individual rankings.
The Mountain West has named both teams the preseason favorites to sweep the MW titles for the seventh straight year.
Simply put, everyone’s eyes are on New Mexico. And for good reason.
They’re kind of good.
The women’s team returns 2014 cross country All-American Alice Wright and 2015 track All-American Calli Thackery, along with Anna Burton, Sophie Connor and Heleene Tambet.
That group alone is strong, and has two proven low sticks in Wright (20th at NCAA cross country last year) and Thackery (43rd at NCAA cross country).
But the newcomers are what pushed the women to the top, with UMKC transfer Courtney Frerichs; Harvard transfers Molly Renfer and Whitney Thornburg; NAIA All-American Lindsey Andrews; Scotland’s Rhona Auckland; and Albuquerque native Natasha Bernal.
Frerichs and Auckland are the runners that have propelled UNM to its lofty ranking, and with Wright and Thackery form a “Core Four” that the Lobos can rely on at the national level.
Frerichs was the 2015 NCAA runner up in the steeplechase and took 13th at the NCAA cross country championships last year, while Auckland took 19th at the 2015 IAAF World Championships after winning the 2014 European Cross Country Championships.
“The team dynamic is great,” Franklin said.
With a group that runs nearly 11 deep, the Lobos have depth and the elite talent that can contend. Franklin’s biggest problem heading into Notre Dame is just trying to figure out who gets to go and who has to stay home.
The 19th-ranked men’s team, on the other hand, may not be under the spotlight, but the Lobos are certainly gunning for their own fame.
Matching the women will be very difficult, Franklin said, “but they guys are getting better every day.”
Elmar Engholm leads the Lobo lads, and is coming off of an All-Mountain West season. He’s joined by veterans Matt Bergin, Graham Thomas, Zac Castillo and Julian Florez.
However, like the women, the influx of talent can help the men win a seventh-straight MW title in October.
Adam Cotton and Dan Milechman both come over from Harvard with strong credentials, while Josh Kerr and Alexander Palm arrive from England and Sweden, respectively, with international experience.
“The men’s team needs to make sure that the stars are aligning at the right time,” Franklin said.
That much, however, can be said for both teams.
Despite all the accolades and the attention, neither team has competed its full squad yet in 2015. Races still need to be run and résumés still need to be built.
“Can they work together?” Franklin asked. “Can they do what they need to do in order to get where they want to go?”
Because, if they can, it’ll be no surprise the Lobos. It’s autumn in Albuquerque, and it’s time for New Mexico cross country to run.