NEW ORLEANS — The University of New Mexico women’s cross country and track & field program is tabbed 10th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s Terry Crawford Program of the Year award standings for the 2015-16 academic year.
Led by head coach Joe Franklin, the Lobos have combined to gain 31.5 points in the in-progress report, which accounts for the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships and 2016 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
It’s the second straight year that the Lobo women are in contention for the award through two of the three national championships in cross country and track & field.
The women’s cross country team got New Mexico in the standings first as the Lobos won the NCAA Cross Country Championships in November. It’s the second ever national title in any sport in New Mexico history.
Five All-Americans — Courtney Frerichs, Alice Wright, Rhona Auckland, Calli Thackery and Molly Renfer — powered the Lobos to the best team score (49 points) at the NCAA Championships since 1982.
Thackery continued the trend of scoring performances during the indoor season, as she took sixth-place in the 3,000-meter run at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships last weekend in Birmingham, Ala.
Along with a fifth-place finish by Sophie Connor in the mile (which is the best-ever finish by a Lobo woman in a track event at the indoor championships), the Lobos scored at the national indoor championships for the second straight year.
Overall, UNM tied for 30th with seven team points, which are the best finish and point total in program history.
The only championship left to determine the final standing for the Program of the Year award is the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which will be held June 8-11 in Eugene, Ore.
The New Mexico women have placed in the final standings for the award just twice: in 2012 (finishing 16th) and last year (finishing 14th). UNM was also ranked in the in-progress report in 2010, as well, but did not finish the season in the standings.
Presented annually since 2009, the NCAA Division I Program of the Year Award recognizes the most outstanding cross country and track & field programs in Division I based on the institution’s performance through the academic year. Final standings are predicated on the institution’s combined finishes at the NCAA Division I Championships in cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field.
To be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for all three NCAA Championships. Scores for award are calculated from the team’s each finish at those championships (i.e., first place earns one point, second place two points, 31st place 31 points, etc.). The team with the lowest total score for all three championships receives the award.
19 women’s teams have scored at the first two 2015-16 championships. Oregon is leading through two thirds of the year with four combined points, while Arkansas (11 points) and Michigan (12) round out the top three.