ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Seven University of New Mexico cross country athletes past and present have been selected to compete at the 2016 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, which is slated for December 11 in Chia, Italy.
Three current Lobos were named to their nation’s team, with redshirt junior Alice Wright slated to compete for Britain’s Under-23 team, redshirt sophomore Josh Kerr picked for Britain’s Junior Men team and freshman Jacob Simonsen chosen for the Danish team.
Additionally, UNM alumni Ross Millington, Charlotte Arter and Emily Hosker-Thornhill were selected for Britain’s senior teams, with Molly Renfer chosen for Switzerland’s team.
Wright, hailing from Worcester, England, is a three-time All-American in cross country, most recently guiding the Lobos to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships. She was also the named the USTFCCCA Mountain Region Athlete of the Year for the second time in three years, and was selected as the Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year as well.
It’s the second straight year Wright was chosen to run for Britain’s U23 team at the Euro Cross Country Championships. She placed ninth in the U23 race at the 2014 Euro Cross Country Championships in Bulgaria, and took third in the 10,000-meter run at the 2015 European Athletics U23 Championships in Estonia.
Kerr, earned his first appointment to Britain’s national cross country team after posting solid international results in the middle distance over the summer. Although the Edinburgh, Scotland, native redshirted the fall cross country season at UNM, he was 10th in the 1,500-meter run at the IAAF World Junior Championships and fourth in the 1500 at British Athletics Championships.
Last fall, he was a consistent scorer on the grass for New Mexico, registering top-five finishes at Notre Dame and Wisconsin.
Simonsen, out of Aarhus, Denmark, had a strong freshman campaign for the Lobos this year, scoring three times. He was the team’s No. 1 finisher at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, and also posted scoring efforts at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational and the NCAA Mountain Regional Championships.
It’s the third time Simonsen has competed for Denmark at the European Cross Country Championships. He was 42nd in 2013 and 49th in 2014.
Out of the four Lobo alumni, Millington is coming off an appearance at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he competed in the 10,000. The Stockport, England, native is the New Mexico record holder in the 3,000-meter run and five-time All-Mountain West honoree.
Arter, from Carlisle, England, ran to All-American honors in cross country in 2013 and 2014, and qualified to five NCAA Championships between cross country and track & field. Hosker-Thornhill, out of Canterbury, England, advanced to the finals of the 1,500 at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships and was named Second-Team All-American in the distance medley relay last March.
Renfer from Esher, England, is competing for her father’s home country, Switzerland. She earned All-American honors in cross country for the 2015 NCAA team champion Lobos and also was selected to compete at the 2015 European Championships.
The 2016 SPAR European Cross Country Championships are scheduled for December 11 in Chia, Italy. For more information, head to the European Athletics website.