ALBUQUERQUE, N.M- The University of New Mexico cross country team opens its season this Saturday, Sept. 1 as they host the Lobo Invitational.
The men’s and women’s collegiate race is at 9:50 a.m. with the following schools competing: UNM, NMSU and UTEP.
Live results can be found at http://www.rapidresultslive.com/2018LoboCrossCountryInvitational/.
Going into the season, the women’s cross country team was picked as the unanimous No. 1 ranked team in the country, receiving 330 points and all 11 first-place votes. The Lobos were also voted as the preseason favorite to win the 2018 Mountain West title, receiving a total of 99 points. Last season, they earned UNM’s 10th-straight Mountain West title en route to winning the 2017 NCAA Championship.
The Lobos feature several key returners this season on the women’s side, including Ednah Kurgat, who won the individual title in 2017 with a time of 19:19.5 in the 6,000-meter run. The Eldoret, Kenya, native recorded the fastest time in championship history since the NCAA moved the race distance up from 5,000-meters in 2000 and produced the largest margin of victory in the championship since 2014. In addition, the Lobos return All-Americans in Weini Kelati (Leesburg, Va.) and Charlotte Prouse (London, Ontario, Canada).
On the men’s side, the Lobos were projected to finish fifth in the Mountain West. The team lost top runner from 2017 Josh Kerr (Edinburgh, Scotland), who earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships last year after finishing seventh at the Mountain West Championship and 15th at the NCAA Mountain Regional.