ALBUQUERQUE, N.M— The University of New Mexico women’s cross country team will open the season as the No. 2 team in the country as picked by the USTFCCCA Women’s Cross Country National Coaches’ Poll on Tuesday.
It is the third time that the Lobos have been picked second in the preseason poll, with the previous two times occurring in 2015 and 2011. Notably, 2015 was the year that UNM won its first NCAA team championship.
In addition, the Lobo women were also picked as the preseason favorite in the Mountain Region on Monday by the USTFCCCA for the fourth time in the last five years.
According to the USTFCCCA release, “big things are expected from New Mexico in 2019 as Joe Franklin’s team enters the year ranked No. 1 in the Mountain Region. The Lady Lobos, who have been the top team entering the season in four of the past five years, have a stacked roster with Weini Kelati and Ednah Kurgat leading the way. Kelati finished runner-up at NCAAs last year, while Kurgat finished fifth overall, not to mention their regional accomplishments. New Mexico got even stronger as Adva Cohen got her feet wet in the NCAA system and hit PRs of 15:31.01 (5000) and 9:44.41 (steeplechase) on the track.”
The Lobos were picked over the 2018 NCAA champion Colorado, while Mountain West schools Air Force and Utah State were picked fifth and eighth in the regional rankings, respectively.
However, when it came to the national poll, the preseason rankings reflected the final 2018 NCAA rankings as Colorado was picked first in the rankings and UNM second. From there, Washington was third, Michigan fourth and Stanford fifth. The margin between the two teams was slim as UNM received four first-place votes and 314 points compared to Colorado’s six first-place votes and 321 points.
Nationally, the Lobos were picked as the preseason No. 1 team in the country in 2018 and held the top ranking through week three before falling to third for two weeks. However, the Lobos regained the top spot in weeks six and seven before ultimately finishing in second after a runner-up finish at the 2018 NCAA Cross Country Championship.
UNM returns a strong contingent of runners in Kelati and Kurgat as well as Cohen, who should provide another stable scorer for the Cherry and Silver. Other returners that could make an impact in the scoring for the Lobos are Hannah Nuttall and Sophie Eckel.
The projections for the Lobos are high across the board as on Aug. 22 the Lobo women were selected as the MW preseason favorite for the ninth consecutive year, receiving 10 first-place votes.
UNM opens its cross country season on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 9:20 a.m. at the Lobo Invitational, held at the UNM North Golf Course. A community fun run is scheduled to start off the day at 7:30 a.m. and will be a 5K.