Open Announce

Lobo Cross Country Set to Compete in Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational

by Alma Solis

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico cross country teams are set to participate in their last meet this weekend before the Mountain West Championships in a couple weeks. The Lobos head to Madison, Wis., to compete in the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Friday morning.

In the last National Coaches’ Poll released by the USTFCCCA on Oct. 5, the Lobos’ women’s team was ranked No. 3 and the men’s team did not rank.

The premier meet will be held at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course. Both men and women will have a “B” race and a championship “A” race. The morning starts off with the women’s 6K “B” race at 10 a.m. (MT), followed by the men’s 8K “B” race at 10:40 a.m. From the Lobos, Lauren Bettencourt, Semira Mebrahtu Firezghi, Juanita Johnson, Celeste Martinez, Hannah Miller, Brenda Rosales Coria, Elise Thorner and Ali Upshaw will be participating in the women’s “B” race. The men will run Awet Yohannes, Reece Donihi, Nehemiah Cionelo, Iolo Hughes and Matthew Larkin.

Next up, the women’s 6K championship “A” race starts at 11:20 a.m., while the men’s 8K championship “A” race follows at 12 p.m. Teams are only allowed to run eight athletes in the “A” races and an unlimited amount in the “B” races. For the women’s “A” race, the Lobos will be running Adva Cohen, Samrawit Dishon, Andrea Modin Engesaeth, Abigail Goldstein, Emma Heckel, Gracelyn Larkin, Amelia Mazza-Downie and Stefanie Parsons. The men will not race anyone in the “A” race.

The Lobos have traveled to the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational every year since it started in 2011, except during the shortened 2020 season when the meet was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last time New Mexico went to the meet in 2019, the women placed ninth out of 36 teams and the men placed 27th out of 33 teams.

Wisconsin’s premier meet is known to feature nationally-ranked teams every year and this year has no shortage of tough competition. The women will run alongside some fellow ranked opponents, including No. 1 North Carolina State, No. 2 Brigham Young University, No. 6 Minnesota, No. 7 Washington, No. 9 Stanford, No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 18 Portland, No. 19 Providence, No. 20 Villanova, No. 21 (tied) Indiana/Colorado State, No. 22 Iowa State, No. 23 Notre Dame, No. 25 Wisconsin, No. 26 Conneticut, No. 28 Furman and No. 30 Oregon State.

The men will go against many ranked opponents as well, including No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Iowa State, No. 9 Oregon, No. 10 Furman, No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 12 Tulsa, No. 13 Washington, No. 14 Iona, No. 15 Michigan, No. 16 Butler, No. 19 Gonzaga, No. 21 Southern Utah, No. 26 Portland, No. 27 Syracuse, No. 29 Utah State, and No. 30 (tied) Air Force and Purdue.

The women will run alongside some fellow ranked opponents as well, including No. 1 North Carolina State, No. 2 Brigham Young University, No. 6 Minnesota, No. 7 Washington, No. 9 Stanford, No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 17 Michigan State, No. 18 Portland, No. 19 Providence, No. 20 Villanova, No. 21 (tied) Indiana/Colorado State, No. 22 Iowa State, No. 23 Notre Dame, No. 25 Wisconsin, No. 26 Conneticut, No. 28 Furman and No. 30 Oregon State.

In the Lobos’ last race at the Joe Piane – Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 1, the women earned second place out of 25 teams, while the men’s team placed 23rd. The Lobos also sent a few student-athletes to the Four Corners Classic the same day, where they placed first. Stefanie Parsons earned Mountain West Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Oct. 5 after placing fourth individually in Notre Dame.

Coming up, New Mexico will host the Mountain West Championships on Oct. 29.

To stay up to date with Lobo cross country, follow @UNMLoboXCTF on Twitter and Instagram.