Lobo Cross Country Prepared for NCAA Mountain Regional

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Lobo cross country teams are headed to the NCAA Mountain Regional on Friday, hosted by BYU in Provo, Utah. The women’s 6K race is set for 11 a.m. (MT), while the men’s 10K race will follow at 12 p.m. at Timpanogos Golf Club.

There are nine NCAA Regionals held across different regions prior to the NCAA Championships. The top two teams at each regional automatically follow and then the NCAA picks 13 at-large teams, based on top finishers and difficulty of competition, to make for a total of 31 teams at the Championships. The Championships are set to be hosted by Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla., at the Apalachee Regional Park on Nov. 20.

The Lobos’ women’s team was ranked No. 2 in the nation and in the mountain region by the USTFCCCA on Nov. 2. The team received five first-place votes and 321 points total to take the second spot nationally.

BYU holds the fourth spot nationally on the women’s side and first in the mountain region. The Lobos will face some tough competition as they go against six fellow ranked opponents. On the men’s side, New Mexico will go against seven ranked opponents in the mountain region.

In the Lobos last meet at the MW Championships, the women’s team placed first as a team for the 14th time in a row and earned the top seven individual places. Amelia Mazza-Downie led the Lobos with a first-place finish and a time of 19:37.3. Mazza-Downie earned Women’s Student-Athlete of the Year. The Lobos earned seven first-place team awards and a second-team award. The men’s team placed seventh in the race. Abdirizak Ibrahim was the top finisher as he finished fifth individually for an all-conference first team placement.

Competing in the Mountain Regional on the women’s side is No. 3 Colorado, No. 4 BYU, No. 7 Utah, No. 18 Northern Arizona, No. 19 Colorado State, No. 22 Utah State, Weber State, Air Force, Utah Valley, Southern Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico State, Montana State and Idaho State.

Competing on the men’s side is No. 1 Northern Arizona, No. 2 Colorado, No. 8 BYU, No. 11 Air Force, No. 21 Utah State, No. 22 Colorado State, No. 26 Southern Utah, Montana State, Weber State, Utah Valley, UTEP, Wyoming, Idaho State and Nevada.

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