Lobo Men Win TTU Open Behind Top Three Finishers

LUBBOCK, Texas— The University of New Mexico men’s cross country team started off the 2022 season in dominating fashion with a podium finish and team win at the TTU Open on Saturday morning.

The men finished with 37 points behind the top three finishers of Kevin Mulcaire, Jonathan Carmin and Awet Yohannes and four in the top 10.

Running in their first races as Lobos, Mulcaire won the 8K in a time of 24:32.07 with Carmin crossing the line 15 seconds later at 24:47.59. Yohannes completed the sweep with a 24:51.13 result, edging out Edward Rush of Texas Tech (24:51.87) for the third-place result.

Yehonatan Haim, also running in his first race at UNM, gave the Lobos four in the top 10 with a 10th-place finish at 25:22.54 and Nehemiah Cionelo closed the scoring with a 22nd-place showing of 25:49.66, with 21 points going towards the team total.

The Lobos won comfortably when it came to the team score, clearing second-place team Oklahoma by 34 points and third-place team and host Texas Tech by 39 points.

In the women’s 6K race, freshman Christina Nisoli paced the Lobos with a 14th-place finish, clocking in at 22:51.30, with Isabella Fauria the second UNM runner to finish in 23rd place at 23:18.50. Lauren Bettencourt added 28 points to the team total with a 24:02.80 time and Sadie Leigh Gonzales completed the race in 25:31.60 for 47 points. Camille Jackson rounded out the team scoring with 55 points after running 26:21.50.

As a team, the women finished sixth on 167 points.

Up next: The Lobos will compete at the Joe Piane Invitational hosted by Notre Dame on Sept. 30, with the first race scheduled for 10:30 a.m. CT/ 8:30 a.m. MT.