Staff Report
UNM cross country runner Jeremy Johnson earned All-American honors after placing 20th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Monday in Terre Haute, Ind.
Johnson finished the 10,000-meter course in 30:18 and recorded the fourth-highest finish at the cross country national championships in school history. Matt Gonzales was a school-best runner-up in 2004.
It was the senior's debut at the NCAAs in cross country after he placed third at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships earlier this month.
Johnson could not be reached for comment.
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He told GoLobos.com that he ran a strong first half of the race before falling off the lead pack.
"I felt good for the first 5K, but one of my mistakes was I should have just stayed with the first group, because it was grinding from there on out," he said.
He said he would have liked to place higher, but he won't complain about earning All-American.
"It wasn't a bad day or a disaster by any means," he said. "One of my goals since I came to college was to become All-American in cross country, so I can definitely cross that off my list."
Johnson had an impressive season at UNM, placing sixth or better in each of his four races prior to the NCAAs, including a win at the Mountain West Conference Championships in
Albuquerque.
First-year head coach Joe Franklin said he's proud of what Johnson accomplished.
"The season for Jeremy was great," Franklin said. "It's interesting when you are in the sport of cross county, because there are 250-some guys that aren't happy because there is only one winner, but Jeremy has done an awesome job."
