Two teams, two different futures.
The men’s and women’s cross country teams hosted the NCAA Mountain Regional at the UNM Championship Golf Course on Saturday, but the Lobos couldn’t keep up the momentum they built in their previous victories.
It was a bitter weekend following both teams’ title sweeps at the Mountain West Conference Championships the week before.
The men’s team followed up that performance by finishing third in Saturday’s event and will advance to nationals, pending the mere formality of an at-large bid, which shouldn’t be a problem.
The women’s team turned in an uncharacteristic performance, coming in fifth place, after finishing first in the Mountain West Conference Championships.
That left them in a tough spot, head coach Joe Franklin said.
“Nationals is still possible,” he said. “If we were fourth, it would have been a done deal. Strange things have happened around the country, which is great for us.”
Senior Carolyn Boosey said the women’s team could’ve done better.
“We’re quite disappointed. We were hoping to come in third,” said senior Carolyn Boosey. “We expected UTEP to be there, but fifth place isn’t good.”
Junior Ruth Senior said the Lobos’ didn’t play up to their potential.
“I’m really disappointed with the team performance today,” she said. “We’re just going to hope for the best.”
Franklin wasn’t as harsh, however.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“I’m not disappointed with them. They went out there and gave their hearts out,” he said. “It wasn’t really our day. It has been our day for the last two and a half years. We’ll keep our fingers crossed until the results are official.”
Senior Rory Fraser said the men’s team competed at the same high level they did in the MWC Championships.
“I’m really happy with what we did out there,” he said. “We can win this event. There is no doubt about it, but everything has to go right.”
Fraser finished seventh overall and second on the team behind fellow senior Jacob Kirwa in the men’s 10,000-meter run.
Kirwa, however, came in third to Northern Arizona’s David McNeill and BYU’s Miles Batty.
“I did what I thought I would do out there,” Kirwa said. “The guy that won, I knew he was going to be up there, and I tried my best to stay with him.”
The men’s team plans to do more damage at nationals, Fraser said.
“A top-10 finish is a definite possibility,” he said. “The world is our oyster, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we even finished top four.”
