Women’s Cross Country Wins 8th-Straight MW Title
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RENO, Nev. — Thursday evening, the Mountain West announced that Friday's conference championships would be delayed a half hour due to frost.
But for the red-hot Lobo women, it didn't matter.
Placing seven runners in the top 12, the No. 1 University of New Mexico women's cross country team captured its eighth-straight team title in a resounding win at the 2015 Mountain West Cross Country Championships Friday in Reno, Nev.
The Lobos, who have won every Mountain West cross country title since 2008, torched the course at the Montrêux Golf Club, scoring 24 team points against one of the most competitive fields in the conference's history.
"The women did great," New Mexico head coach Joe Franklin said. "They did a good job of making sure they got through the course. They ran a really good race. It was a little surreal almost."
The New Mexico men placed fifth as a team, breaking its streak of six consecutive team titles.
The UNM women placed all five of its scorers in the top seven, and compiled the lowest team score since it posted 20 points in 2010.
No. 9 Boise State finished second behind top-ranked New Mexico, scoring 71 points in the low-score-wins format. The Lobos' 47-point victory over the Broncos is the largest since now-departed member BYU registered a 51-point win over New Mexico, 23-74, in 2005.
Facing a difficult rolling course at the Montrêux Golf Club, the New Mexico women continued to execute its strategy of team running, as it placed seven runners in the top 12 and all nine in the top 30.
Courtney Frerichs, as she's done in both of the Lobos' regular-season meets, led the charge, taking runner-up honors in 22 minutes, 5.19 seconds.
Frerichs' finish was New Mexico's best individual finish at the MW meet since Sammy Silva was second in 2013, and it's Frerichs third team-leading performance this season.
Alice Wright was UNM's next scorer, as she led a pack of Lobos from fourth to eighth place. Wright finished fourth in 22:24.42, ahead of Rhona Auckland (fifth, 22:39.98), Molly Renfer (sixth, 22:54.01) and Calli Thackery (seventh, 22:55.14).
That group is the same scoring five that New Mexico has relied on all season, with Renfer solidifying her place in the Lobos' vaunted lead pack.
All five also claimed First-Team All-Mountain West honors, the first time since 2002 five teammates earned first-team honors.
Heleene Tambet almost made a bid for a scoring finish, too, placing eighth in 22:55.47, just .33 seconds behind Thackery. Emily Hosker-Thornhill was 12th in 23:32.02, followed by Sophie Connor (26th, 24:26.77) and Albuquerque product Natasha Bernal (30th, 24:41.65).
"We're 8 to 10 deep of women that are very good and very supportive of each other," Franklin said. "It was really impressive to see them cross the line and look where their teammate are."
Boise State's Allie Ostrander was the individual champion and Female Athlete of the Year, while Air Force's Hannah Everson was third overall. Air Force was also third in the team standings with 98 points.
On the men's side, the Lobos couldn't extend their run of titles, placing fifth place as a team.
Against a field that included No. 16 Boise State, No. 26 Air Force and No. 30 Colorado State, the Lobos battled, but couldn't overcome one of the strongest fields in MW history.
First-team All-MW performer Engholm took sixth overall in 26:43.73, leading the Lobos to a team score of 120 points.
"People may look at the results and say, 'Oh, you got fifth,'" Franklin said. "Well, we did. They gave everything they could. We just weren't there today."
It's the lowest finish for the men since they placed fifth in 2005, and it's the most point scored since registering 123 in 2003.
Dan Milechman, who earned second-team all-conference honors, placed 11th (27:03.44), with Graham Thomas (26th, 27:56.26), Josh Kerr (37th, 28:16.58) and Zac Castillo (47th, 29:03.35) rounding out the Lobos' scoring.
Jesus Mendoza (54th, 29:23.78) and Matt Bergin (DNF) also ran for New Mexico.
Air Force usurped the Lobos' place atop the Mountain West, just edging Colorado State 49-53. Boise State was also in contention, placing third with 56 points.
Colorado State's Jerrell Mock won the individual title in 26:16.26, and was named MW Men's Athlete of the Year.
Franklin also emerged with a title, earning his eighth straight MW Women's Coach of the Year honor. No coach in MW history has won as many Women's Coach of the Year accolades as Franklin.
New Mexico will return to action in two weeks as it hosts the NCAA Mountain Region Championships at the UNM North Golf Course on Nov. 13.
NOTES: The Lobo women dominated the field, placing seven runners in front of seven other teams' top runner … The UNM women's top eight finishers combined to score 70 points, which would have won the championship against any other teams' five scorers … Seven women earned all-conference honors, the most since UNM did it in 2009
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