11/16/2018 | Cross Country | Go Eastern Athletics
PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico cross country teams are ready to run at the NCAA Division II South Central Region Championships being held in Denver, Colo. on Saturday. The men’s race is slated for 10:30 a.m. with the women’s race scheduled for an 11:30 a.m. start.
LAST TIME OUT
Senior Mercy Rotich led the women’s team to a third place finish at the Lone Star Conference Championships, becoming the first ever ENMU women’s cross country runner to win the LSC Individual Championship after crossing the finish line in 21:54.20.
It was Rotich’s second win of the season and third win in her Greyhounds career after picking up the victory in the LSC Preview on Oct. 20. The result also garnered her a spot on the All-LSC Team, the second time Rotich has earned the honor after coming in second at the 2016 LSC Championships.
In her first season with the Greyhounds, junior Evaline Cheptoo earned LSC Newcomer of the Year and All-LSC accolades after finishing the championship race in 23:32.30 for sixth place.
Also earning All-LSC accolades was junior Mason Swanson, who crossed finish line in ninth with a time of 23:38.40, setting a new career-best 6k time. Swanson is now a two-time all-conference selection after earning an All-LSC honor with a ninth-place finish at the 2017 LSC Championships.
As a team, the women accumulated 87 points, 34 points ahead of fourth place West Texas A&M and 43 points ahead of Angelo State, while finishing just 19 points back of Tarleton State for second and 30 points back of first place MSU Texas.
In the men’s race, the Hounds came away with seventh as a team, accumulating 193 points, just 18 points back of UT-Permian Basin for sixth while finishing nine points ahead of Texas A&M-Kingsville and 56 points of Angelo State.
Senior Shane Walsh led the way for the Greyhounds, coming away with a 22nd place time of 26:58.60, his second-fastest 8k time of the season. Garrett Meyer turned in a 27:55.60, good enough for 39th while Lorenzo Juarez notched a 46th place time of 28:41.50.
ELITE COMPANY
With Rotich, Cheptoo, and Swanson all being named to the all-conference team, it was the fourth time in the history of the women’s cross country program that the Hounds received three all-LSC selections in the same season.
From 2014-16, the Hounds had three athletes make the all-conference list. In 2016, Rotich joined Melina Gryschka and Coley Norcross. After the 2017 championships, Amber Saiz, Klaudia Szych, and Azalia Rodriguez received all-conference accolades while Saiz, Sabrina Huelga, and Beth Blind were named to the 2014 All-LSC Team.
With Cheptoo getting LSC Newcomer of the Year, she becomes the third Greyhound to receive the honor in the last five seasons with Rotich being the 2016 recipient and Szych receiving the award after the 2014 conference season.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Rotich’s time of 21:54.20 in the LSC Championships set the fourth-fastest 6k time in ENMU program history. She now holds the top five fastest 6k times with the program after her time of 21:48.65 at the LSC Preview marked the third-fastest time in the history of the program.
Cheptoo also made her marks in the ENMU record books in her two previous 6k races. At the LSC Preview and LSC Championships, Cheptoo has finished with times of 23:27.80 and 23:32.30, which rank as the 35th and 39th fastest 6k times in program history.
In her third year with the program, Swanson’s time of 23:38.40 in the LSC Championships set the 45th fastest 6k time in the ENMU record book.
The three runners also set marks in the 5k record books this season. Rotich broke the ENMU 5k record twice this season, first snapping Saiz’s 2015 record of 18:07.78 with an 18:04.70 in the Texas Tech Open and then shattered her own record at the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival with a 17:37.70. She then turned in the sixth-fastest 5k time with an 18:25.77 at the New Mexico Junior College Invite.
Swanson broke her own career-best 5k time at the Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival, while setting the 18th fastest mark in program history with a 19:06.98 and Cheptoo also set the 23rd best 5k time in ENMU history with a 19:09.50 at the same meet.
REGIONAL HISTORY
Last season, the men’s team placed 18th and the women’s team finished in 22nd at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional held in Canyon, Texas. In that meet, Omer Almog came away with a 14th place finish in the men’s race, qualifying him for the NCAA Division II National Championship meet.
In the 2016 South Central Regional held in Denver, Colo., Rotich became the first ever ENMU female cross country runner to win the regional with a time of 21:47.00 while pacing the women’s team to a 10th place finish. With the result, Rotich became the first ENMU women’s cross country runner to ever qualify and compete at the national championships.