After three weeks of thorough preparation, the Eastern New Mexico cross country program is ready to face its conference rivals at the Lone Star Conference Preview hosted by West Texas A&M at “The Range” in Canyon, Texas. The women’s race is scheduled for 8 a.m. with the men’s race starting immediately following the completion of the men’s race.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hounds last competed three weeks ago at the New Mexico Junior College Invite, as the women’s team came away with a fourth-place finish while the men finished in seventh.

Senior Mercy Rotich was the top performer in the women’s race as she was the third of 82 competitors to cross the finish line with an 18:25.77. It was Rotich’s third-best 5k time with the Greyhounds and set the sixth-best 5k time in the history of the women’s cross country program.

Junior Evaline Cheptoo notched a 13th place, crossing the line in 20:07.23 and senior Mason Swanson placed 25th with a time of 21:19.50.

On the men’s side, senior Shane Walsh led the way for the Hounds in the 7k race as his 23:00.80 was good enough for 17th place in the meet. Senior Garrett Meyer was the second Greyhound runner to cross the finish line, as he turned in a 33rd place time of 24:11.46. Rounding out the top three for Eastern was senior Lorenzo Juarez with a time of 24:26.40 for 39th overall, barely beating out teammate Shane Rinde, who’s time of 24:26.75 rewarded him 40th.

ROTICH RAISING THE BAR
Ever since joining the Greyhounds cross country team in 2016, Rotich has made several marks on the ENMU record books. With her time of 18:25.77 in the New Mexico Junior College Invite, Rotich holds three of the top six spots in the women’s 5k record books, including the top two times in program history.

Not only has Rotich dismantled the 5k record books, but she’s also looking to build upon her accomplishments in the 6k record books as well. In 2016, Rotich set the three best 6k marks in program history, which resulted in a second-place finish at the LSC Championships, a first-place finish at the NCAA Division II South Central Region Championships, and a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division II National Championships.

2018 BEST TIMES
Women’s 5k
1
Mercy Rotich
17:37.70
12th
Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival
2
Mercy Rotich
18:04.70
2nd
Texas Tech Open
3
Mercy Rotich
18:25.77
3rd
New Mexico Junior College Invite
4
Mason Swanson
19:06.20
93rd
Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival
5
Evaline Cheptoo
19:09.20
100th
Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival

Men’s 8k
1
Shane Walsh
26:31.70
109th
Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival
2
Shane Walsh
27:53.40
22nd
Texas Tech Open
3
Lorenzo Juarez
28:11.20
243rd
Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival
4
Garrett Meyer
28:33.50
268th
Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival
5
Lorenzo Juarez
29:22.00
42nd
Texas Tech Open

ALL-TIME ENMU RECORDS
Women’s 5k
1
Mercy Rotich
17:37.70
2018
Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival
2
Mercy Rotich
18:04.70
2018
Texas Tech Open
3
Amber Saiz
18:07.78
2015
Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival
4
Melina Gryschka
18:19.50
2016
Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival
5
Coley Norcross
18:27.46
2015
Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival

Women’s 6k
1
Mercy Rotich
20:36.00
2016
NCAA Division II National Championships
2
Mercy Rotich
21:47.00
2016
NCAA Division II South Central Region Championships
3
Mercy Rotich
22:07.10
2016
Lone Star Conference Championships
4
Melina Gryschka
22:22.60
2016
Lone Star Conference Championships
5
Amber Saiz
22:28.30
2015
NCAA Division II South Central Region Championships

Men’s 8k
1
Isaiah Samoei
24:25.00
2011
Lone Star Conference Championships
2
Mohammed Noor
24:28.86
2010
Lone Star Conference Championships
3
Isaiah Samoei
24:41.85
2015
Oklahoma State Jamboree
4
Isaiah Samoei
24:43.00
2012
Lone Star Conference Championships
5
Omer Almog
24:44.64
2017
New Mexico Junior College Invite

Men’s 10k
1
Isaiah Samoei
29:25.80
2012
NCAA Division II National Championships
2
Nimrod Lelei
30:56.90
2006
Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival
3
Isaiah Samoei
31:05.30
2011
NCAA Division II South Central Region Championships
4
Kaspars Briska
31:05.60
2012
NCAA Division II National Championships
5
Mikey Davila
31:25.75
2017
NCAA Division II South Central Region Championships