DENVER, Colo. – The Eastern New Mexico cross country teams braved the cold, snowy elements at the NCAA Division II South Central Region Championships being held at Washington Park in Denver, as the women’s team came away with 17th place while the men finished in 26th on Saturday.
Senior Mercy Rotich paced the women’s team, crossing the finish line in 22:18.7 to come away with 15th place. The next Hound to cross the finish line was junior Evaline Cheptoo with the 62nd fastest time of 23:51.1.
Mason Swanson turned in the third-best time for the Greyhounds with a 24:28.2, placing her in third followed by Sierra Quinones with a 26:08.0. Rounding out the ENMU scorers was Abby Kepfer, crossing the finish line in 26:26.9.
In the men’s race, senior Shane Walsh ended his Greyhounds career with a 10k time of 33:56.3 for 89th place. Seniors Garrett Meyer and Lorenzo Juarez finished their ENMU careers side-by-side as Garrett’s 35:21.0 and Juarez’s 35:21.4 were good enough for 139th and 140th places.
Sophomore Shane Rinde turned in a time of 36:36.6 and junior Louis Boulander rounded out the Hounds scoring with a time of 37:17.4.
With Rotich coming in 15th place, she could potentially qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championships, being held at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Dec. 1, for the second time in her career. The championship field will be set at a later date.
