TOP 10 MOMENTS OF 2019-20: WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY FINISHES THIRD AT LSC CHAMPIONSHIPS

General 7/28/2020 12:08:00 PM Ryan Shumaker

Moment number eight on our “Top Ten Moments of 2019-20” series came back on Oct. 26^th as the Eastern New Mexico women’s cross country team finished in third place at the Lone Star Conference Cross Country Championships.

The third place finish for the Greyhounds marked the second straight year in which the women’s team has finished in the top three of the LSC Championships, and also marked the second year in which a Greyhound was named the LSC Newcomer of the Year. Junior Aminata Kenyawani took home the honor in 2019 after finishing in sixth place with a time of 23:01.54, while the 2018 LSC Newcomer of the Year recipient Evaline Cheptoo of Eastern New Mexico finished in ninth place with a time of 23:14.58.

Kenyawani and Cheptoo’s top ten finishes paved the way for the Hounds to finish with just 90 points for the meet, five points behind West Texas A&M for second place and 28 points clear of Dallas Baptist for fourth place. Junior Neri Getraide also performed at the top of her game on that morning in Silver City, N.M., crossing the finish line with a time of 23:50.2 to finish in 17^th place and wrap up a quality top three scorers for the Hounds.

Juniors Kayla Sisneros and Mason Swanson finished in 28^th and 30^th place with times of 24:22.07 and 24.28.80 respectively to round out the fourth and fifth scoring finishes for the Greyhounds. Eastern New Mexico and Lubbock Christian, who were crowned 2019 LSC Champions on the women’s side after finishing with 64 points, were the only two teams to have all five scored runners finish in the top 30 of the event.

Both Kenyawani and Cheptoo received All-Lone Star Conference honors for their top-10 finishes at the event, marking the second year in a row that multiple Greyhounds were named to the All-Lone Star Conference team after Cheptoo, Swanson and senior Mercy Rotich earned the accolade in 2018.

The outstanding performance for Eastern New Mexico at the LSC Championships paved the way for a 13^th place finish at the South Central Regional Cross Country Meet a few weeks later on Nov. 9 in Canyon, Texas.