It was a strong start for the University of New Mexico cross country teams.

The women's team finished  first and the men's second at the Lori Fitzgerald Open Sept. 18.

“It was a great start to the year and a rust buster for  both teams," Head Coach Joe Franklin said in a news release. "The  women ran very, very well. Samrawit Dishon was  fantastic, and it was  great to have Juanita Johnson back after 20 months away from UNM. They  ran well on the men’s side even though the top  runner (Ibrahim) Abdirizak did not run.” 

With 35 points, the women's team took first place in the meet, followed by New Mexico State University. 

For the women's team, sophomore Dishon was the first cross the finish line, with a time of 17:11.04, followed by sophomore Semira Mebrahtu Firezghi who had a sixth-place finish at 17:54.81.

University of Texas El Paso finished first on the men's side with UNM coming in second.

Awet Yohannes was the first Lobo runner to finish, coming in fourth overall with a time of 15:08.85, followed by senior Reece Donihi in fifth place and a time of 15:09.13.

“Overall, it was a great start to the year and should put everyone in a great position for our next meet at Notre Dame,” Franklin said.

The Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational will be held Oct. 1 in South Bend, Ind.