Eastern New Mexico University's women's and men's cross country teams are preparing to compete in the NMJC Dr. Steve McCleery Invitational, which will be hosted by New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, New Mexico.
The ENMU women's team recently finished tenth at the Texas Tech Open, an event that included several local and regional colleges as well as Lone Star Conference teams. During this meet, Chama El Hadiri received recognition as the Lone Star Conference women's freshman of the week for posting the best 6k time among conference freshmen. The women's team finished ahead of Angelo State and UT Permian Basin, while trailing Western New Mexico by a small margin. On the men's side, Eastern placed fourth out of five programs, with Eloy Serrano Borrego leading the Greyhounds with a 5k time of 16:17.93.
At this weekend's invitational, nine schools and 69 student-athletes are expected to participate in the men's race. Eastern's male runners include Thomas Aerdts, Jackson Gable, Emmanuel Hernandez, Brian Norton, and Eloy Serrano Borrego. The women's field will feature 11 schools with 60 competitors; ENMU's female representatives are Alina Caballero, Chama El Hadiri, Maya Garcia Schafer, Elizabeth Lujan-Towles, Joella Mathilda, and Valentina Rocabado Salazar.
The competition will take place Friday morning at Harry McAdams Park. The women's 5k is scheduled for 9 a.m., followed by the men's 8k at 9:45 a.m. This year’s meet has been renamed NMJC Dr. Steve McCleery Invitational to honor New Mexico Junior College’s former president. The course consists mainly of flat grassy terrain; women will run two loops for their race while men complete three loops for theirs. Course records stand at 17:16.27 for women and 22:45.60 for men.
Live results from the races will be shared after the competition concludes.
