Eastern New Mexico University's women's cross country team finished fourth at the New Mexico Junior College Dr. Steve McCleery Invitational, held Friday morning at Harry McAdams Park in Hobbs, New Mexico.
Assistant coach Keyanah Browning commented on the team's performance, saying, "Our women just didn't feel their best today. Some days the legs respond and other days they don't. What matters is how they respond moving forward and I know they will come back stronger." She added, "Today wasn't our day and the results showed that. Our student-athletes didn't feel their best physically, but that is part of the sport. We will regroup, recover, and be ready to respond next time."
The Greyhounds outperformed conference rival UT Permian Basin and narrowly missed third place by one point to Angelo State in the team standings.
The 5k race took runners on two loops around Harry McAdams Park, with a course that was mostly grassy and flat but included some hills for elevation changes.
New Mexico Junior College won the event with four athletes finishing in the top ten.
Freshman Chama El Hadiri led Eastern New Mexico with a seventh-place finish. Her time of 19:29.7 was the fastest among NCAA Division II runners and ranked as the third quickest by a freshman in the field.
Other top finishers for ENMU included Madison Manuelito (21:31.2), Elizabeth Lujan-Towles (21:38.7), and Joella Mathilda (21:52.0), who stayed together for much of the race. Maya Garcia Schafer (22:21.6), Alina Caballero (23:07.0), and Valentina Rocabado Salazar (26:45.4) also completed the course for Eastern New Mexico.
The team will next compete at the DBU Old Glory Gallop on October 11, an event expected to draw nearly 40 teams from across the region and serve as a preview for this season's conference cross country championships.
