Eastern New Mexico University's women's cross country team finished 18th at the DBU Old Glory Gallop, a 5k race that featured 51 teams and 408 runners. The event marked one of the team's strongest performances of the season.
Assistant coach Keyanah Browning commented on the team's effort: "It was nice to see how we match up against others teams we have not competed against. This was one of out better meets where we worked together as a team to close gaps."
Freshman Chama El-Hadiri led Eastern New Mexico with a 26th place finish overall and was the 18th fastest runner from a Division II program, completing the race in 18:22.97. Madison Manuelito followed as the team's second finisher, setting a personal best with a time of 20:16.13. Elizabeth Lujan-Towles also contributed with a time of 20:25.05.
First-year runner Joella Matilda recorded her own personal best at 20:30.56, while Maya Garcia Schafer rounded out Eastern's top five runners with a time of 21:07.80. Additional finishers for Eastern included Alina Caballero (22:12.94) and Valentina Rocabado Salazar (26:16.83).
The Greyhounds will have two weeks to prepare for the Lone Star Conference cross country championship, which is scheduled for October 25 at the same course used for the DBU Old Glory Gallop.
