For the first time since 2021, the Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU) women's cross country team participated in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championships. The event was held at the Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo, Colorado, and featured 26 teams with a total of 175 runners from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and Lone Star Conference. ENMU finished 26th overall.
Assistant cross country coach Keyanah Browning commented on the team's progress this season: "We have grown so much as a program and every Greyhound has something be proud of from their accomplishments this season. It's great to see the green and silver represented at a meet like this."
Five athletes competed for ENMU, all experiencing their first regional championship. Chama El Hadiri, named Lone Star Conference freshman of the year and originally from Morocco, was the top finisher for ENMU, placing 58th with a time of 22:40.5.
Elizabeth Lujan-Towles narrowly missed setting a personal record by four seconds, finishing in 142nd place with a time of 25:12.7. Other competitors for ENMU included Joella Mathilda (25:44.7), Madison Manuelito (25:53.9), and Maya Garcia Schafer (26:35.2).
The course consisted of three loops around part of the golf course with varying terrain and elevation changes.
Adams State took first place among teams, followed by UC Colorado Springs, Colorado School of Mines, Western Colorado, and West Texas A&M rounding out the top five. Tristian Spence from Adams State won individually with a time of 20:06.2.
With this race marking the end of their cross country season, Eastern New Mexico's distance runners will now prepare for indoor track and field competitions beginning next month.
