PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico cross country continues the 2024 season with the NMHU XC Jam meet Friday afternoon at the Gene Torres Golf Course. Before ENMU heads north for the competition, please take a look at the Five Mile Preview:
Mile One – Looking Back: The Greyhounds last competed at the Mustang Derby in Wichita Falls, Texas on September 12. The women's program earned an eighth-place nod while the men finished in seventh. Leading the way for the women's program was freshman
Elizabeth Lujan-Towles who paced her way to a 15:33.3 4k time to place in the top 30. Freshman
Bryan Hernandez zoomed his way to a top 25 placement with a 20:55.9 time in the 6k race. The two newcomers have been the top runners early-on for Eastern New Mexico. Both are expected to compete at the NMHU XC Jam.
Mile Two – All Five In: ENMU ran all five female student-athletes in the last meet for the first time during the 2024 season. The 2-5 finishers for Eastern included
Sanne Janssen (16:57.7),
Valentina Rocabado Salazar (17:13.2),
Sylvia Lagat (17:28.9), and
Faith Jepchirchir (18:59.4). Lagat and Jepchirchir competed in their first ever collegiate race, while Janssen and Rocabado Salazar ran in their second collegiate meets. The five runners will represent Eastern New Mexico in Las Vegas Friday.
Mile Three – Meet Experience: Seven student-athletes represented the men's program at the Mustang Derby.
Thomas Aerdts,
Brian Norton, and
Alec Forney saw action in their first race of the season, while
Bryan Hernandez,
Justin Sauceda,
Jackson Gable, and
Ethan Woodrome competed for the second time in 2024. The runners to follow Hernandez (20:55.9) included Sauceda (21:34.3), Aerdts (21:40.7), Norton (21:45.9), and Gable (22:22.9). Hernandez, Sauceda, Woodrome, and Gable are expected to compete at the meet hosted by in-state foe New Mexico Highlands.
Mile Four – History in Vegas: Eastern New Mexico will be competing at NMHU for the third-straight season. Eastern won the meet on the women's side in 2022 as they had three finishers in the top-five.
Ethan Woodrome is the only Greyhound to run in the meet previously. He finished the 7k race in 26:50.5 in 2022 and completed the meet in 28:06.8 in 2023. This year, the course will be slightly adjusted as it will be an 8k instead of the typical 7k for the NMHU XC Jam. The change comes as the program prepares to host the conference championships for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference next month.
Mile Five – The Course: The meet will be run at the Gene Torres Golf Course in Las Vegas, N.M. The width of the course can loop nearly 3000 meters, however trail will only utilize the eastern half of the course with two full loops for the women and three loops for the men before a 1,360 meter sprint to the finish line. The beginning of the race will see the runners on the fourth hole of the golf course and the first hole will be designated for the finish. Fans attending the event will be asked to arrive to the golf course via Mills Avenue.
