PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico cross country is one meet away from the Lone Star Conference championships. This week, the men's and women's programs are previewing the course for conference by attending the DBU Old Glory Gallop in Fort Worth, Texas. Before the Hounds compete, please take a look at the Three Mile Preview:

Mile One – Meet Recap: ENMU cross country last competed at the NMJC Invitational in Hobbs. Emmanuel Hernandez had one of his best meets of the season as he crossed the line in 29:04.3. The top finisher for the men's team was Thomas Aerdts with a 28:55.1 time. For the women, Chama El Hadiri earned a seventh-place individual finish with a 19:29.7 time. Three other Hounds finished the race in under 22 minutes for the women.



Mile Two – More Competition: The DBU Old Glory Gallop is the biggest meet in terms of total competitors for ENMU this season. In total, 43 men's and 49 women's teams will be featured in the field. Several familiar foes will be at this meet as 11 programs from the Lone Star Conference will race in the event. The men will run an 8k course at 8:15 a.m. CT and the women will take on a 5k distance at 9:15 a.m. MT. The course features two main loops at the AP Ranch in Fort Worth, Texas. The course will feature some nearly 180-degree turns but will have its fair share of straightaways.

Mile Three – Who To Watch: Freshman Chama El Hadiri will look to earn a top 25 finish at this weekend's meet. The first year Hound was named the LSC freshman of the week for her performance at the Texas Tech Open in September. Her best time in a 5k this year is 19:29.7. If she repeats the same time as he best 5k of this season, she would have placed 126th out of 485 competitors in the DBU field one year ago. As for the men, Thomas Aerdt's best 8k is 28:03.4, which came at the conference championships in 2024. If he ran that same time at the DBU Old Glory Gallop a year ago he would have placed 225th out of 444 runners. Five men (Thomas Aerdts, Jackson Gable, Emmanuel Hernandez, Brian Norton, and Eloy Serrano-Borrego) will compete for ENMU this weekend. Seven women (Alina Caballero, Chama El-Hadiri, Maya Garcia Schafer, Elizabeth Lujan-Towles, Madison Manuelito, Joella Mathilda, and Valentina Rocabado Salazar) will enter the race for Eastern.