PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico women's and men's cross country are set for the NMJC Dr. Steve McCleery Invitational hosted by New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, N.M. Before the races, please look at the Three Mile Preview.
Mile One – Honoring Success: ENMU women's program is coming off a tenth-place finish at the Texas Tech Open. The competition featured several local regional college/universities, including a handful of teams from the Lone Star Conference. One Greyhound earned a special recognition for a great start to the season at the meet.
Chama El Hadiri was named the LSC women's freshman of the week after clocking the best 6k time for a freshman among runners from the conference. Eastern finished ahead of two conference foes – Angelo State and UT Permian Basin. The Hounds were just a couple points behind Western New Mexico. As for the men, Eastern finished fourth among five programs. The top racer for the Greyhounds was
Eloy Serrano Borrego who finished the 5k in 16:17.93.
Mile Two – The Field: Nine schools and 69 student-athletes are expected to compete in the men's race this weekend. Eastern is expected to be represented by
Thomas Aerdts,
Jackson Gable,
Emmanuel Hernandez,
Brian Norton, and
Eloy Serrano Borrego. As for the women, there will be 11 schools with 60 competitors. Competing for ENMU includes
Alina Caballero,
Chama El Hadiri,
Maya Garcia Schafer,
Elizabeth Lujan-Towles,
Joella Mathilda, and
Valentina Rocabado Salazar.
Mile Three – Course Outlook: Friday morning's race is slated to begin at 9 a.m. for the women's 5k. The men's 8k will start at 9:45 a.m. The meet will be held at Harry McAdams Park and an exciting change was announced by NMJC earlier in the week. The annual meet has a new name (NMJC Dr. Steve McCleery Invitational) honoring the institution's former president. The 5k race features two loops and the 8k race will have three loops. Overall, the landscape is relatively flat and grassy terrain. The course record for women is 17:16.27 and the record for men is 22:45.60. For fans seeking live results, they will be shared after the competition.
