Lobos’ run is 11 straight titles
Kelati leads 1-2-3 finish, but No. 3 UNM barely wins Mountain West meet
SAN DIEGO — Sophomore Weini Kelati led a dazzling 1-2-3 finish for the No. 3 University of New Mexico women, who needed every bit of that to win their 11th consecutive team title Friday at the Mountain West Conference Cross Country Championship.
In a thrilling finish, the Lobos finished with 33 points to 35 for No. 2 Boise State in the low score wins format.
“A fantastic finish. Boise State ranks second in the country and they were the odds-on favorite to beat us,” said UNM coach Joe Franklin. “They ran an exceptional race and we actually thought they had us by three points with 1,000-meters to go, but we finished well and finished on a high-note. It was fun to watch.”
In truth, the league’s coaches earlier this week picked UNM’s women to
win, likely because they knew a little bit about what was coming from the defending national champions.
The emerging Kelati won the 6-kilometer race in a stunning 19 minutes. 49.3 seconds, topping her runner-up status from a year ago and her time by 22 seconds. Reigning league and NCAA champion Ednah Kurgat came in at 20:07.4, and Lobo teammate Charlotte Prouse at 20.11.3.
Led by Allie Ostrander, Boise State then packed to finish fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth. A big assist to UNM came from Air Force senior Jaci Smith, who crossed in fifth place behind Ostrander.
Even so, Boise State started quickly and at one split projected to finish 26 points better than the Lobos before Kelati and Kurgat charged.
On the men’s side, the Lobos finished sixth with 144 points, improving 30 points from the start of the race to the finish line.
Jonny Glen was the top finisher for the Lobos with a 22nd-place finish at 25:27.9.
“The men keep getting better and better and we get closer and closer,” said Franklin. “Our goal is to make the NCAAs in two weeks (at the NCAA Mountain Region Championship). We trained through this race, and we are gunning for two weeks from now.”
The regionals are Nov. 9 in Provo, Utah, and the NCAA Championships are Nov. 17 in Madison, Wis.