Lobos capture second championship in Louisville

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

New Mexico returned Saturday to E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park and delivered another memorable performance, relying on individual winner Ednah Kurgat and the strength of its first four runners placing in the top 14 to capture a second NCAA Division 1 women's cross country title in three years with a 90-105 victory over San Francisco.

Kurgat, a redshirt sophomore who placed 12th as a freshman at Liberty on the same course in 2015, covered the 6-kilometer layout in 19 minutes, 19.4 seconds, with freshman Weini Kelati placing seventh in 19:35.8, junior Charlotte Prouse finishing 12th in 19:48.9 and senior Alice Wright securing her fourth All-America honor with a 14th-place effort in 19:49.7.

Kurgat became the first female runner since Villanova's Sheila Reid in 2010 to capture individual and team championships in the same year.

Freshman Alondra Negron Texidor, who was more than 20 seconds off the lead pack in 170th at the 2-kilometer mark, patiently moved up throughout the race and finished 85th in 20:36.7 for the Lobos, who became the ninth Division 1 women's program to win multiple titles.

San Francisco produced its highest finish in program history, relying on 10,000-meter champion Charlotte Taylor taking third (19:28.6), Weronika Pyzik placing fifth (19:34) and Isabelle Brauer securing 15th (19:50) to finish well ahead of Colorado (139 points), which was led by Dani Jones' 10th-place finish (19:46.9). It was the second year in a row Colorado finished third

Stanford, led by Fiona O'Keeffe taking 13th in 19:49.3, was fourth (165 points) and defending-champion Oregon finished fifth (203 points). Katie Rainsberger placed 16th (19:50.5) for the Ducks.

Washington's Amy Eloise-Neale, in 10th place at the 5-kilometer mark, closed in impressive fashion to finish second in 19:26.9. Boise State's Allie Ostrander, the reigning NCAA 3,000-meter steeplechase champion, placed fourth in 19:31.2.

Missouri's Karissa Schweizer, last year's champion, fell out of contention over the final two kilometers and finished 11th in 19:47.7.