SEATTLE – The New Mexico State cross country teams took on the best from around the league at the Jefferson Park Golf Course as a part of the Western Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday. The women placed fourth as a team while the men finished in seventh.
Julia Yescas and
Jess Dominguez were named to the All-WAC Second Team following the meet.
"The women had a solid day, We knew the three through six spots would be pretty tight. We did a good job getting ourselves in position to move up through the race," assistant coach
Joseph Rath said. "
Julia Yescas had a fantastic day. For her, coming back from being injured and missing the last two races, having a top-10 performance to lead our team was great."
On the women's side, Yescas led the squad with a time of 21:15.50 for 10 place in the 6k race. Dominguez followed closely behind in 13
th clocking in at 21:25.40.
Stephanie Quintero (21:49.30) and
Leah Salazar (21:52.70) took home 22
nd and 23
rd, respectively with
Elana Kresl (22:01.30) in 27
th rounding out the Aggie squad.
For the men's team,
Abel Ketema crossed the finish line first for NM State, placing 20th in the 8k race, clocking in at 25:05.30.
Iley Bruce took 21
st place with a time of 25:05.40.
James McLain finished in 34
th (25:28.40) while
Matt Goddard placed 43
rd (25:41.40). Rounding out the New Mexico State squad was
Dylan Godfrey, who took 45
th when he clocked in with a time of 25:44.60.
"We had a rough day up front for the men. Our freshmen did a good job stepping up and coming through with personal records," Rath said. "Abel led us again and Iley finished just behind him, but it was a great day for out three, four, and five runners who all ran personal bests."
The Aggies are back in action on Friday, Nov. 9, when they take on elite competition at the NCAA Mountain Regionals in Provo, Utah.
