SEATTLE, Wash. - Redshirt senior Corinne Hanson led the NM State women's cross country team to its best team finish since 2017 at the 2021 WAC Championships in Seattle, Wash. As a team, the women finished third with the men coming in sixth-place. 

Hanson had another career day, as she shredded her previous personal-best time by 23 seconds with a time of 21:25.30. That time would give her a fifth-place finish which is the best individual finish by an Aggie in the WAC Championships since 2017 when Crissey Amberg and Julia Yescas finished second and fourth respectively. Hanson's performance earned her a spot on the All-WAC First Team for the first time in her career. 

Sophomore Emily Stutesman had a very solid day as well, as she came up just one second short of beating her personal-best time but would still finish 11th with a time of 21:54.20. Stutesman was also recognized by the WAC, as she earned her first ever spot on the All-WAC Second Team. 

Junior Richelle Sandin (22:43.00) and senior Jess Dominguez (22:49.40) finished 20th and 21st respectively with Mia Regan posting a personal-best time of 23:13.80 to round out the scoring for the Aggies.

On the men's side. sophomore Anekin Hetman led the way for the Aggies with a career-best time of 25:24.80 which would be good enough for 17th-place. Sophomore Kayn Quinones was the second Aggie to cross the finish line, as he finished 26th with a time of 25:59.20. Senior Dylan Godfrey (26:53.50) finished 41st with junior Pedro Espinoza (26:58.20) being right behind him in 43rd-place. Nick Ortiz rounded out the Aggies' lineuep with a time of 28:17.80.

In a normal year, the Aggies would be gearing up to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships via NCAA Regionals, but the NCAA has made the decision that the regionals will not take place this spring. The NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country Committee will select 31 at-large teams from both the men's and women's side plus the top eligible individual finisher at each conference championship who is not part of a qualifying team to compete at the 2020-21 NCAA Cross Country Championships on March 15 in Stillwater, Okla.

For information regarding awards and NCAA Championship selections, follow the Aggies on Twitter @NMStateXCTF.


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