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2002 UNM Cross Country: Giant Steps and Great Expectations
Lobos looking to stay healthy and take care of unfinished business in 2003.
Jan. 8, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The 2002 University of New Mexico cross country season provided a glimpse of what success could lie ahead for head coach Matt Henry's young program. In his third year at New Mexico, Henry had his Lobo men challenging the nation's best, while the women appeared primed to make a move up the Mountain West Conference standings. An unfortunate wave of injuries hampered both the men's and women's efforts late in the year, but the continued improvement of the program was undeniable. With 100 percent of the men's and women's teams set to return next fall, the New Mexico cross country program could be on the brink of something truly special in 2003. The men's team made the biggest splash in 2002, opening the season with three-straight victories en route to a No. 27 national ranking. UNM dropped out of the national top-30 following a series of midseason injuries to most of its top five runners, however the Lobos refused to end the season quietly. Despite the absence of all-conference runner Ben Ortega, New Mexico displayed not only great depth, but also tremendous desire in a third place finish at the MWC Championships, its best performance at a conference meet since 1991. Two weeks later, with most of its athletes still hobbled, UNM gutted out a seventh place finish in front of its home fans at the elite NCAA Mountain Region Championships in Albuquerque. Despite knocking off No. 26 Utah State, the Lobos fell six painful points shy of upending 15th-ranked Colorado State and were denied an at-large team bid to the NCAA Championships. However, with his eighth place finish at the regional meet, junior Matt Gonzales earned his second-straight automatic bid the NCAA meet to ensure New Mexico¹s representation once again on the national stage. After a solid start of their own, the UNM women's team was also hit hard by a series of injuries. Perhaps the devastating blow came when sophomore Jacquelyne Gallegos was seriously injured in a car accident following the team¹s second meet of the year. Gallegos, a 2001 NCAA qualifier, was coming off a career-best second place finish at the UNM Lobo Invitational and led the women to runner-up performances in each of their first two races before the accident. Junior Sarah Gonzales led the Lobos in the final five meets of the year, but was never quite able to shake a season-long wave of illness. Fortunately for New Mexico, several young runners were able to gain valuable experience in 2002. True freshmen Karina Hill-Hurtado, Timmie Murphy and Janice Tosa all saw significant action and performed well, while junior transfer Amanda Swann displayed excellent ability, when healthy, in her first year of Division I competition.
Overall, both squads showed tremendous potential for future success under
the guidance of Matt and Mark Henry. With a strong core of seniors leading
the team, the UNM men are poised to emerge as a real national force next
fall. Meanwhile, the return of a healthy Gallegos and Gonzales, combined
with the steady development of the Lobos' underclassmen, could have the New
Mexico women primed for a strong resurgence.
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