Four MWC Teams Finish in the Top 20 at the 2009 NCAA DI Cross Country Championships

New Mexico's Jacob Kirwa and BYU's Cecily Lemmon Lew earn All-America honors

Nov. 24, 2009

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -

Four Mountain West Conference teams placed in the top 20 at the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships, held yesterday in Terre Haute, Ind. The New Mexico men's squad earned its best NCAA finish in program history, placing eighth overall, while the BYU men finished 17th. On the women's side, the Lobos had their best team showing since 1981, finishing 13th, followed by the Cougars in 19th place.

Jacob Kirwa paced the Lobo men's team, coming in 11th overall with a 10K time of 29:46.1, marking the third-best individual finish in UNM history. Kirwa became the second Lobo to earn All-America honors since 2007, and the eighth All-American in men's program history. Rich Nelson, a senior from BYU, was the next MWC runner to cross the finish line, clocking a time of 30:33.7 to place 60th. New Mexico's Rory Fraser (30:35.2/63rd), BYU's Tommy Gruenewald (30:35.2/64th) and Air Force's Justin Tyner (30:37.6/71st) also finished in the top-100.

BYU's Cecily Lemmon Lew finished first among MWC contestants in the women's race to lead the Cougars. The junior ran the 6K course in 20:11.9 to finish 10th and earn her first cross country All-America accolade. She was followed by New Mexico junior Ruth Senior, who placed 46th with a time of 20:50.9. Fellow Lobos Nicky Archer (21:05.7/68th) and Lacey Oeding (21:10.1/79th) joined Lew and Senior in top-100.

The following is a complete list of MWC individuals who competed at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships.

2009 NCAA DIVISION I CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Men's 10,000 Meter Individual Results
Place	TmPl.	No.	Name	Class	School	Finish
11	9	402	Jacob Kirwa	Sr.	New Mexico	29:46.1
60	50	104	Rich Nelson	Sr.	BYU	30:33.7
63	53	399	Rory Fraser	Sr.	New Mexico	30:35.2
64	54	99	Tommy Gruenewald	So.	BYU	30:35.2
71		1	Justin Tyner	Jr.	Air Force	30:37.6
108	85	395	Chris Barnicle	Sr.	New Mexico	31:01.4
111	87	105	Nate Ogden	Jr.	BYU	31:03.2
115	91	397	Lee Emanuel	Sr.	New Mexico	31:04.8
142	112	396	David Bishop	Sr.	New Mexico	31:19.1
150	119	403	Ross Millington	Fr.	New Mexico	31:23.2
161	128	400	Keith Gerrard	Jr.	New Mexico	31:27.5
171	137	97	Miles Batty	So.	BYU	31:32.1
174	140	100	Brandon Hebbert	Sr.	BYU	31:36.5
194	159	102	Ryan Merriman	Sr.	BYU	31:53.3
222	186	96	Alden Bahr	So.	BYU	32:34.1
Women's 6,000 Meter Individual Results
Place	TmPl.	No.	Name	Class	School	Finish
10	10	90	Cecily Lemmon Lew	Jr.	BYU	20:11.9
46	39	392	Ruth Senior	Jr.	New Mexico	20:50.9
68	56	381	Nicky Archer	Sr.	New Mexico	21:05.7
79	63	390	Lacey Oeding	So.	New Mexico	21:10.1
101	83	94	Angela Wagner	Sr.	BYU	21:18.7
119	96	92	Nicole Nielsen	Fr.	BYU	21:25.9
126	102	387	Delyth James	Jr.	New Mexico	21:28.2
128		128	Kristen Hemphill	Sr.	Colorado State	21:30.2
135	108	382	Carolyn Boosey	Sr.	New Mexico	21:32.9
159	131	89	Rachel Lange	So.	BYU	21:43.6
161	133	85	Katy Andrews	So.	BYU	21:45.0
162		129	Ellie Rastall	So.	Colorado State	21:45.1
184	150	88	Sarah Edwards	Fr.	BYU	21:55.3
191	155	384	Ashley Gibson	Sr.	New Mexico	21:59.9
228	190	391	Vanessa Ortiz	Sr.	New Mexico	22:32.9