Athletic Report
October 6, 2001

GILBERT PLACES 31ST AT TEXAS TECH OPEN
LUBBOCK, TX — Junior cross country runner Jonathan Gilbert (Jr., Saco, ME/U. of Massachusetts) placed 31st and freshman runner Robert Fear (Artesia, NM/Artesia H.S.) finished 32nd to lead the Eastern New Mexico University men’s cross country team at the Texas Tech Open on Oct. 6.

Debbie Hernandez (So., Lovington, NM/Lovington H.S.) was ENMU’s top runner in the women’s race, as she took 33rd place. Gilbert completed the 8-kilometer men’s race in 30:13. He finished twelve seconds ahead of Fear, who clocked in at 30:25. The individual men’s champion was Moses Kimeli of South Plains College. Kimeli finished the race in 25:31.

Other runners for ENMU were Jason Mackey (Fr., Hobbs, NM/Hobbs H.S.), Ryan Cook (Fr., Albuquerque, NM/La Cueva H.S.) and Jordan Benge (Fr., Albuquerque, NM/Eldorado H.S.). Mackey ran the course in 31:32 to take 37th place. Cook’s time was 32:39, which placed him 39th. Benge clocked in at 33:47 for 40th place.

The men’s team championship went to South Plains with a score of 32. Texas Tech University was 2nd at 57 points, followed by New Mexico State at 58 points. Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute took 4th place withy 85 points. West Texas A&M was 5th with 121 points, and ENMU finished 6th with 167 points.

In the women’s race, New Mexico State won the team title with a perfect score of 15. The Aggies were led by Rachael Cuellar, who claimed the individual championship with a time of 19:22 over the 5-kilometer course. New Mexico Junior College finished 2nd in the team race, with 61 points. West Texas A&M was 3rd with 73 points, while Texas Tech and SW Indian Polytechnic Institute tied for 4th with 102 points.

ENMU did not field a full team in the women’s division. Hernandez finished the course in 24:12 for the Zias. Freshman runner Jana Villegas, from Carlsbad, N.M. (Carlsbad H.S.) also competed for ENMU. She clocked in with a time of 25:34 and finished 38th.

The Greyhounds and Zias will run again on Thursday, Oct. 11 at the Angelo State Classic in San Angelo, Texas. Race time is set for 4:00 p.m. (MST). San Angelo will also be the site of the Lone Star Conference Cross Country Meet on Saturday, Oct. 20.