STILLWATER, OKLA . — The Eastern New Mexico University men’s and women’s cross country teams ran exceptional personal times against quality competition at the Oklahoma State University Cowboy Jamboree on Saturday, Oct. 2, in Stillwater, Okla. The ENMU men’s team, competing in the University Division against mostly NCAA Division I and top NCAA Division II teams, finished 20th out of 21 teams. The Zias, also in the University Division, finished last out of 18 teams.

Both teams had personal best finishes for all runners, as the Greyhounds and Zias ran very well for first-year Head Coach Joel McMullen. The men’s team was led by Patrick McGuire (Jr., Tacoma, WA/Highline CC), who completed the 8-kilometer race in 27:15 and placed 86th among runners eligible to score for their teams. In the women’s race, Lynnae Chavez (Jr., Cimarron, NM/ Cimmaron HS) was Eastern’s top finisher with a time of 21:53 for the 5-kilometer run. She took 105th place among runners eligible to score.

The men’s team title in the University Division went to the University of Arkansas with a score of 47. Josphat Boit of Arkansas won medalist honors with a time of 23:52 to finish eight seconds ahead of Peter Kosgei of Harding University. The women’s championship was won by Texas Tech University with a team score of 50. Individual medalist honors went to Faithy Kamangila of Oral Roberts University in 17:36. Second place was won by Desiraye Osburn of Wichita State University in 17:38.

McGuire was followed by freshman runner Jason Garcia (Alamogordo, NM/Alamogordo HS), who placed 91st with a time of 27:31. Orlando Sanchez (Jr., Los Lunas, NM/Los Lunas HS) was Eastern’s third finisher in 28:01 for 111th place. Kennedy Baiywo (Fr., Eldoret, Kenya/ Samoei Secondary School) clocked in at 28:55 for 125th place and Tyrone Lockett (Fr., Levelland, TX/ Levelland HS) was timed at 29:05 for 127th place.

For the Zias, Chavez finished just 11 seconds in front of Karissa Huskey (Sr., Wheeping Water, NE/Nebraska Wesleyan University), who placed 109th with a time of 22:04. Lindsey Roberts (Fr., San Antonio, TX/Madison HS) completed the race in 22:28 for 110th place, while Brittany Bauer (Fr., San Antonio, TX/Ronald Reagan HS) recorded a time of 22:34 for 112th place. Laura Shorty (Fr., Crownpoint, NM/Crownpoint HS) was Eastern’s fifth scoring runner, as she finished in 23:23 for 115th place. Lisa Lopez (So., Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad HS) also ran for the Zias and took 116th in 23:38.

The Greyhounds and Zias compete again on Tuesday, Oct. 12, at Angelo State University. The women’s race (5-kilometers) will begin at 4:10 p.m. MDT, with the men’s race (5 miles) to follow at 4:45 p.m. MDT.