NMJC (WXC) Places 5th at NM State
The Thunderbird women's cross country team finished in fifth place behind four Division I programs Saturday, Aug. 31 at the Lori Fitzgerald Memorial Open 5k in Las Cruces, NM
The T-Birds finished the meet with 143 points, which was 121 points behind first-place finisher Texas Tech. NMJC was the top junior college finisher at the meet. The T-Birds defeated El Paso CC by 63 points and NJCAA DII Mesa CC by 38 points. The Thunderbirds also defeated DI UTEP by 32 points.
NMJC was led by freshman Amal Kachouri who finished 15th overall with a time of 18:25.04. The time is 14.20 seconds faster than the Thunderbirds top runner at the same event this time last year.
"Amal ran really well as the No. 1 for us in only her second race," women's cross country head coach Jeff Becker said. "I think she's three seconds off getting 10th all time for us. She's still doesn't know yet exactly how good she can be for our team. She's ahead of the pace of where Damaris was last year at this time. So, I really looked for good things going forward."
Ines Mrabet was just behind Kachouri in 21st place. Mrabet ran in tandem with Kachouri for most of the race as she came across the line in 18:46.42.
"Ines also had a great run. She actually came up on Amal a little bit. They worked together, and they kind of pushed each other a little bit," Becker said. "I think if those two could continue to work together, we're going to be good there with one and two."
The third runner for NMJC for the second straight week was sophomore Jayne Elvin. The Englishwoman finished in 33rd place with a time of 19:13.84. Elvin's finish is 12.24 seconds off her 2023 pace in Las Cruces.
"Jayne was just around a little bit off the time she ran last year," Becker said. "I think Jayne's just kind of building. She's hoping to finish better than what she did last year at nationals and if she does that and she's our number three we're in a good spot."
Francesca Alvarado came in 40th place this weekend with a solid run of 19:33.23. Alvarado vastly improved on her previous 2023 time by 1:09.44. The Texan has moved from the No. 6 spot at the Lori Fitzgerald Memorial to the No. 4 spot in the scoring lineup.
Rounding out the team score was Brazilian Emilly Silva. The freshman came in 41st place with a time of 19:35.63.
Sophomore Tyfane Martins was another returner with a large improvement from 2023-24. Martins finished in 20:09.02 in 51st place which was 1:13.53 faster than what she ran last year.
Sophomore Daphne Kausz is trending in the right direction this year. Kausz finished 53rd in Saturday's race as she crossed the line in 20:15.72. Kausz has run an astonishing 3:01.66 faster than what she ran at the same meet in 2023.
"Daphne and Francesca had big improvements and moved into our top seven runners," Becker said. "I don't think they were in our top seven last year, so that's great to see. You can definitely tell that they took what they had from outdoor track, and they've just built on it during the summer and now it's paying off for them."
Freshman Lisel Ndlovu placed 59th overall with a time of 20:48.10 in the 5k. Hadil Chiha was just behind her in 61st place finishing in 20:55.40. Jody Ann Mitchell was the last T-Bird out on the course crossing the finish line in 21:25.80 for 67th place.
"I was very pleased with the ladies," Becker said. "They showed a little bit of nerves before the race, but once the gun started, they did what they needed to do. Overall, they had a good meet."
"If this group can stay healthy and continue to improve, we're going to have an outstanding season. We're ahead of pace compared to last season, and that's always a good place to be."
The Thunderbirds will have two weeks off before they travel to Lubbock, Texas for the Texas Tech Invitational starting at 8:50 a.m. CDT on Friday, Sept. 13 at the LCU Cross Country Course.
Lori Fitzgerald Memorial Open 5k
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Texas Tech – 22
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Arizona – 61
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NM State – 76
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New Mexico – 98
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NMJC– 143
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UTEP – 175
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Mesa CC – 181
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El Paso CC – 206
