Following three successful weekends of racing, the New Mexico Highlands University men's cross-country program has moved into the top-ten in the USTFCCCA Regional rankings. The HU men are #10 in this week's rankings-- the first time since 2016 the men have been ranked this high among the programs in the tough South Central Region. The South Central region combines schools from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (15 programs) and Lone Star Conference (18 programs) and teams from the South Central region have won 17 of the last twenty cross country national championships.
"You can't overstate how strong this region is when it comes to cross country," says HU head coach
Bob DeVries, "There are seven nationally ranked teams in the region right now including four of the top ten in the country."
DeVries, who has guided the HU program to five national championship appearances including two top ten finishes at the NCAA meet, feels this year's squad has a chance to add to that history. "Usually six, sometimes seven teams make it out of regional with the new qualifying format. We aren't there yet, but our men are staying focused on being better racers and preparing for the regional championship race in November." Three teams from each of eight regions automatically qualify for the national championships with the remaining eight spots being awarded to teams based on season long performances.
The Cowboys are coming off consecutive runner-up finishes at the Castaneda Classic hosted by Colorado College and the Lori Fitzgerald Invite at New Mexico State University. HU's
Andrew Amor was the individual champion in each of those races. Both the Highlands men and women will race at home next week. The HU XC Jam starts at 2PM Friday (Oct.1) at the Gene Torres Golf Course..
