Colorado Springs, Colorado - NMHU Cross Country competed at the 2025 RMAC Championships on Saturday morning at Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs. The women's team finished 11th in the 15 team field while the men were 12th.
Speaking after the race, NMHU head Coach
Bob DeVries said, "I grew up in the RMAC - once as an athlete and 35 years as a coach. It means something to me to race well, race with intention, and fight for the team. We didn't do that across the board and that's my responsibility. I have to fuel the passion for competing and battling every time you put on the HU jersey."
On positives from NMHU on Saturday DeVries said, "Outstanding races from
Taylor Begay and
Xavier Martinez - two freshmen who really stepped up. Xavier chopped nearly 30 seconds off his time on the same course two weeks ago."
In the women's 6k, freshman
Joan Kuyo was the top finisher at 22:51.5. She was followed by
Summer Abeyta (23:04.2) and
Taylor Begay (23:22.3). Cowgirls
Hailey Renteria (24:40.1) and
Harlee Jaramillo (27:44.0) rounded out the point scorers.
"Joan was not 100% today," said DeVries. "We expected her to be in the Top 10 and she struggled."
In the men's race, sophomore
Weldon Chebon finished the 8k in 24:32.7 good for a seventh place finish and a second consecutive First Team All-RMAC.
"Weldon was in a good spot at 5k, but he got a bit impatient and took the lead," observed DeVries. "We will learn from this and go after it at regionals."
Rounding out the men's finishes,
Xavier Martinez crossed the finish line at 25:59.7,
MackDonald Kiprop ran a 28:24.9,
Jude Martinez went 31:07.0, and
Alonso Torres posted a 32:27.4.
"The men raced without our #2 man
James Kurui. He'll be back for Regionals," said DeVries.
"There are 13 ranked teams in the RMAC. It's so damn tough to even get into the top ten," concluded DeVries. "We have a couple of weeks to reset and reboot for the regional."
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