San Diego State womens’ cross country placed eighth at the Mountain West Championships on Oct. 29 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Top schools such as Utah State, Boise State and New Mexico competed for the title.
The Aztecs raced at high altitude, normally a disadvantage for teams along the coast. The environmental pressures did not stop SDSU from beating all sea-level schools that day.
Nicole Meyer, a sophomore, was the first Aztec to cross the line for her team. Meyer placed 60th overall with a time of 21:56. A few runners later, Amber Elias placed 66th overall, with a time of 22:21.
Elias is a sophomore but did not compete in cross country last season. Instead, she competed as a track and field athlete. The championship was Elias’ first time racing in a competition as big as the Mountain West.
“I had a great experience,” Elias said.
The Aztecs have shown great improvement from their previous seasons. A group filled with talent, the team competed against top-running programs like Arizona State and New Mexico.
The team placed eighth, coming close to beating the top schools.
SDSU holds the ability to stay in the loop with the strong competition the Mountain West Conference holds. The Aztecs plan to keep building on each season.
“The team is super motivated to beat some ranked schools,” Elias said.
The runners have placed in the top finishing schools this season. Their biggest win of the season thus far was on Oct. 16 in Riverside, placing fifth out of 25 schools.
Setting the team up to be recognized on the map is what SDSU is working hard for in the next two weeks before Regionals.
Each week, a new runner is leading the pack, making the team come together to push each other to be better.
“When a teammate is having a bad race, one of us always steps up,” Elias said.
Women’s cross country is moving onto bigger opportunities to become a ranked program and can compete with top running programs all over the country.
The Aztecs will be in Sacramento, on Nov. 12 for the NCAA West Regionals.
