NCAA DI Championships: Mission Accomplished For New Mexico

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Reality set in for eventual national champion New Mexico after the Wisconsin adidas Invitational in mid-October.

Just a few hours before, the Lady Lobos dominated a loaded field stacked with 20 nationally-ranked teams. Maybe “dominated” is putting it lightly. Each of the five runners who scored for New Mexico finished in the top-10. Joe Franklin’s team notched a meet-record 32 points and nearly tallied six times fewer points than runner-up Arkansas (188).

After watching his juggernaut roll once again – the Lady Lobos cruised at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational two weeks prior (29 points) – Franklin gathered them in a circle and made sure they understood the ramifications.

“We told them, ‘You have the potential to be one of the greatest teams in history.’” Franklin said.

Note the word “potential.” It takes a special kind of athlete to turn “potential” into reality.

Franklin collected seven of them in Albuquerque, of which four – Rhona Auckland, Courtney Frerichs, Calli Thackery and Alice Wright – combine to make the “Formidable Four,” “Fab Four,” or whatever moniker you want to use.

“After that talk was when we really took off,” said Frerichs, who transferred to New Mexico in July after an outstanding career at UMKC. “Our workouts became amazing – even better than they already were – and we got closer and closer as a team.

“When we work out together, I truly feel empowered by the girls and not like I was competing, like I felt before. I just felt an incredible specialness.”

How New Mexico trains, is how it races, is how it celebrates and is how it interviews: together.

This past Saturday at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, the Lady Lobos put on a masterclass performance centered on determination and teamwork.

Knowing potential history hung in the balance, New Mexico’s runners stayed with Franklin’s tried-and-true plan at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park – hang back, work together to move up – and steamrolled to the program’s first national title. The Lady Lobos went from 160 points at 2K to 49 at the finish (fewest in the modern era), moved up 210 total places (three runners picked off more than 60 spots each) and posted the fifth largest margin of victory ever (70 points).

“We wanted it so badly for one another,” Frerichs said. “We knew what we had was so special that we wanted to make a statement with that and do it for each other.”

Frerichs admitted she and her teammates also wanted to quiet some doubters.

“A lot of people said, ‘Oh, they’ve got it on paper, but I don’t know if they can do it on the course,’” said Frerichs, who was one of five All-Americans for New Mexico. “I think we showed we’re just as good on paper as we are on the course.”

What’s next for New Mexico? The Lady Lobos were hesitant to use the “d” word (dynasty), but they’re well aware the future is bright.

“This is going to be for our program like what Wisconsin was to us,” Frerichs said. “I think this is the start of something special.”