T-Bird Men Win Western Texas 6K

The New Mexico Junior College men's and women's cross country teams won their respective races in Snyder, Texas at the Western Texas Meet Friday, Aug. 26.

The T-Bird men took home top honors with a perfect score of 15 in 6K. Runners receive points based on where they finish in the race. One point is awarded for first place, two points for second, three points for third, and so on.

The Thunderbirds top performer was German Vega. The freshman finished with a meet winning time of 19:51.00. German's twin brother Tomas Vega was not far behind coming in second with a time of 20:10.00 followed by Evans Pololet in third (20:31.11), Chris Korir in fourth (21:09.00), and Alex Keter crossing the line in fifth at 21:48.78.

The women's team put on a near identical performance in their 5K race at Western Texas finishing with perfect score of 15 in 5k.

The T-Birds were led by freshman Damaris Chewon, who ran a 19:50.40 to finish first in the meet on the women's side. Sophomores anchored the back half of the lineup for the T-Bird women. Letlhogonolo Magoro was awarded second place with a time of 21:34.60, followed by Daisy Jerop in third (21:49.40), Minankolo Magassa in fourth (21:64.90), and Joan Kimalel rounding out the top five with a time of 22:16.20.

Freshman Morgan Waltmire of Roswell, N.M. ran a 22:24.70 with fellow freshman Vanessa Gallegos of Lovington, N.M. crossing the finish line just behind her with a time of 22:26.70.

Head coach Jeff Becker was eager for the season to start and see how his teams have improved since last year.  

"The meet went really well for both the men and women," Becker said. "I was most impressed by how our sophomores stepped up and all ran faster this year compared to last. I am looking forward to a successful season for both our men and women this year."