NMJC (MXC) Places 4th in Las Cruces
The Thunderbird men finished in fourth place Saturday, Aug. 30 at the NM State- Lori Fitzgerald Memorial in Las Cruces, NM.
New Mexico won on the men's side with 42 points, followed by Texas Tech with 47, UTEP with 91, and NMJC with 94 points.
NMJC was the top performing junior college team defeating El Paso CC by 79 points.
The T-Birds raced 10 of their 12 runners with Killian LeBourhis and Alexandre Fablet sitting out for the second straight meet.
Sophomore Brian Cheruiyot was the highest finisher on the men's side coming in eighth place with a time of 14:54.00. The finish was 46 seconds better than his 2024 time.
Mohammed Mrahi placed 16th in the race as he came across the line with a time of 15:09.00 Saturday morning. The time was eight seconds quicker than his recorded finish in 2024.
Newcomer Addiso Bitew was solid for NMJC in his race on the NMSU GC with his time of 15:29.00 to finish in 23rd place. Sophomore Emmanuel Kimaiyo saw a big improvement in his finish in 2025 with the Kenyan coming across the line in 15:32.00. The 25th-place finish was 32 seconds faster than in 2024.
"We were definitely more prepared this year coming into this meet than what we were last year coming into the meet, and I think it has to do with having a lot of returners coming back as leaders for us," NMJC men's cross country head coach Jeff Becker said.
Freshman Ronald Jecky was the final member of the team score, placing 33rd with a time of 15:57.00. Elmehdi Bouchouata placed 37th with a time of 16:07.00.
"I think the biggest thing with them, they're going to surprise a lot of people regionally and nationally with just how well they have come together," Coach Becker said. "I think we're just going to be all mixed in there where our lineup will fluctuate in a good way because of our depth this year."
Sophomore Erwan Darrieulat was 54th in the race, running a 16:35.00 which was six seconds better than in 2024. Nathan Bonavida's time was 59 seconds faster than in 2024 as he came across the line in 16:46.00 to place 58th. Sophomore Israel Takap was 63rd with a 17:06.00 finish. Freshman Rayane Courtois placed 68th with a time of 17:57.00.
The T-Birds next meet is in two weeks at the Texas Tech Invitational Friday, Sept. 12 at 8:15 a.m. CDT in Lubbock, Texas at the LCU Cross Country Course.
