Results 

 

For the second straight year, the DBU Women's Cross Country team triumphed at their home meet, winning the Old Glory Gallup with a score of 34 points. Leading the way for the Lady Patriots and claiming the cowboy crown was freshman Lesli Salas, crossing the finish line in 17:22.1 for her first-ever collegiate meet victory. Oklahoma Baptist took second place with 97 points, followed closely by East Central at 100 points. 

 

Following Salas across the line was Senior Jenna Howard, finishing fourth with a mark of 17:46.7, a new personal best. Sneaking under the 18:00 minute mark with a personal record was freshman Jetzibe Trevino, clocking in at 17:58.4 for seventh. Right behind her in eighth was Junior KayCee Keller, running 18:00. Closing out the scoring and securing the victory was Emily Cole, improving her best cross country 5k mark to 18:10.8 and placing 14th. 

 

The great races did not stop there, including eight more personal-best times for the Lady Patriots. Megan Smith placed 16th with a time of 18:14.5, followed by Giselle Luera in 32nd with a 18:47.9. Sam Folsom ran her time of 19:10.5 to place 56th with Cailey Johnson in 69th at 19:25.4. In 85th was Yariveth Morales, running 19:41.7, leading Courtney Richman (94th, 19:50.4), Emily Kern (106th, 20:00.1), and Hannah Salmon (129th, 20:26.1). 

 

As the horses ushered the runners off the starting line, DBU made an early statement by getting out in front right off the bat. Senior Jenna Howard streaked out to take an early lead, followed by the DBU armada ready to take down the rest of the field. Through the mile, Howard had relinquished the lead to Sophia Strange of Oklahoma Baptist but was still within striking range. Salas trailed close behind, followed by Keller, Trevino, Cole, and Smith. During the second loop, Salas began to make her move, slowly advancing up the ladder until she stood alone. With 800m to go, Salas found another gear as the local DBU crowd cheered her on, willing her to the finish line. She maintained her pace and fended off any attempts at her spot on top. Her time of 17:22 is a new personal-best and is just four seconds behind the meet record, held by DBU standout Madison Brown.  

 

At the inaugural Old Glory Gallup, DBU came in ranked ninth in the nation and won the meet convincingly with an average scoring time of 17:54. Though the low sticks of Madison Brown and Marissa Insinna certainly helped keep the average beneath 18:00, it was this year's team that did even better, averaging 17:51. Currently, the Lady Patriots sit at 25th.  

 

 
UP NEXT 
With another OGG Belt Buckle around their waist, DBU is primed for the Lone Star Conference Championships. The meet will be held on Saturday, October 21st in Portales, New Mexico, hosted by Eastern New Mexico. The Lady Patriots will be in the hunt for their fourth straight LSC title.