"I'm proud of the way our men and women competed today in our first Mountain West Cross Country Championships. We knew coming into this conference that the level of competition would be strong, and today was another opportunity for us to see where we stand and what it will take to continue moving this program forward," UTEP head coach Francesca Green said. "Our men finished sixth, just a few points shy of fifth place, and I thought they showed a lot of fight and determination. While we know there were opportunities to finish higher, I'm encouraged by the progress this group continues to make. On the women's side, we finished eighth, and although we have areas where we need to improve, I was proud of the toughness and effort they showed throughout the race. I also want to recognize our seniors and team captains, Salma and Juan, for their leadership and commitment to this program. They continue to set an example for their teammates, and that leadership is an important part of what we're building. There are always lessons to take away from championship competition, both good and bad. We have to be willing to learn from those moments and continue raising our expectations. We're building something here at UTEP, and while we're not where we ultimately want to be, I believe we're moving in the right direction. Now our focus shifts to the NCAA Regional Championships in two weeks. We have another opportunity to compete, and our goal is to take what we learned today and be even better the next time we step on the course."

"Our women ran strong. Ashlyn continues to improve and impress. Salma and Vallary battled through injuries, and ultimately we finished where we were seeded," UTEP assistant coach Justin Herbert said. "On the men's side, we felt like we were a bit overlooked. Nathan and Juan came through with strong races and we were able to outperform our ranking. It wasn't our best performance, but I think it showed these men that we are getting closer and closer to where we want to be."