On the same day that we announced New Mexico's Weini Kelati as the No. 13 individual in the NCAA, the freshman ran her first race since June of 2016 (440 days ago!) to win the Lobo XC Invitational 5K in a new course record time of 16:59.8.

FULL LOBO XC INVITATIONAL RESULTS

For a little perspective, the prior course record holder was UTEP's Risper Kimaiyo, who ran 17:00.4 back in 2010. For those who may not remember Kimaiyo, she was an all-time great in UTEP women's cross country history.

Kimaiyo's NCAA XC Finishes:

2009: 9th
2010: 4th
2011: 25th
2012: 5th

New Mexico coach Joe Franklin told FloTrack that since Kelati's last race at New Balance Nationals in 2016 -- in which she won the 2-mile (10:00.38) and 5K (16:24.69) -- all she has been doing is running miles, no major workouts.

Kelati's impressive run will certainly give confidence to the Lady Lobo squad heading into this season with hopes of rekindling their 2015 NCAA title run. Alice Wright, Ednah Kurgat, Weini Kelati, and Charlotte Prouse 'on paper' is a very strong 1-2-3-4 punch.