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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The message has been the same since the steamy days of August, the moment this particular group of young women first became a team.

Run hard. Run for each other.

And so, on a blustery Saturday morning, the University of New Mexico women’s cross-country team followed that simple refrain and became a national champion.

UNM dominated the NCAA women’s championships as few others have done since the event’s inception in 1981.

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Coach Joe Franklin’s Lobos scored 49 points, beating second-place Colorado by 80.

Senior Courtney Frerichs finished fourth overall, followed by sophomore Alice Wright (fifth), junior Rhona Auckland (13th), senior Calli Thackery (15th) and senior Molly Renfer (24th).

“I think we knew there was a chance we could do that well and go down in the history books,” Frerichs said. “But it feels amazing. I think we surprised ourselves. This team is so special and our bond is so incredible.”

It is only the second NCAA team title in UNM history. The skiers were champions in 2004.

The 49 points were the fewest in an NCAA meet since Virginia had 48 in 1982. Its margin of victory was the most since Colorado’s 81-point win in 2004.

Franklin’s pre-race speech has been the same all season, so there was no need to change on Saturday.

“Our team meetings last twenty seconds,” Franklin said. “Have fun. Find each other. Find the turquoise (uniforms). Do what you’ve done all year.”

If anything was different, it was this added piece of advice: Don’t panic.

Frerichs admits she almost did.

“I know a few of us got trapped from 1k to 2k,” she said of the traffic of 255 runners in the 6-kilometer race. “I had to remind myself to stay on course. Alice did a fantastic job of getting up there. I kept my eye on her.”

Wright said, “All of us got trapped the first k. I felt a good push to the front. I was literally pushed to the front. I tried to keep ahead and trust my training. I kept looking around. I was not used to be the one leading.”

At about 2k, Franklin lost track of his runners as they filtered into the woods on the urban park course. He had assistants and the noncompeting Lobos all over the course and figured that his team was in second place, some 90 points behind Oregon.

But as the lead pack returned to his view atabout 3.5k, he saw that his five top runners had moved into the top 25.

“I felt a lot more at ease,” he said.

With 1k to go, he was feeling even better.

“You never want to be overconfident,” he said. “But I figured as long as no one tripped over a tree root, we would be OK.”

As she crossed the finish line, Frerichs collapsed in exhaustion. She knew Wright was behind her. She didn’t know where the others were.

“I turned around once I was up off the ground,” Frerichs said. That’s when she saw Auckland.

“But I hadn’t seen Calli,” Frerichs said of Thackery. “I was wondering, Where’s, Calli?’ Then she comes rushing up.”

Frerichs asked Thackery: “How did it go?”

“It went so well,” Thackery told her.

Then came Renfer and the Lobos hugged. Still, they fought the urge to truly celebrate until the official announcement came.

“I think the last seven days in New Mexico have been amazing,” Franklin said. “From Holly Holm’s fight, to the (UNM football team) upsetting Boise State. Now this captures everything.

“It’s great for our state, great for our city and amazing for our university. Our kids run with so much pride and passion. They value that they earned the right to wear turquoise. That uniform represents our state and everything we believe in.”

“It’s so indescribable,” Frerichs said. “It says a lot about the program itself and what we’re trying to build here. … Joe and the other coaches created such an amazing atmosphere. He works with every athlete individually and makes sure we get what we need. We never went into the race with the expectation or the pressure we had to win. He just expects us to run hard and run for each other.”

“It’s all credit to Joe,” Wright said. “None of this is possible without Joe. All of us had doubts at one point or another and he pulled us through.”

The Lobos, who have seen nothing but gray skies since arriving in Louisville on Thursday, expect to return home sometime today.

“We’ll fly home to where the sun shines,” Franklin said.

They will fly to the home of a national champion.

New Mexico women’s cross country wins the #NCAAXC title with 49 points. Lobos go 4-5-13-15-24. #GoLobos — UNM XC/TF (@Lobo_track) November 21, 2015