Although the WNMU cross country team did not achieve their expected goals from the 2008 season, head cross country coach Macario Campos is looking to improve in the RMAC this year with his experienced runners and his newly recruited talent. The defending RMAC champions and NCAA National Champions for both the women's and men's teams, Adams State, looks to be one of the biggest competitions for the Mustangs this 2009 season. 

With the addition of Nicole Luna (Pueblo of Laguna, NM, Laguna-Acoma High School) on the WNMU women's side and Dustin Walthall (Smith Lake, NM, Thoreau High School), Marcus Toya (Thoreau, NM, Thoreau High School), and Tyler Pino (Acoma Pueblo, NM, Laguna-Acoma High School) on the men's side, Campos looks to revive their success from the 2006 season. The newest members of the Mustangs' cross country team as well as the key returners, such as Cassandra Sanchez (Acoma Pueblo, NM, Laguna Acoma High School) and Amy Roybal (Pojoaque Valley, NM, Pojoaque Valley High School) on the women's side and Kempton Jackson (Gallup, NM, Gallup High School), Wilton Atkins (Wanganui, New Zealand, Wanganui Collegiate School, University of North Alabama), Donavan Jackson (Gallup, NM, Gallup High School), and Dustin Padilla (Santa Clara, NM, Cobre High School, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology) on the men's side, look to be the glue that holds the team together to compete against the tough Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. 

In 2008, the women finished eleventh at the conference meet and the men finished ninth. “I would like to better my 2008 results at conference by staying healthy and improving on individual results at each meet,” Campos states. 

With the loss of Paul Gonzalez (West Covina, CA/West Covina High School) and James Molony (Tamworth, Australia/McCarthy Catholic High School) on the men's team, Campos is looking to fill their void with Kempton Jackson (Gallup, NM/Gallup High School), who redshirted last season, and Matt Snay (Kingman, AZ, Kingman High School, Mohave Community College), a junior college transfer. Campos says that they will fill the number one and two spots. On the women's side, the Mustangs lost their number three and four runners. These positions will be filled with newcomers Nicole Luna (Pueblo of Laguna, NM/Laguna-Acoma High School) and Sheilah Koskey (Eldoret, Kenya, Moi Forces Academy). 

Campos looks to senior Wilton Atkins (Wanganui, New Zealand/Wanganui Collegiate School), originally from Wanganui, New Zealand, to be his “up and coming” player this season. His arrival to the team was a last minute decision last year, but this season, coach says he is well ahead of schedule. “Wilton will be a boost this season,” says Campos. Wilton, also a former Mustang tennis player, was elected onto the ITA All-Academic Team in 2007 and 2008 and also received the Scholar Athlete Award at WNMU in 2008. Brother of Kempton, sophomore Donovan Jackson, also looks to be an essential component to the future success of the program. 

The new recruits for this year on the men's side are freshmen Dustin Walthall (Smith Lake, NM/Thoreau High School), Marcus Toya (Thoreau, NM/Thoreau High School), and Tyler Pino (Acoma Pueblo, NM/Laguna-Acoma High School). “They will all add to the strength on the men's team,” says Campos. Walthall was a state cross country champion, state 3200m track champion, and runner-up in the mile run at state his senior year at Thoreau High School. During Toya's senior year at Thoreau High School, he was an all-state runner. Pino, who graduated from Laguna-Acoma High school, was an honor roll student, graduated in the top ten, was all-state and all-district, was his team's top runner, and named the team's most improved. 

On the women's side, Cassandra Sanchez (Acoma Pueblo, NM/Laguna Acoma High School) and Amy Roybal (Pojoaque Valley, NM/Pojoaque Valley High School) will bring in two seasons of experience and leadership on the team. Along with them, freshman Nicole Luna (Pueblo of Laguna, NM/Laguna-Acoma High School) will attribute to a strong women's team. “She (Nicole) is a tough competitor. She capped off a great season at the state meet,” states Campos. Luna has been all-district throughout her entire high school career at Laguna-Acoma High School. 

Not only are Roybal from the women's team and Kempton Jackson (Gallup, NM/Gallup High School) from the men's team solid runners, but they possess great leadership skills as well. They were the only two individuals from Western New Mexico University selected to attend the NCAA Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida. 

For the third year in a row, the WNMU men's cross country team was chosen to finish ninth in the conference according to the RMAC Preseason Poll. The women's team has been picked to finish 11th, down one spot from last year. 

The layout of the 2009 season is almost the exact same as the previous year. “One of the strengths of the schedule in 2008 was competing at sea level because they ran some faster times,” says Campos. The teams head out to sea level events in California in September and October. The conference championship will be held in Colorado and the regional meet will be back in Nebraska again. 

WNMU will open up their 2009 season in a different event this year, which is the George Kyte Invite in Flagstaff, Arizona. This takes place on September 5.