Cheering grew ever louder on both sides of a grassy, leaf-strewn straightaway as New Mexico's Ednah Kurgat dashed to the finish line of the 2017 NCAA cross country championships.
Her closest pursuer was nearly 40 meters back, so Kurgat allowed herself a quick wave to the crowd before crossing the line in 19 minutes, 19.5 seconds, the fastest winning time since the NCAA adopted the 6-kilometer distance for its championship meet in 2000. Kurgat then capped her undefeated sophomore season by kneeling and giving thanks.
"That was such an emotional moment because I was feeling that all [the] hard work and sacrifice I went through finally was paying off with a great accomplishment," said Kurgat, who also led the Lobos to their second team title in three years.