Bifa Wins Second Straight Meet, Moves to 4th All-Time

Sophomore Yididiya Bifa earned her second victory of the season with the win at the NM State- Lori Fitzgerald Memorial in Las Cruces, NM on Saturday, Aug. 30. 

"I don't think we've had anybody win the New Mexico State meet since we've been attending so that was exciting to see Yididiya win," NMJC women's cross country head coach Jeff Becker said.   

The New Mexico State women were victorious with 44 points, followed by Texas Tech with 48, New Mexico with 67, and NMJC with 113 points. The T-Birds were the top junior college squad, outpacing El Paso by 16 points. 

NMJC was almost at full strength with seven of their eight runners running in Las Cruces on Saturday morning. Amal Kachouri rested for the second consecutive week and did not race.

"We're hopeful that we'll have everybody running at Texas Tech, not only to see how we will match up against more DI schools, but then also, I think that's going to be a big meet to see how we stack up against some other junior colleges there as well."

Yididiya Bifa finished in first place with a time of 17:33.00 to win against a star-studded DI competition at the NM State- Lori Fitzgerald Memorial. The finish was No. 4 all-time for the Thunderbirds.

"We didn't necessarily have a specific strategy going in," Coach Becker said. "I just had kind of told her to go up towards the front. We weren't sure exactly where she would slot out. However, as the race got going and she was just kind of settling in the group, I could tell the pace was easy. When we got to that point where she asked if she could go faster a second time I said, 'Let's go.' and she went."

"I knew Yididiya would be good. Her coachability and just overall mindset has surprised me. She's not maybe be the most vocal, but she will be a leader. She'll pull some of the other girls along and motivate them. So, her presence has definitely been a big boost for our team."

Ines Mrabet was the second T-Bird across the line for NMJC with her 18:21.00 finish. The 18th-place finish was 25 seconds quicker than her pace in 2024.

Sophomore Lisel Ndlovu placed 27th at the meet with a time of 19:14.00. The time was 1:34.00 faster than what she ran in 2024.

"Both Ines and Lisel have done what you expect from a freshman to a sophomore, and they they've learned from last year that they need to put in the work over the summer to be where they need to be. I'm excited to see only better things as they continue to progress this year."

Sophomore transfer Lindsey Lopes ran a 19:59.00 to finish in 38th place in Las Cruces. Returner Hadil Chiha was the final member of the team score, coming in 42nd place with a time of 20:23.00. The finish was a 22-second improvement compared to her 2024 time.  

The freshmen rounded out the final two runners for NMJC on the course. Alejandra Sierra placed 43rd running a 20:28.00 and Elsa Gueret was 44th with a time of 20:30.00.

The Thunderbirds next meet is in two weeks at the Texas Tech Invitational Friday, Sept. 12 at 8:50 a.m. CDT in Lubbock, Texas at the LCU Cross Country Course.