St. Michael alumnae, UNM runner enters transfer portal
Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
Former St. Michael alumnae and current UNM runner Aliandrea Upshaw was the female winner in the 2023 Narbona Pass Classic 10K race on Sunday. She covered the course in 41:16, which was 11th overall.
NARBONA PASS, N.M.
Before this year, the last time Aliandrea Upshaw tested the 10K course at the Narbona Pass Classic was four years ago.
She won that race in 2019, a few months after completing her junior season at St. Michael High School.
On Sunday, Upshaw bettered her time by two minutes, 28 seconds as she covered the 6.2-mile course in 41:16.
“This course is still hard, especially going up the last part of the hill,” Upshaw said. “But I think getting older and running a lot more has really helped me a lot. It just shows that I’m growing as a runner.”
Upshaw, who competes on the UNM cross country and track teams, used Sunday’s race to decompress. She was overwrought with emotions with the recent departure of then-UNM coach Joe Franklin, who was named the head coach at Louisville University on June 16.
“So much has happened, so it’s really great to be home during this stressful time with my coach leaving,” she said. “It’s really great to be back running here.”
Upshaw was looking to rewrite the record books at Narbona Pass as she came up 26 seconds shy of breaking the 1987 course record of 40:50 that was set by Canadian long distance runner Angela Chambers.
“I really wanted to go for the course record,” Upshaw said. “I kept a good mindset, and I tried to work towards that during the summer.
“Unfortunately, I missed it,” she said.
As one of the top runners on the UNM cross country team, Upshaw said she learned a lot from Coach Franklin and her running peers as the 2022 squad were the national runner-up champions.
“It was awesome and it’s special to be running in that type of program,” she said. “There are so many good runners and just being in that championship environment has really helped with my running.”
Since the departure of Franklin, Upshaw said she’s put her name in the transfer portal along with some of her teammates.
“A majority of us are in the transfer portal after the coaching change,” she said. “Right now, I’m exploring my options. I’m talking to some schools and whether I return to UNM, I want to try and keep an open mind for next season.
“Either way the goal has always been to become a faster runner and work towards a national championship,” she added. “That’s the bottom line.”
Upshaw has two years left of eligibility for cross country and she might get a third year for the indoor track season.
“I just want to be a great addition to whatever team I go with,” she said. “I want to focus a lot with my running for cross country and the indoor and outdoor track.
“I didn’t run this past season because of an injury I’m dealing with,” she said. “I’m just trying to run faster times than what I did a year ago.”
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow