Lobo Men No. 8, Women No. 20 in USTFCCCA Preseason Polls
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – For the first time since 2015, New Mexico Men’s and Women’s Cross Country both will open the season ranked among the Top 25 teams in the nation in the USTFCCCA Preseason Coaches’ Poll, released by the organization on Tuesday.
The UNM men clocked in at No. 8 – their highest preseason rank in history and highest weekly rank since the final poll of the 2010 season – with the women ranked No. 20 in the nation. It’s also the first time since 2015 that both programs were ranked within the Top 20 at the same time.
The reigning Mountain West champions, the UNM men entered the rankings for the first time since 2015 last season, rising as high as No. 13 in the final poll before placing 18th as a team at NCAA Cross Country Championships behind a runner-up individual finish from Mountain Region Athlete of the Year Habtom Samuel.
It’s the 11th consecutive season in which the Lobo women are ranked in the preseason poll, not counting the 2020 season in which there was no preseason ranking — they opened the 2023 season at No. 21 and were ranked no lower than fourth in the nation in each of the previous seven preseason polls, winning national team titles in 2015 and 2017 along the way.
In the USTFCCCA Regional Rankings released on Monday, the UNM men rank No. 3 in the Mountain Region, with the women ranked No. 4.
UP NEXT
New Mexico Men’s and Women’s Cross Country kicks off the season with its annual rust-buster at the Lori Fitzgerald Open in Las Cruces, N.M. on Saturday, with live results available via GoLobos.com/XCResults. Follow @UNMLoboXCTF on X and IG for live coverage, race content and more.
