Lobo XC Gets First Big Test at OSU Cowboy Jamboree Saturday

New Mexico Men’s and Women’s Cross Country will get its first taste of elite competition this weekend when the Lobos hit the road for the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree at the Greiner Family Cross Country Course on Saturday.

Saturday’s field features six teams receiving votes in the most recent USTFCCCA National Polls between men and women. The UNM men – ranked eighth in the nation in the most recent polls – will race against No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 22 Oregon and No. 24 Texas, with the women (No. 21) competing against a No. 16 OSU women’s squad. It’s the first time since 2015 that both UNM programs were ranked within the Top 25 at the same time.

It’ll also be the first full-length race for both squads, which have only competed in a pair of 5K races up until this point.

Previewing tomorrow's race in Stillwater 👀

Looking forward to seeing what we got!#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/suf6X7IcuX

— New Mexico XC/T&F (@UNMLoboXCTF) September 27, 2024

The Lobo men get back their top three runners from last season went 1-2-3 at MW Championships last season – NCAA Runner-Up Habtom Samuel, All-American Evans Kiplagat and MW third-place finisher Lukas Kiprop – and augment their depth with a pair of D-I transfers in Iker Sanchez (Arizona) and Rikus Van Niekerk (CBU) along with the addition of NCAA Track & Field West Regional Qualifier (5,000m & 10,000m) Vincent Chirchir and Kenyan freshman Collins Kiprotich to the mix.

The UNM women had their unprecedented streak of 14 consecutive Mountain West titles snapped with a fourth-place finish at conference championships and narrowly missed out on a team qualification to nationals in 2023, but they’re favored to return to the top this season after adding a variety of newcomers to race alongside 2023 All-American Nicola Jansen, including one of the highest-rated true freshmen in the country in Pamela Kosgei and MW Track All-Conference finishers Hanna Bruckmayer and Mercy Kirarei.

Even with a women’s program that won two NCAA Championships and finished among the Top 10 in the nation 13 years in a row under former coach Joe Franklin, the Lobos have only sent both men’s and women’s squads to NCAA Championships in the same season six times in their history (2009-2014).

“That’s our goal – We want to be top 14 for both the men’s and women’s programs every single year,” Gauson told CITIUSMAG last week. “On my whiteboard, we’ve got the weeks written down – We’re just excited for every week to come along.”

They’ll take the first big step towards that goal Saturday in Stillwater, where both teams will see how they stack up against programs ranked above them nationally.

“Our team is healthy and looking really good at the moment,” Gauson said. “And you know as every team is, you’re always one injury away or one mishap away. But it’s going to be a really fun, great year for the Lobos!”

Saturday’s racing will not be streamed, with live results available via GoLobos.com/XCResults. Follow @UNMLoboXCTF on IG and X for raceday updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.

OSU COWBOY JAMBOREE
Sept. 28 | Stillwater, Okla. | Greiner Family Cross Country Course
7:15 a.m. Women’s 6K / 7:50 a.m. Men’s 8K

RANKINGS UPDATE
The UNM men remained 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. 21 in the nation in this week’s USTFCCCA Coaches’ Poll released last week.

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 remain No. 3 in the Mountain Region, with the women ranked No. 4.

UNM MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY – WEEK 1 USTFCCCA RANKINGS
National Rank: No. 8
Mountain Region Rank: No. 3

UNM MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY – WEEK 1 USTFCCCA RANKINGS
National Rank: No. 21
Mountain Region Rank: No. 4

In this week’s #EventSquad rankings, UNM cracked the Top 50 in the nation in four events on the men’s side (200m, 800m, 1500m, 10,000m) and four on the women’s side (1500m, 5,000m, Long Jump, Pole Vault) – the Lobos maintain their Top-10 rankings in the men’s 10K (No. 1) and women’s long jump (No. 8) from last week, with UNM’s women’s 5,000m squad remaining in the Top 20 at No. 16 after entering the rankings at No. 13 two weeks ago.

LOBOS SWEEP NO. 1 SPOTS IN MOUNTAIN WEST PRESEASON POLLS
New Mexico Men’s and Women’s Cross Country were both voted No. 1 in the Mountain West Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the league announced Wednesday – the first time since 2015 that both Lobo squads enter the season as the preseason favorites in the conference.

The men earned seven of nine possible first-place votes to clock in at the top spot with 63 points ahead of second-place Air Force, which finished with two first-place votes and 55 points in total. The Lobo women received nine first-place votes to lead the conference with 97 points, outpacing second-place pick and 2023 champs Colorado State (2 first-place votes, 88 points).

2️⃣ days away from Cross Country season 🤩

New Mexico comes in at the top as the overall preseason favorite! pic.twitter.com/8IxZfDmWsh

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) August 28, 2024

2023-24 SEASON RECAP
In Gauson’s first year at the helm, the UNM men found a level of success they hadn’t enjoyed in nearly a decade, winning a Mountain West title and punching their ticket to NCAA Championships as a team for the first time since 2014 and finishing the season 18th in the nation. Alongside NCAA runner-up and Mountain Region Champion Habtom Samuel, Evans Kiplagat (33rd) also finished as an All-American, with Nicola Jansen (36th) also earning All-American honors as UNM’s lone representative in the women’s race.

All three will be returning to lead a retooled roster that seeks to get both teams to NCAA’s in the same year for the first time since that 2014 season.

“Before I got here, Coach Franklin’s [men’s] team was sixth in the conference and hadn’t made the meet for a number of years,” Gauson told CITIUSMAG last week. “We were able to bring in a few athletes with Thomas Termote, Lukas Kiprop, Evans Kiplagat, and obviously Habtom as a freshman and launched straight into 18th in year one.

“We were hoping for a little bit more,” Gauson said. “I think we were sitting in tenth and then Lukas had a little bit of a knee problem … [he] fell back quite a lot into the hundreds which really killed our team score.”

THE YEAR OF HABTOM
Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Samuel has racked up accomplishments at a pace unseen by any true freshman in UNM history. Last week, he added his first NCAA title and another All-American finish today to a lengthy resume:

• 2023 Mountain West Athlete of the Year (XC)
• NCAA Runner of the Week (XC)
• USTFCCCA Mountain Region Athlete of the Year (XC)
• Mountain West Champion (XC)
• NCAA Mountain Region Champion (XC)
• NCAA Championship Runner-Up (XC)
• Mountain West Championship Record Holder (XC)
• UNM Program Record Holder – 5,000m, 3,000m, Mile (Indoor)
• Fastest collegiate mile ever ran at the Albuquerque Convention Center (3:59.12)
• 11th-Fastest 5,000m time in NCAA History (Indoor)
• Mountain West Championship Performer of the Meet (Indoor)
• Mountain West Championship Record Holder – 5,000m, 3,000m (Indoor)
• Mountain West Champion – 5,000m, 3,000m (Indoor)
• USTFCCCA First Team All-American – 5,000m, 3,000m (Indoor)
• No. 2 10,000m time in NCAA History (Outdoor)
• 2024 Mountain West Indoor Track Athlete of the Year
• 2024 Mountain West Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year
• Mountain West Champion – 1500m, 5,000m (Outdoor)
• NCAA Champion – 10,000m (Outdoor)
• USTFCCCA First Team All-American – 5,000m, 10,000m (Outdoor)
• MW Hal Rothman Sportsmanship Award