No. 6 Men's & No. 8 Women's XC Enter Friday's MW Championships as Title Favorites

New Mexico Men’s and Women’s Cross Country head to Colorado Springs, Colo. this week for Mountain West Championships as overwhelming favorites in both races, with both Lobos squads ranked in the Top 10 nationally at the same time for the first time in over a decade and gunning for their first sweep of the men’s and women’s team titles since 2014.

Friday’s racing kicks off with the Women’s 6K at 10 a.m. MT before the Men’s 8K at 10:45 a.m., with award ceremonies following the conclusion of both races. The action will be streamed via the MW Network, with live results available via GoLobos.com/XCResults.

The UNM men — currently ranked No. 6 in the nation — are vying for a repeat after winning their first MW team title since 2014 last season.  Meanwhile, the Lobo women — who moved up from No. 17 to No. 8 in the nation after their last showing — seek to avenge a fourth-place finish in 2023 that snapped an unprecedented 15-year streak of consecutive conference titles.

In total, New Mexico has won 22 Mountain West titles combined between men and women — more than any other conference school, past or present. The school with the next-most is BYU (17). But even then, UNM has only swept both the men’s and women’s team and individual titles twice, doing so in 2011 and 2012 — they’ve won both the men’s and women’s team titles in the same year six times, most recently in 2014. With Pamela Kosgei and Habtom Samuel both solidly in the conversation among NCAA individual title frontrunners and both UNM squads as runaway favorites in the pre-championship poll, this might be New Mexico’s best chance since then for a podium sweep.

MW Cross Country Championships
Friday, Nov. 1 | Colorado Springs, Colo. | U.S.  Air Force Academy
10 a.m. Women’s 6K / 10:45 a.m. Men’s 8K

MEET PREVIEW
The Lobos are coming off a strong showing on this year’s NCAA Championship course at Wisconsin Pre-Nationals that saw both Pamela Kosgei and Habtom Samuel shatter course records and sweep the individual titles to anchor a fourth-place finish for the men and a sixth-place finish for the women against a combined 39 ranked teams. The duo earned Co-National Athlete of the Week honors and the two squads moved up to No. 6 and No. 8 in the National Coaches’ Poll as a result — the first time since 2013 that both teams were ranked in the Top 10 at the same time.

On the men’s side, Samuel is favored to become the first UNM men’s athlete to win back-to-back MW XC individual titles and Athlete of the Year honors after reasserting his status as a frontrunner for an NCAA title with a course record at Pre-Nationals. The UNM men went 1-2-3 as individuals in 2023 to secure their first men’s conference title since 2014, with all three competing on Saturday as they defend that title alongside five newcomers running their first MW Championship meet.

The UNM women had their unprecedented streak of 15 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 have risen to No. 8 in the national polls and return to conference championships as favorites once again — Kosgei is looking to become the first true freshman to win an individual MW title for UNM and the 10th overall.

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). This time around, they’re firmly within the bubble as they open postseason racing this weekend.

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

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday’s action kicks off with the women’s collegiate 6K at 10 a.m. MT, with the men’s 8K race at 10:45 a.m. The event will be streamed via the MW Network, with live results available via GoLobos.com/XCResults. Follow @UNMLoboXCTF on IG and X for raceday updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.

MW PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP COACHES’ POLLS

With the 2024 Mountain West Cross Country Championships set for later this week, the New Mexico men’s and women’s teams were selected as the Conference favorites heading into the postseason, as voted by the league’s head coaches.

After collecting eight of nine first-place votes and 64 points, the Lobos enter Friday’s MW Men’s Cross Country Championship as the favorite to win the title and are currently ranked No. 6 in the nation. Utah State collected 54 points to place second in the pre-championship poll, edging out third-place Wyoming, who received 53 points and the other first-place vote.

Following the Cowboys in the men’s poll are Air Force in fourth (38 points), Colorado State in fifth (36 points), Boise State in sixth (31 points), Nevada in seventh (20 points), Fresno State in eighth (18 points) and San José State in ninth (10 points).

Leading up to the MW women’s championship, the Lobos earned 9 of 11 first-place votes and tallied 98 points. New Mexico jumped into the top 10 in the latest national poll, ranking No. 8 heading into the postseason. Colorado State received the other two first-place votes and took second with 87 points, followed by Boise State in third with 74 points, Utah State in fourth with 72 points and Air Force in fifth with 69 points. Rounding out the MW women’s pre-championship poll is Wyoming in sixth (63 points), San Diego State in seventh (44) points), Nevada in eighth (34 points), Fresno State in ninth (31 points), San José State in 10th (17 points), and UNLV in 11th (16 points).

RANKINGS UPDATE
• The UNM men moved up to 6 – their highest weekly rank since 2013 – with the women moving up nine spots to No. 8 in the nation in last week’s USTFCCCA Coaches’ Poll.
• The men are just one spot shy of matching their highest ranking in program history — they ranked No. 5 in the nation in the final poll of the 2010 season. The Lobo women were the second-highest riser of the week behind a West Virginia team that moved up 24 spots.
• This is only the third season and sixth poll in program history in which both squads are ranked in the Top 10 at the same time — the two teams were both ranked No. 9 in the Week 5 poll in 2013 and both cracked the Top 10 in Weeks 4, 5 and 8 of 2010 before both being ranked No. 5 in 2010’s final poll ahead of NCAA Championships.
• 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.
• 2024 marks the 16th consecutive season in which the Lobo women are ranked in the national polls — 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 remained No. 2 in the Mountain Region — matching 2010 for their highest regional ranking in program history — with the women ranked No. 4. They finished third and seventh at Mountain Regionals in 2023, respectively.

UNM MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY – WEEK 4 USTFCCCA RANKINGS
National Rank: No. 6
Mountain Region Rank: No. 2

UNM MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY – WEEK 4 USTFCCCA RANKINGS
National Rank: No. 8
Mountain Region Rank: No. 4

LAST TIME OUT (WISCONSIN PRE-NATIONALS, 10/19)
Pamela Kosgei and Habtom Samuel both obliterated the Zimmer Championship Course records en route to runaway individual wins as the No. 8 Lobo men and No. 17 women both outpaced 15 ranked teams each to finish fourth and sixth in the team score at Wisconsin Pre-Nationals on Saturday morning.

On this year’s NCAA Championship course, Kosgei took over down the stretch to shake off Florida’s Hilda Olemomoi and dip under the 19-minute mark with a 18:59.1 clocking – 18.1 seconds faster than the previous course record set by Parker Valby in 2023 (19:17.2). UNM was one of only four teams that placed three or more runners in the Top 50 overall thanks to 37th- and 38th-place finishes from Natalie Bitetti (20:06.8) and Mercy Kirarei (20:07.5), with Klara Dess (62nd, 20:19.3) and Sophia McDonnell (100th, 20:37.3) closing the gap to finish with 236 points in the team score — good for sixth against a field that included 10 teams ranked above UNM.

Course record SMASHED!@UNMLoboXCTF‘s Pamela Kosgei dips under 19:00 as she wins Pre-Nats!

1. Pamela Kosgei New Mexico 18:59.1
2. Hilda Olemomoi Florida 19:02.9
3. Caoline Jeptanui Tulane 19:05.4@BYUTFXC wins the team title with 105 points!

Washington 2nd with 157. NAU… pic.twitter.com/Is9iUdoKPa

— RunnerSpace (@runnerspace) October 19, 2024

Kosgei hung with the front pack before turning on the jets down the stretch, closing the final 2,000 meters in 6:10.0 — the fastest single split of the race — to go from seventh to first, securing her second individual win in as many races.

“I said, ‘Let me push it, maybe I’ll win — because I say that may the best win,” said Kosgei post-race. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to win today, but I’m glad I did.”

🗣️: “I said, let me push it, maybe I’ll win, because I say that may the best win.”@UNMLoboXCTF‘s Pamela Kosgei reacts to her big 6k 18:59.1 course record and win at Pre-Nationals in Wisconsin.

🎥: https://t.co/N0b06TBtep pic.twitter.com/xdwqPN26H0

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) October 19, 2024

Up next in the men’s 8K, Samuel replicated the feat, shaving more than 30 seconds off Parker Wolfe’s previous record of 23:04 with a 22:34.6 time – 6.8 seconds ahead of second-place finisher and 2023 NCAA Champion Graham Blanks — to complete the individual title sweep for UNM. Behind him, Vincent Chirchir (23:06.5) finished 11th, Collins Kiprotich (23:15.7) finished 26th, Evans Kiplagat finished 63rd and Rikus Van Niekerk finished 65th to anchor a 166-point outing that placed the men fourth in the team score.

Make it a double for @UNMLoboXCTF!

Habtom Samuel shaves 30 seconds off the course record!

1. Habtom Samuel New Mexico 22:34.6
2. Graham Blanks Harvard 22:41.3
3. Justine Kipkoech Eastern Kentucky 22:42.6

Arkansas wins team title – 89 points!@CycloneTrackXC 2nd with 128,… pic.twitter.com/wtPTba2RDy

— RunnerSpace (@runnerspace) October 19, 2024

In similar fashion to Kosgei, Samuel stayed patient and controlled through the first 6,000 meters before bringing down the hammer late, closing with a 5:31.2 split over the final 2K as he put distance between himself and the next four runners that crossed the finish line within two seconds of each other. Samuel was the first of nine runners to finish under the previous record.

2023 NCAA XC runner-up Habtom Samuel of @UNMLoboXCTF stayed patient and put on the jets in the closing mile to set a CRAZY 22:33.8 8k course record at Pre-Nats 👀

🎥: https://t.co/D0CeF4l6gI pic.twitter.com/oqVJmWWOvc

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) October 19, 2024

LOBOS SWEEP NATIONAL, CONFERENCE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS
After New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei and Habtom Samuel both smashed the Zimmer Championship Course records en route to a sweep of the individual titles at Wisconsin Pre-Nationals on Saturday, the duo were named USTFCCCA Co-National Athletes of the Week, the organization announced Monday.

Kosgei and Samuel outpaced the previous records on this year’s NCAA Championship course by 18.1 and 34.4 seconds respectively to anchor a sixth-place finish for the then-No. 17 Women and a fourth-place finish for the then-No. 8 Men in the final team score against a field that included a combined 39 teams ranked in the prior week’s national polls.

The honors were the seventh and eighth National Athlete of the Week honors for UNM Cross Country athletes in program history and the first since Weini Kelati won the award twice in the 2019 season. It was also only the fourth time since the award’s conception in 2013 that both winners were from the same school – Samuel is the first male athlete from UNM to win it.

A day later, Samuel and Kosgei were named MW Athlete and Freshman/Athlete of the Week, with Collins Kiprotich winning MW Freshman of the Week for his 26th-place finish at Pre-Nats to complete another Lobo awards sweep.

LAST TIME AT MW CHAMPIONSHIPS
Behind a blistering race from Habtom Samuel to lead a 1-2-3 finish, New Mexico Men’s Cross Country claimed its first Mountain West team Championship since 2014 Friday morning in Boise, with Nicola Jansen (2nd place) leading a fourth-place finish for the Lobos in the women’s team total.

In his first year as Head Coach, Darren Gauson was named Mountain West Coach of the Year for the men’s historic finish en route to the program’s seventh men’s conference championship. Samuel was named Mountain West Men’s Athlete of the Year, with Evans Kiplagat named Men’s Freshman of the Year. The first UNM athlete to win an individual men’s championship since 2012, Samuel’s finish was the fastest-ever in a Mountain West Championship race and first sub-23-minute performance in history.
“Very proud and grateful to coach such a wonderful group,” Gauson said. “It was a team effort today — To go 1,2,3 was incredible, but Johnny [Carmin] and Sam [Field] closing the door as fast as possible in the 4 and 5 spot was key. Great to get our first men’s championship in 9 years.”
With today’s results, the Lobos have won either a men’s or women’s MW team championship in every season dating back to 2008.
“The women were courageous and gave everything they had,” Gauson said. “Very happy for Nicola, she competed incredibly well!”
Samuel became the first men’s MW individual champion since 2012 with his dominant first-place finish (22:57.7) ahead of Evans Kiplagat (2nd, 23:15.7) and Lukas Kiprop (3rd, 23:23.3) – all three ran the fastest races of their collegiate careers. Behind them, it was Jonathan Carmin (8th, 23:42.1) and Samuel Field (20th, 24:07.7) who made the difference in a tight battle with No. 26 Air Force in the team total.
A combined six UNM athletes earned All-Mountain West honors, with Jansen, Samuel, Kiplagat and Kiprop all earning First Team honors and Carmin and Klara Dess (11th place) finishing on the Second Team.
UNM finished with 34 points, shaving 17 points off their total over the back half of the race as Carmin and Field moved up 5 and 12 spots respectively in that span. UNM didn’t take the lead until the 6K mark, when Carmin’s push into the Top 10 finally put the Lobos over the edge. Field moved up seven spots over the final kilometer to give the Lobos the points they needed to stay ahead late.

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.”