Lobo Men’s XC Matches Program-Best with No. 5 Ranking; Women Hold Steady at No. 10 in Final USTFCCCA Polls

THIS WEEK IN LOBO XC…

After New Mexico Men’s and Women’s Cross Country punched their tickets to NCAA Championships in the same year for the first time since 2014 last weekend, the UNM men matched their highest ranking in program history after moving up to No. 5 and the women remained at No. 10 in the USTFCCCA’s final polls released on Monday.

It’s only the second time in program history that the UNM men have cracked the Top Five, when both UNM men’s and women’s squads came in at No. 5 in the final poll of the 2010 season. It’s also only the second time in history that both teams enter NCAA Championships ranked among the Top 10 in the nation and the first since that 2010 season.

Should the Lobo men hold to their ranking at NCAA Championships, it’d be their best finish in program history. They’ve only finished in the Top 10 in the team score at nationals twice with a 9th-place finish in 2004 and an 8th-place finish in 2009.

In the women’s poll, the Lobos held steady at No. 10 even after beating out a No. 9 Utah team to finish third at Mountain Regionals on Saturday behind an individual title from Pamela Kosgei. The true freshman remains undefeated in collegiate races with an average margin of victory of 26.95 seconds.

In the last 10 seasons in which the Lobo women have secured a team qualification to NCAA Championships, they’ve entered ranked among the top 10 nationally. It’s their 16th team appearance in the last 17 seasons.

This is only the ninth weekly USTFCCCA poll in program history in which both squads are ranked in the Top 10 at the same time — three of which are the last three polls this season. Prior to this year, 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 11th consecutive season in which the Lobo women were 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.

UP NEXT
This year’s NCAA Championship race will be held next Saturday at Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wisc. and will be broadcasted via ESPNU with live results available via GoLobos.com/XCResults. Follow @UNMLoboXCTF on IG and X for raceday updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.