Lobos Welcome Stacked Field to UNM Collegiate Classic this Weekend, Feb. 7-8

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico Track & Field hosts its biggest home meet of the season this weekend at the Albuquerque Convention Center when the Lobos welcome a combined 15 men’s and women’s teams that currently rank among the Top 25 in the nation to the UNM Collegiate Classic (Feb. 7-8).

The Lobo Men & Women are coming off another strong weekend of competition at three meets across the country that saw three new program records and nine additional all-time Top 10 entries — as a result, they enter this week with their best combined showing in the USTFCCCA’s national TFRI rankings since 2018, with the men ranking No. 20 in the nation and the women No. 24. They clocked in among the Top 50 in the nation in 10 events (four men’s, six women’s) in this week’s #EventSquad rankings, including Top-10 team rankings in the men’s mile (No. 3), men’s 3,000m (No. 2), women’s mile (No. 10), women’s 3,00m (No. 5) and women’s 5,000m (No. 2).

This weekend, the entire squad stays put in Albuquerque to host a 16-team invitational and get a taste of team competition ahead of Mountain West Indoor Championships. For the first time, this year’s Collegiate Classic will feature a team scoring format similar to conference and NCAA Championships, with a team champion crowned at the conclusion of the weekend.

This weekend’s competition gets started on Friday with field events at 11 a.m. and track events starting at 3:30 p.m. MT. Head to GoLobos.com/FollowTrack for all of this weekend’s live results and streaming links all in one place and follow @UNMLoboXCTF on Instagram and X for live coverage, meet day content and more.

New Mexico Collegiate Classic
Feb. 7-8 | Albuquerque, N.M. | Albuquerque Convention Center

This weekend’s 16-team invitational action features 16 Top-25 D-I teams in this week’s TFRI index (8 men, 7 women) in addition to Azusa Pacific, which ranks No. 5 in D-II for women. In total, 24 competing teams (11 men, 13 women) rank among the Top 50 in the nation heading into this weekend.

SAMUEL NAMED TO THE BOWERMAN MID-INDOOR WATCH LIST; KOSGEI RECEIVING VOTES
Following a loud performance in Boston last weekend that saw him break his own 5,000m UNM and Mountain West record with a 13:04.92 clocking that moved him up to No. 4 on the NCAA All-Time list, New Mexico sophomore Habtom Samuel has been named to The Bowerman Mid-Indoor Watch List, the USTFCCCA announced on Wednesday.

After opening the year on The Bowerman Preseason Watch List, Samuel has competed in two indoor races — he put down a 3:54.37 converted mile time (No. 13 in NCAA D-I) in his season debut in Albuquerque at the Dr. MLK Jr. Invitational (Jan. 25) before running the fastest 5,000m race — indoor or outdoor — in UNM and Mountain West history last Saturday in Boston.

On the women’s Mid-Indoor list released Wednesday, Lobo freshman Pamela Kosgei received votes for the first time after breaking her third UNM indoor program record in as many races on Friday in Seattle. Kosgei is the first women’s distance runner to receive votes for the preseason watch list as a freshman — Stanford’s Grant Fisher (2016) and Oregon’s Edward Cheserek (2014) are the only male distance runners to have held the same distinction.

First awarded in 2009, The Bowerman is bestowed to collegiate track & field’s top male and female athlete for the year, regardless of discipline. The Bowerman Advisory Board, and ultimately, The Bowerman Voters, are instructed to consider performances inclusively from the collegiate indoor track & field and outdoor track & field seasons only.

In 2024, Samuel — then a true freshman — became just the second man from New Mexico to be named as a semifinalist, joining two-time semifinalist Josh Kerr (2017, 2018). Samuel swept the indoor 3,000m and 5,000m Mountain West titles and finished as a First Team All-American in both events at Indoor Nationals before winning the 10,000m and finishing sixth in the 5,000m at Outdoor Nationals to conclude the season with four First Team All-American finishes on the oval in just his freshman year alone — five counting cross country.

LOBOS RAKE IN MOUNTAIN WEST WEEKLY HONORS
After splashy distance performances on the road last weekend that included two NCAA All-Time Top 10 performances, New Mexico Track & Field’s Collins Kiprotich (Men’s Freshman of the Week), Habtom Samuel (Men’s Track Athlete of the Week) and Pamela Kosgei (Women’s Freshman & Track Athlete of the Week) took home another Mountain West weekly award, the conference announced Tuesday.

It’s the third MW weekly track award of the indoor season for Kiprotich and Kosgei — and second in as many weeks. The duo combined for three weekly cross country awards during the fall 2024 season – Kosgei was named MW Athlete & Freshman of the Week twice (Oct. 8 & Oct. 22) and Kiprotich was named MW Freshman of the Week on Oct. 22. The duo swept the first MW weekly awards of indoor season on Dec. 10 as well last Tuesday (Jan. 28).

It’s the first weekly honor of the track season for Samuel, who took home a combined three weekly awards across indoor and outdoor season last year.

PAMELA KOSGEI | MW Track Athlete & Freshman of the Week
Kosgei broke her third UNM indoor record in as many races to highlight UNM’s first day of competition at the UW Invitational Friday evening at Dempsey Indoor, putting down an 8:44.62 clocking that ranks No. 7 among NCAA performances all-time on the all-conditions list (UW track is a short track and is thus ineligible for primary USTFCCCA Top 25).
Kosgei finished 15.82 seconds ahead of the next-fastest finisher and took more than nine seconds off Weini Kelati’s UNM record that had stood since 2019 — the third race in a row in which she’s broken a school record that Kelati held. That time also stands as a new Mountain West record as well.
In her first three collegiate indoor races, Kosgei has now broken the UNM 5,000m, Mile records and 3,000m – her 5,000m record set in Boston in December ranks No. 4 on the NCAA all-time list.

COLLINS KIPROTICH | MW Men’s Freshman of the Week
In the men’s 3,000m on Saturday in Boston, Collins Kiprotich posted a new personal best that stands as the second-fastest in UNM history (7:46.90), finishing as the second-fastest collegian in the field behind Colorado’s Isaiah Givens (7:45.01) in the top heat of the night. The reigning MW Athlete & Freshman of the Week after posting the fastest collegiate raw mile time ever ran at altitude, Kiprotich is now less than four seconds away from cracking the NCAA All-Time Top 25 in the 3K. That 7:46.90 time also stands as the fastest in the MW.

HABTOM SAMUEL | MW Men’s Track Athlete of the Week
In his first 5,000m race of the indoor season, Samuel put down a 13:04.92 time that moves him from No. 15 to No. 4 on the NCAA All-Time List – a 9.93-second improvement from his UNM indoor record (13:14.85) and 8.44 seconds faster than his outdoor record (13:13.34).
It stands as the fastest 5K performance – indoor, outdoor or cross country – by any Mountain West athlete in history. It also ranks first among current D-I Athletes (Current No. 1 on indoor list, Graham Blanks, went professional over the semester and is no longer eligible).

LAST TIME OUT (UW Invitational/BU Terrier Classic/UNM Team Open, 1/31-2/1)

• • So far this indoor season, UNM athletes have broken 9 program records and recorded 23 All-Time Top 10 entries.
  • Last weekend across three different meets in Boston, Seattle and Albuquerque, UNM athletes broke three program records (all three with NCAA All-Time Top 10 marks) and recorded nine additional UNM Top 10 all-time performances.
  • Pamela Kosgei broke her third UNM indoor record in as many races to highlight UNM’s first day of competition at the UW Invitational Friday evening at Dempsey Indoor, putting down an 8:44.62 clocking that ranks No. 7 among NCAA performances all-time on the all-conditions list (UW track is a short track and is thus ineligible for primary USTFCCCA Top 25).
  • Exactly a week after teammate and fellow Scot Hannah Taylor broke her indoor program record in the 600m, Rebecca Grieve took it back in dominant fashion. Fresh off a 300m program record last Saturday (37.81), the junior crossed in 1:26.91, 3.39 seconds ahead of the next finisher and 5.95 seconds faster than her previous best of 1:32.86 to etch her name at the No. 1 spot on the UNM all-time list – that 1:26.91 time ranks No. 7 among NCAA performances all-time.
  • In the invitational sections of the 200m in Albuquerque, Lou-Anne Pouzancre Hoyer and Brodie Young both notched splashy new personal bests that ranked among the Top 3 in program history. Pouzancre moved up to No. 2 on the UNM all-time list with a 23.59 conversion (23.52 raw) and Brodie Young solidified his grip on the No. 3 spot with a 21.23 (21.16) – Young is now just a hundredth of a second away from tying Victor Akhalu (21.22) for the No. 2 spot. Pouzancre’s time would slot in at No. 35 on the most recent NCAA Indoor Qualifying list, with Young just outside the Top 50 in the nation after clocking in at No. 81 this week.
  • The UNM women’s 4×4 squad – comprised of Lou-Anne Pouzancre, Eva Ngom, Hanna Kiess and Anaya Quarles — closed Saturday out with the second-fastest time in program history (3:39.25), finishing third overall.
  • In Boston on Saturday, Collins Kiprotich put down a new personal best in the 3,000m that moved him to No. 2 on the UNM all-time list and three Lobos put down new All-Time Top 10 times in the 5,000m.
  • Behind Habtom Samuel’s new program record, teammate Ishmael Kipkurui ran the second-fastest personal best – and third-fastest individual performance – in UNM history, finishing in 13:22.03 to place 13th in the first heat and 16th overall. In the following heat, Evans Kiplagat (13:37.40) recorded a new season best to finish 26th overall and Vincent Chirchir (13:44.55) moved from No. 10 to No. 7 on the all-time list with a new indoor best. Those four times stand as the four fastest in the Mountain West.
  • In the men’s 3,000m, Collins Kiprotich posted a new personal best that stands as the second-fastest in UNM history (7:46.90), finishing as the second-fastest collegian in the field behind Colorado’s Isaiah Givens (7:45.01). The reigning MW Athlete & Freshman of the Week after posting the fastest collegiate raw mile time ever ran at altitude, Kiprotich is now less than four seconds away from cracking the NCAA All-Time Top 25 in the 3K.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝‼️

– 3⃣ new program records that rank among the @NCAATrackField Top 10 All-Time
– 9⃣ additional UNM All-Time Top 10 marks#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/weJRyIyiea

— New Mexico XC/T&F (@UNMLoboXCTF) February 4, 2025

THE ROAD TO NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

• The top 16 qualifying individual men’s, individual women’s and combined events and top 12 relays (DMR and 4×4) at the conclusion of the indoor season — after scratches — will be selected to the 2025 DI indoor track and field championships, held March 14-15 in Virginia Beach, Va.
• Heading into this weekend, five Lobos sit in qualifying position across six events– Pamela Kosgei ranks No. 2 in the nation in the 3,000m (8:44.62), No. 4 in the nation in the 5,000m (15:00.36) and No. 11 in the Mile (4:30.68 @), while Collins Kiprotich (3:53.41 @) and Habtom Samuel (3:54.37 @) rank No. 7 and No. 13 in the nation in the Mile thanks to their elevation-converted performances last Saturday. Kiprotich’s PR in Boston (7:46.90) stands at No. 10 in the nation ahead of Lukas Kiprop (7:49.52, No. 14). Samuel’s 5,000m PR from Boston (13:04.92) is the fastest among current D-I athletes, with Ishmael Kipkurui’s 13:22.03 clocking ranks 15th.
• UNM athletes have produced 28 marks (11 for men, 17 for women) that rank among the Top 100 in the nation heading into this weekend across 11 events (M & W 200m, W 800m, M & W Mile, M & W 3,000m, M & W 5,000m, W Long Jump, W 4x400m).
• Last season, Evans Kiplagat (5,000m) and Habtom Samuel (3,000m / 5,000m) represented UNM at NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston, with Samuel earning two First Team All-American honors and Kiplagat finishing as a Second Team All-American.

RANKINGS CHECK-IN
In the second USTFCCCA TFRI rankings of the indoor season released this week, the UNM men and women both entered the Top 25 at No. 20 and No. 24 — they were both ranked No. 29 in the nation in last week’s initial rankings. The women rank No. 6 in the Mountain Region and moved up to No. 1 in the Mountain West Conference, with the men at No. 6 and No. 3, respectively.

In this week’s #EventSquad rankings, the Lobos cracked the Top 10 in the nation in five distance events — UNM ranks No. 3 in the nation in the men’s mile, No. 2 in the men’s 3,000m, No. 10 in the women’s mile,  No. 5 in the women’s 3,000m and No. 2 in the women’s 5,000m. UNM athletes have produced a total of nine times from five athletes that rank among the Top 25 in the nation currently in the Mile, 3,000m and 5,000m.

Top 10 in the nation in 5⃣ different distance events in this week’s @USTFCCCA #EventSquad Rankings! pic.twitter.com/UjD6hjpm7q

— New Mexico XC/T&F (@UNMLoboXCTF) February 5, 2025

UNM MEN’S TRACK & FIELD – WEEK 2 USTFCCCA TFRI RANKINGS
National Rank: No. 20 (+9)
Mountain Region Rank: No. 6 (+2)
Mountain West Conference Rank: No. 3 (+2)

UNM WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD – WEEK 2 USTFCCCA TFRI RANKINGS
National Rank: No. 24 (+5)
Mountain Region Rank: No. 6 (-2)
Mountain West Conference Rank: No. 1 (+1)

UNM MEN’S TRACK & FIELD – WEEK 2 USTFCCCA #EVENTSQUAD RANKINGS (Top 100)
Men’s 200m – No. 64
Men’s 800m – No. 36
Men’s Mile – No. 3
Men’s 3,000m – No. 34
Men’s 5,000m – No. 2

UNM WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD – WEEK 2 USTFCCCA #EVENTSQUAD RANKINGS (Top 100)
Women’s 200m – No. 33
Women’s 800m – No. 39
Women’s Mile – No. 10
Women’s 3,000m – No. 5
Women’s 5,000m – No. 2
Women’s Pole Vault – No. 45

BIG-TIME SEMESTER ADDITIONS
The Lobos got even deeper on the distance side over the semester break with the addition of three U20 Kenyan distance stars with international competition experience in Marion Jepngetich, Ishmael Kipkurui and Matthew Kosgei for the indoor season. Kipkurui — a U20 World Cross Country Champion in 2023 and fourth-place finisher in the 5,000m at U20 Worlds last year — opened up his collegiate career with a 3:58.16 mile conversion on Saturday that moved him to No. 8 on the UNM all-time list. Marion Jepngetich and Matthew Kosgei — both U20 World silver medalists last year in the 3,000m and Steeplechase, respectively — also joined the Lobos at the semester, with Jepngetich making her collegiate debut in Seattle last weekend (4:46.23 Mile; 9:36.41 3,000m) and Kosgei opening with a 4:07.09 (4:07.01 converted) mile as an unattached runner at the UNM Team Open.

Other notable additions include French middle distance standouts Joshua Abraham (4:01.40 converted mile on 1/25, No. 75 in NCAA D-I) and Alice Seguin as well as Brazilian hurdler Pietra Campbell Simões, who put down the seventh-fastest 60 hurdles time in program history (8.69/8.71@) in her event debut.

2025 INDOOR SCHEDULE
The Lobos have nine regular-season meets on the docket for the upcoming indoor season, with all four home meets in Albuquerque set to be exclusively live streamed via FloTrack. UNM will also host 2025 Mountain West Indoor Championships in Albuquerque — the 10th season in a row in which MW Championships are hosted at the Albuquerque Convention Center and the 15th time overall.

Albuquerque has become known for hosting elite indoor track competition on its world-class surface at the Convention Center — at the conclusion of last season, 23 times or marks that ranked among the Top 10 in the nation their respective events on the NCAA D-I Indoor Qualifying List were produced in Albuquerque.

All home meet information, including schedules, live results and entries can be found at GoLobos.com/HomeTrack when they are available — follow @UNMLoboXCTF on IG, X and Facebook for meet updates, live coverage, behind-the-scenes content and more.

KOSGEI NAMED HONDA SPORT AWARD FINALIST
New Mexico’s freshman distance superstar Pamela Kosgei has been named as one of four finalists for the Class of 2025 Honda Sport Award for Cross Country, recognizing the top female athlete in the sport for this season.

Alongside Kosgei, Amy Bunnage from Stanford University, Doris Lemngole from the University of Alabama and Hilda Olemomoi from the University of Florida have been announced as the four finalists for the Class of 2025 Honda Sport Award for Cross Country, as revealed today by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of The Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA).

Kosgei concluded the season as national runner-up at NCAA Championships — the only race which she did not win as an individual in her collegiate debut season. She won all four of her first six collegiate 6K races by an average of 26.95 seconds, winning Mountain West Conference and Mountain Region Individual titles as the top performer for a Lobo Women’s XC squad that finished 7th in the nation when all was said and done In addition to finishing as an All-American, Kosgei earned Mountain West Athlete & Freshman of the Year honors and USTFCCCA Mountain Region Athlete of the Year honors.

The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 49 years, recognizing the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and symbolizing “the best of the best in collegiate athletics.” The recipient of the sport award will become a finalist for the prestigious Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the 2025 Honda Cup, which will be presented during the live broadcast of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Presented by Honda on CBS Sports Network in June.

The finalists were selected based on their standout performances at the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championship. The Honda Sport Award for Cross Country winner will be announced early next week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.

Kosgei is the fourth Lobo women’s runner to be named as a finalist for the award along with Courtney Frerichs (2015), Ednah Kurgat (2017) and Weini Kelati (2018, 2019). Kurgat was voted as the overall winner in 2017, with Kelati winning the award in 2019 after finishing second in voting in 2018.

The indoor track at the Albuquerque Convention Center has emerged as one of the preeminent indoor track & field facilities in the nation over the last decade. In concert with the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Albuquerque Convention Center, New Mexico has capitalized on its unique venue and prime training location with the indoor track at the ACC. The facility has hosted 14 Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships, nine USATF Indoor National Championships, and five NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships — the first in NCAA history hosted at altitude. The ABCC has also hosted the NJCAA Indoor National Championships (2015) and NCAA Division II Championships (2012).

The most recent surface at the ABCC was unveiled in March 2021 and cost $3 million in total, with renovations that helped solidify the city’s ability to attract and keep hosting national meets that bring the best competition to Albuquerque. Since 2005, 102 indoor track meets have been hosted at the ABCC — 16 being national championship events at either the collegiate or national level — and indoor track has generated over $30 million in revenue for the city of Albuquerque in that span.

The track — a state-of-the-art WSTY Mondo, the same surface used at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo — is a 200-meter, 60-degree banked track with 60-meter straightaways running the entire length of the facility. It also includes men’s and women’s jumping runways and pits, as well as areas for shot put, pole vault and high jump events. The surface of the track is striped with cherry red and turquoise to reflect UNM’s colors and the state color of New Mexico.

In 2024, the ABQ Convention Center saw seven new professional facility records, with two new world records in the men’s and women’s 60 meter hurdles among them. In total, four indoor world records have been recorded at the ABQ Convention Center.

1⃣1⃣ Facility Records and 2⃣ World Records set at the ABQ Convention Center in 2024.

Here’s to even more in ’25! pic.twitter.com/V6BvnqulxD

— New Mexico XC/T&F (@UNMLoboXCTF) January 15, 2025