Lobos Host Don Kirby Twilight Meet Friday

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico Track & Field stays home this week for Friday’s Don Kirby Twilight at UNM Track & Field Complex, their second-to-last meet before postseason competition begins at MW Championships May 15-17.

After a jam-packed weekend in California across four meets that saw the Lobos tally over 50 new personal bests and 16 marks that ranked among the Top 10 in UNM history in their respective events, the Lobo men moved up to a program-best No. 6 in the nation in the most recent USTFCCCA TFRI Rankings and the women remained in the Top 20 at No. 20. UNM is ranked as the No. 1 Men’s 5,000m and 10,000m program in the USTFCCCA’s #EventSquad rankings and No. 2 in the Women’s 5,000m.

Most notably, Habtom Samuel broke the NCAA record in the 5,000m with a 13:05.87 performance and Pamela Kosgei crossed just .27 seconds shy of Parker Valby’s women’s collegiate record with a 14:52.45 finish as both posted the fastest times in the nation as they swept the fastest races of the night at Bryan Clay last Thursday. The duo have also the fastest 10,000m times of any collegiate athlete this season — both No. 2 among collegiate performances all-time — at Sound Running’s THE TEN in March, but because the meet is not NCAA-sanctioned, they’ll run to secure their 10K qualifying marks with elevation conversions in Friday’s A.M. session in Albuquerque.

With three more competitions before NCAA West Regional Preliminary qualification finalizes, a combined 25 Lobos — 14 men and 11 women — sit in qualifying position with marks that rank among the Top 48 in the West across 16 events.

Friday’s action over at UNM Track & Field Complex opens with Samuel, Kosgei and Ishmael Kipkurui in the 10,000m session that gets started at 8 a.m. followed by an eight-hour intermission before the evening session that gets started with jumps at 5:45 p.m. and track events at 6.

Friday’s competition will not be streamed. Head to GoLobos.com/TrackResults for all of this weekend’s live results and follow @UNMLoboXCTF on Instagram and X for live coverage, meet day content and more.

New Mexico Don Kirby Twilight
April 25 | UNM Track & Field Complex | Albuquerque, N.M.

PROMISING NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP PROJECTIONS
In DyeStat’s first FormChart scoring projections for NCAA Outdoor Championships, the Lobos crack the Top 10 in both men’s and women’s fields – the men are projected to place fifth with 27 points, while the women are projected to finish in a tie for 10th with 20 points.

UNM is one of five schools with both teams projected to finish in the Top 10 along with USC, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas and Texas A&M. They’re the only non-Power Conference women’s program in the Top 10 and one of two mid-major programs in the men’s Top 10.

Should the Lobo men match or beat their projections, it would outpace 1965 (5th, 25 points) for the highest team finish and most team points at NCAA Outdoor Championships in school history. The UNM Women’s best performance at NCAA Outdoors was in 2019, when they placed 8th with 27 points in total.

HUNTING IN PACKS
After last weekend’s results, nine Lobo men have recorded sub-13:40 5,000m performances for the first time in program history, with all nine of them currently in qualifying position for NCAA West Regional Prelims and among the Top 70 performances in the nation. Only eight other programs have multiple men that have run below 13:40 this outdoor season – Northern Arizona has the next-most with four.

LOBOS IN THE MEN’S 5,000M WEST REGION TOP 48
1. Habtom Samuel – 13:05.87
2. Ishmael Kipkurui – 13:09.24
8. Collins Kiprotich – 13:25.06
23. Evans Kiplagat – 13:35.76
27. Vincent Chirchir – 13:36.11
31. Mathew Kosgei – 13:37.11
38. Iker Sanchez Lopez – 13:37.88
41. Rikus Van Niekerk – 13:38.58
44. Thomas Termote – 13:38.99

CAM WATTS’ HOT START
In the men’s 100 meters at the UTEP Sun City Classic, Cam Watts — a dual-sport athlete in football and track and MW Indoor Champion in the 60 meter dash — won the event in 10.21 seconds (+1.5 m/s) to set a new UNM school record after conversions (10.24 conversion for NCAA ranking purposes). The previous mark of 10.28 (converted) was held by BeeJay Lee (2012) and Victor Akhalu (2023). Watts now leads the MW performance list in the 100m and ranks Top-50 in the nation and No. 16 in the West Region, all but assuring he’ll advance to NCAA First Round Preliminaries with that mark. Watts also contributed to the Lobos’ 4x100m relay squad that won the Sun City Classic with a 40.23 (40.34) time that ties for the third-fastest time in UNM outdoor history and is 0.33 seconds off the school record, good for fifth-fastest in the conference currently.
Watts now ranks No. 2 in the indoor 60m and No. 1 all-time in the men’s outdoor 100m – his two performances at MW Indoor Championships in the 60m were his first two races in a Lobo uniform.

JUDY RONO’S STOCK IS RISING
Judy Rono ran two more all-time middle distance marks last weekend at Bryan Clay, finishing as the top collegian of the day with the second-fastest 800m in program history and fastest by a Lobo woman since 1976 (2:03.98) on Thursday before following with another UNM No. 2 all-time race in the 1,500m on Saturday (4:11.45). Rono and 1,500m program record holder Abbe Goldstein are the only Lobo women to run below 4:12 in school history.

RANKINGS CHECK-IN
After both the UNM men and women stayed ranked among the Top 30 in the nation for all six USTFCCCA TFRI rankings of the indoor season, both teams cracked the Top 10 in the same weekly ranking for the second week in a row after doing so for the first time in program history in last week’s polls.

The UNM men dropped one sport to No. 10 – their second Top-10 national TFRI ranking in history after cracking the national Top 10 for the first time last week with their highest team ranking ever (No. 9). Their previous best was No. 18 ranking last week and in the final week of the 2011 season.

Likewise, the UNM women have climbed to their highest national team ranking since 2019, moving down two spots to No. 10 in the country after last weekend’s results. In the time since they clocked in at No. 7 in the nation in the final regular-season ranking of the 2019 season, the Lobo women had only cracked the Top 10 as a team once until last week’s No. 8 ranking, coming in at No. 9 in the nation in Week 4 in 2022.

In this week’s #EventSquad rankings, the Lobos cracked the Top 10 in the nation in five distance events — UNM ranks No. 1 in the nation in the men’s 10,000m, No. 2 in the men’s 1,500m, No. 8 in the men’s 5,000m, No. 3 in the women’s 5,000m, No. 10 in the women’s 1,500m. The women also cracked the Top 100 in the women’s 200m (No. 54), women’s 800m (No. 26) and women’s pole vault (No. 36). After last week’s results, the Lobo men’s 400m hurdle crew moved up to No. 11 in the nation.

UNM MEN’S TRACK & FIELD – WEEK 4 USTFCCCA TFRI RANKINGS

• National Rank: No. 6 (+4)
• Mountain Region Rank: No. 3 (+1)
• Mountain West Conference Rank: No. 2 (–)

UNM WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD – WEEK 4 USTFCCCA TFRI RANKINGS

• National Rank: No. 20 (-10)
• Mountain Region Rank: No. 6 (-2)
• Mountain West Conference Rank: No. 1 (–)

UNM MEN’S TRACK & FIELD – WEEK 4 USTFCCCA #EVENTSQUAD RANKINGS (Top 100 only)

• Men’s 200m – No. 66
• Men’s 1,500m – No. 6
• Men’s 5,000m – No. 1
• Men’s 10,000m – No. 1

UNM WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD – WEEK 4 USTFCCCA #EVENTSQUAD RANKINGS (Top 100)

• Women’s 200m – No. 57
• Women’s 400m – No. 29
• Women’s 800m – No. 31
• Women’s 1,500m – No. 11
• Women’s 5,000m – No. 2
• Women’s Pole Vault – No. 38

THE ROAD TO NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Participants for the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships first rounds are determined by the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Committee. For each individual event contested at both of the NCAA Regional Preliminary Round sites, the Top 48 declared student-athletes and Top 24 relay squads in their respective regions will be accepted into the competition, with the Top 12 in each Prelim advancing to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. June 11-14.

University of North Florida will host the East Preliminary in Jacksonville and Texas A&M will host the West Preliminary in College Station, with both taking place May 28-31.

Heading into this week’s competition, 11 Lobo women currently rank among the Top 48 on the West Region Qualifying List across eight events and one relay, including seven individuals ranked in the Top 20 of their events. Judy Rono continues to lead the way, now ranked No. 15 in the 800 meters (2:03.98) and No. 7 in the 1,500 meters (4:11.45). Pamela Kosgei headlines the 5,000 meters at No. 1 (14:52.45) and remains No. 1 in the steeplechase (9:15.93), while Marion Jepngetich sits at No. 5 in the 5,000m (15:22.80) and Alice Seguin is No. 11 in the same event (15:33.10). Nicola Jansen is currently No. 23 in the 10,000 meters (33:29.01), and Sophia McDonnell ranks No. 9 in the steeplechase (10:01.17). Several athletes are qualifying in multiple events including Rono, Seguin, Kosgei, and McDonnell.

Additional qualifiers include Brigid Hanley (No. 24 in the 1,500m; No. 45 in the 5,000m), Seguin (also No. 26 in the 1,500m), McDonnell (No. 36 in the 1,500m), Hanna Bruckmayer (No. 49 in the 1,500m), Jasmine Wood (No. 37 in the 10,000m), and Hanna Kiess (No. 30 in the 400 hurdles). Lou-Anne Pouzancre-Hoyer (No. 29) and Rebecca Grieve (No. 30) are also now inside the Top 30 in the 400 meters. The women’s 4×400 relay remains strong as well, ranked No. 17 in the region with a time of 3:34.35.

On the men’s side, 14 Lobos currently hold Top 48 qualifying marks across eight different events and one relay. Mathew Kosgei leads the charge with the nation’s No. 1 time in the steeplechase (8:22.13) and ranks No. 23 in the 1,500 meters and No. 31 in the 5,000 meters. The men now boast five athletes under 13:40 in the 5,000 meters – the most of any NCAA program – with Habtom Samuel (No. 1, 13:05.87), Ishmael Kipkurui (No. 2, 13:09.24), Collins Kiprotich (No. 8), Evans Kiplagat (No. 23), and Vincent Chirchir (No. 27).

In the 1,500 meters, UNM also has a loaded group: Kosgei (No. 23), Habtom Samuel (No. 15), Iker Sanchez Lopez (No. 39), Matthew Endrody (No. 42), and Collins Kiprotich (No. 43). Rikus Van Niekerk (No. 41) and Thomas Termote (No. 44) add further depth. In the 10,000 meters, Evans Kiplagat ranks No. 15, followed by Chirchir (No. 26), Van Niekerk (No. 39), and Termote (No. 40).

Cam Watts ranks No. 20 in the 100 meters (10.24), Brodie Young is No. 9 in the 400 meters (45.63), and Endrody sits No. 33 in the 800 meters. Levente Soos (No. 24) and Jacob Cavanaugh (No. 48) are in position in the 400 hurdles, while Arian Milicija holds at No. 30 in the pole vault. The men’s 4×100 relay, which recorded the No. 3 time in school history at the Sun City Classic, is currently ranked No. 44 in the region with a time of 40.35.

LOBOS VS. THE WORLD
Entering this week, the Lobos have three different athletes with world-leading marks in three events – Pamela Kosgei (9:15.63) and Matthew Kosgei (8:22.13) lead the world in women’s and men’s steeplechase, with Ishmael Kipkurui’s 26:50.21 NCAA-record performance two weeks ago at Sound Running’s THE TEN leading the world in the men’s 10,000m. Behind Kipkurui, Habtom Samuel’s 26:51.06 clocking at THE TEN – the No. 2 performance in NCAA history – also ranks No. 2 in the world.

After putting down the fastest men’s and women’s steeplechase performances in the world this year – and the No. 16 and No. 2 marks in collegiate history, respectively – New Mexico’s Matthew Kosgei and Pamela Kosgei have both been named Mountain West OTF Freshmen & Athletes of the Week, with Kosgei also being named USTFCCCA National Co-Athlete of the Week for the second time in her career.

It’s the fourth MW weekly track award for Pamela Kosgei this year – and sixth including the cross country season – and the first of Matthew Kosgei’s career.