RANKINGS UPDATE
New Mexico heads into the thick of its schedule with both teams ranked in the Top 3 for the first time in program history, with the men ranked No. 2 and the women at No. 3 in the USTFCCCA Week 1 Coaches’ Poll released on Tuesday.
It’s the highest ranking in program history for the men and the highest for the women since the final poll of 2022, when they were ranked No. 2 in the nation. In Monday’s Week 1 regional rankings, the two squads were both projected as automatic team qualifiers for NCAA Championships, with the men at No. 1 in the Mountain Region for the first time in program history and the women at No. 2.
The UNM men’s No. 2 ranking comes courtesy of a wealth of proven returners – the Lobos return 2023 and 2024 individual runner-up Habtom Samuel as well as fellow XC All-Americans Collins Kiprotich and Evans Kiplagat. One of the favorites to win an individual titles in 2025, Samuel hit another level on the track in the spring, lowering his PRs to 13:04.92 for 5k and 26:51.06 for 10K – Samuel will not compete at Stillwater, instead making his season debut at Wisconsin’s Nuttycombe Invitational in October.
UNM also touts five other returners that ran below 13:40 for 5K during the track season and brings in steeplechase All-American Mathew Kosgei for an even deeper squad than in 2024-25, when they finished ninth in the nation in 2024 at XC Championships and fifth in the team score at Outdoor Championships.
Opening the season at No. 4 after finishing seventh in the nation at XC Nationals, the Lobo women moved up one spot in last week’s poll. Their ambitions of a return to the team podium rest largely on Pamela Kosgei, who finished as national runner-up as a true freshman before winning both the outdoor 5,000m and 10,000m titles over an undefeated outdoor season. Kosgei – who returned from Tokyo last week after competing in the Steeplechase at 2025 World Athletics Championships – will not be competing in Stillwater. UNM also returns 2024 All-American Mercy Kirarei (35th in the nation) and 2023 All-American Nicola Jansen among four athletes from last year’s squad that competed at nationals. Outdoor 5,000m All-American Marion Jepngetich also will run cross country for the first time.
COMPETING TEAMS (D1 ONLY)
| Men |
Women |
| #2 New Mexico |
#1 BYU |
| #3 Oklahoma State |
#3 New Mexico |
| #10 Oregon |
#13 Oklahoma State |
| #29 Tulsa |
Kentucky |
| RV Oklahoma |
TCU |
| Rice |
SMU |
| Kentucky |
Oral Roberts |
| TCU |
Incarnate Word |
| Oral Roberts |
UC San Diego |
| Incarnate Word |
|
| UC San Diego |
|
LAST SEASON AT COWBOY JAMBOREE
New Mexico Cross Country passed its first big test of the season with flying colors at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree in 2024, with Pamela Kosgei running away with a dominant individual win in her collegiate debut to lead the No. 21 Lobo women to first place in the team score and Habtom Samuel finishing as runner-up to lead a second-place showing for the No. 8 men.
Both teams backed up their lofty preseason rankings with competitive performances against some nationally-ranked competition — the UNM women (34 points) beat out No. 16 OSU (4o points) on their home course, and the UNM men (45 points) put a healthy distance between their top five and third- and fourth-place finishers No. 22 Oregon (89 points) and No. 24 Texas (116 points).
Kosgei’s winning time of 19:50.0 was 43.5 seconds faster than the next finisher as she led a Lobo Top 7 that all packed into the overall Top 20, the 10th-fastest 6K time ever ran by a woman on OSU’s Greiner Cross Country Course and fastest there since NCAA Championships in 2022.
The UNM women finished with 34 points in the team score to outpace the field, including No. 16 Oklahoma State (40 points).
The Lobo men finished second in the 8K race with 45 points to beat No. 22 Oregon and No. 24 Texas in the team score, with No. 1 Oklahoma State winning the team score with 19 points. Habtom Samuel led the charge with an individual runner-up finish (23:03.6) — both he and overall champion Bryan Musau of Oklahoma State (22:55.6) finished under the previous Cowboy Jamboree record of 23:05.8 set by OSU’s Isai Rodriguez in 2021.
UNM packed five runners into the Top 15, with Vincent Chirchir (9th, 23:54.3), Collins Kiprotich (10th, 23:58.0), Evans Kiplagat (11th, 24:09.7), and Rikus Van Niekerk (13th, 24:11.6) helping solidify the runner-up spot behind No. 1 Oklahoma State ahead of Corne De Fouw (34th, 24:51.9) and Thomas Termote (40th, 25:09.5).
GREINER FAMILY XC COURSE
Oklahoma State University unveiled a new, state-of-the-art cross country course in 2019 that serves as home to the OSU men’s and women’s cross country teams. The Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course is unlike any other in the nation, making it the standard for collegiate cross country competition.
The course is named after Don and Shellie Greiner, as well as Don’s father Ken, who have pledged a significant gift to Oklahoma State Athletics. The Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course underwent a recent multi-million dollar renovation and successfully hosted the 2019 Midwest Regional Championships, 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships, 2021 Big 12 Championships, 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships and 2023 NCAA Midwest Regional Championships.
LOBO COMPETITORS
2024-25: YEAR IN REVIEW
In Gauson’s second year at the helm, the Lobos reached new heights on the national stage for both men and women. They won four Mountain West titles – including the first sweep of women’s cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field team titles in program history – and finished in the Top 10 nationally for men & women at both NCAA XC and Outdoor Track & Field Championships, with Ishmael Kipkurui (10,000m) and Pamela Kosgei (5,000m & 10,000m) winning individual national titles outdoors.
At NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Lobo women finished 7th and the men finished 9th, making UNM one of just three schools in the nation with both teams finishing in the Top 10 alongside NAU and BYU. Habtom Samuel repeated as national runner-up despite losing a shoe halfway through the race and Pamela Kosgei finished as national runner-up on the women’s side – both earned USTFCCCA Mountain Region Athlete of the Year honors following the conclusion of the season.
At the conclusion of the indoor season, UNM qualified five athletes for NCAA Indoor Championships – Brodie Young (400m), Collins Kiprotich (Mile), Ishmael Kipkurui (3,000m; 5,000m), Habtom Samuel (3,000m; 5,000m) and Pamela Kosgei (3,000m; 5,000m). Samuel (2nd, 5,000m) and Kosgei (3rd, 5,000m) both took home First Team All-America honors.
During the outdoor regular season, Ishmael Kipkurui broke the NCAA collegiate record in the 10,000m at Sound Running’s THE TEN (26:50.21), Habtom Samuel broke the collegiate 5,000m record (13:05.87) and Pamela Kosgei ran the second-fastest 5,000m (14:52.45) and 10,000m performances (31:02.73) in NCAA history.
At NCAA West Region Preliminaries, 11 Lobos qualified for NCAA Outdoor Championships – the second-most in program history and most since a 28-athlete showing in 2011.
In addition to national titles from Pamela Kosgei (5,000m,10,000m) and Ishmael Kipkurui (10,000m), Mathew Kosgei (6th, 3,000m Steeplechase), Habtom Samuel (2nd, 5,000m & 10,000m) and Marion Jepngetich (4th, 5,000m) all earned First Team All-America honors. With Kosgei and Kipkurui’s 10,000m victories, UNM became the first D-I institution to sweep both men’s and women’s 10K titles at the same NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The UNM men finished 5th in the team score – their highest finish ever – with the most points in program history (31 points). The women placed ninth with 25 points – their second-best finish in history. The two squads’ 56 points combined were the most in any single season at UNM, more than twice the previous highest combined of 22 points (2018).
After outdoor championships, Gauson was named USTFCCA Mountain Region Coach of the Year for both men and women, with Pamela Kosgei named Regional Athlete of the Year and becoming the first finalist for The Bowerman in program history.
TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN (WEST) ONCE AGAIN
After opening up the season ranked among the Top Five teams in the nation in the USTFCCCA’s preseason lists, New Mexico Men’s and Women’s Cross Country have both been voted to repeat as Mountain West Champions in the 2025 Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the league announced on Wednesday.
In the women’s poll, the Lobos received 11 first-place votes for a total of 121 points, with Boise State (111 points) receiving the other first-place vote to rank second. The UNM men also received all but one first-place vote with nine in total, good for 81 points ahead of second-place Boise State (61 points). This year, the league expands to 12 women’s teams and 10 men’s teams with the addition of Grand Canyon for the 2025-26 academic year.
It’s the first time the Lobos have swept the No. 1 spot in both the men’s and women’s polls in back-to-back years since 2015 — they were picked to win the men’s and women’s team titles last year and made good on the elevated expectations, sweeping both the individual and team titles at 2024 MW Championships in Colorado Springs. Both squads went on to crack the Top 10 in the nation at NCAA Championships, with the women finishing seventh and the men finishing ninth.
It’s the seventh time this 2011 that UNM has been picked to win both titles.
The UNM women had their unprecedented streak of 14 consecutive Mountain West titles snapped with a fourth-place finish at conference championships in 2023 but have now won 15 of the last 16 conference titles after returning to their winning ways in 2024. The men are looking for their third-straight conference crown after winning the team title in each of Gauson’s first two years as head coach (2023-24) — prior to then, they hadn’t won the conference since 2014.
COACH GAUSON’S LENGTHY RESUME
Heading into his third year at the helm in Albuquerque, Head Coach Darren Gauson has accumulated quite a resume:
- 2025 USTFCCCA MEN’S & WOMEN’S MOUNTAIN REGION COACH OF THE YEAR
- 5-TIME MOUNTAIN WEST COACH OF THE YEAR
- 5 MOUNTAIN WEST TEAM TITLES (2023 MXC, 2024 MXC, 2024 WXC, 2025 WITF, 2025 WOTF)
- 25 PROGRAM RECORDS
- 29 ALL-AMERICAN TROPHIES (1st or 2nd Team)
- 4 MOUNTAIN REGION ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
- 4 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
- ONLY PROGRAM IN NCAA D-1 TO FINISH IN THE TOP 10 FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN AT XC + NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 2024-25
- Women – 7th XC, 9th Outdoors
- Men – 9th XC, 5th Outdoors
NEW MEXICO WOMEN’S ALL-TIME USTFCCCA RANKINGS & NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FINISHES
| Season |
Preseason |
Week #1 |
Week #2 |
Week #3 |
Week #4 |
Week #5 |
Week #6 |
Week #7 |
Week #8 |
Week #9 |
Week #10 |
FINAL |
| 2025 |
4 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2024 |
20 |
21 |
17 |
17 |
8 |
10 |
10 |
|
|
|
|
7 |
| 2023 |
21 |
19 |
23 |
26 |
|
|
RV |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2022 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
| 2021 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
3 |
| 2020 |
|
2 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
|
6 |
| 2019 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
11 |
10 |
7 |
|
|
|
4 |
| 2018 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
2 |
| 2017 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
1 |
| 2016 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
11 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
|
|
|
7 |
| 2015 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
| 2014 |
11 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
11 |
10 |
9 |
9 |
|
|
|
3 |
| 2013 |
15 |
16 |
16 |
15 |
7 |
9 |
8 |
11 |
|
|
|
10 |
| 2012 |
RV |
24 |
20 |
19 |
19 |
17 |
17 |
17 |
|
|
|
10 |
| 2011 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
7 |
20 |
20 |
19 |
19 |
11 |
9 |
| 2010 |
18 |
18 |
18 |
12 |
8 |
8 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
5 |
5 |
| 2009 |
22 |
25 |
21 |
21 |
20 |
20 |
20 |
25 |
|
|
|
13 |
| 2008 |
RV |
18 |
27 |
27 |
23 |
23 |
21 |
21 |
|
|
|
18 |
| 1985 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14 |
| 1981 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
NEW MEXICO MEN’S ALL-TIME USTFCCCA RANKINGS & NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FINISHES
| Season |
Preseason |
Week #1 |
Week #2 |
Week #3 |
Week #4 |
Week #5 |
Week #6 |
Week #7 |
Week #8 |
Week #9 |
Week #10 |
FINAL |
| 2025 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2024 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
|
|
|
|
9 |
| 2023 |
|
|
RV |
RV |
18 |
19 |
13 |
|
|
|
|
18 |
| 2015 |
21 |
20 |
19 |
17 |
RV |
RV |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2014 |
17 |
17 |
17 |
15 |
16 |
18 |
13 |
26 |
|
|
|
14 |
| 2013 |
19 |
17 |
17 |
21 |
25 |
9 |
11 |
6 |
|
|
|
11 |
| 2012 |
24 |
24 |
24 |
21 |
28 |
12 |
16 |
21 |
|
|
|
21 |
| 2011 |
21 |
21 |
20 |
21 |
25 |
25 |
|
|
RV |
RV |
28 |
31 |
| 2010 |
14 |
14 |
11 |
16 |
10 |
10 |
12 |
12 |
10 |
10 |
5 |
16 |
| 2009 |
26 |
24 |
21 |
21 |
19 |
19 |
12 |
12 |
|
|
|
8 |
| 2008 |
15 |
29 |
RV |
RV |
|
|
|
RV |
|
|
|
|
| 2007 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
RV |
|
|
|
| 2005 |
RV |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2004 |
RV |
RV |
RV |
RV |
23 |
20 |
19 |
|
|
|
|
9 |
| 2003 |
RV |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2002 |
RV |
29 |
30 |
27 |
28 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1988 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
20 |
| 1975 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
14 |
| 1966 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
