FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE
| Women's Distance Medley Relay |
12:00 p.m. MT |
| Men's Distance Medley Relay |
12:15 p.m. MT |
USTFCCCA RANKINGS UPDATE
In this week’s USTFCCCA Track & Field Rating Index (TFRI), the Lobo men dropped three spots but remained in the national Top 25 at No. 23, with the women dropping one spot to No. 27.
National TFRI Rankings - Checkpoint #4
Men: No. 23 (-3)
Women: No. 27 (-1)
Mountain Region TFRI Rankings - Checkpoint #4
Men: No. 5 (--)
Women: No. 3 (--)
In the national #EventSquad rankings, the Lobos ranked among the Top 25 in the nation in 10 events. UNM men still lead the nation in the 5,000m with the women at No. 3, with both the men and women ranking No. 3 in the 3K. Both UNM men and women remain ranked among the Top 30 in the nation in the 400m and the mile as well.
USTFCCCA #EVENTSQUAD RANKINGS - Checkpoint #4
Women’s 60m - No. 74
Women’s 200m - No. 24
Women’s 400m - No. 7
Women’s 800m - No. 39
Women’s Mile - No. 23
Women’s 3,000m - No. 3
Women’s 5,000m - No. 3
Women’s Long Jump - No. 61
Men’s 400m - No. 28
Men’s Mile - No. 20
Men’s 3,000m - No. 3
Men’s 5,000m - No. 1
HABTOM SAMUEL NAMED MW ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
After running the fastest 3,000m of any UNM and Mountain West athlete in history last weekend in Seattle, New Mexico's Habtom Samuel has been named MW Men's Track Athlete of the Week, the league announced Tuesday.
It's the sixth MW Track Athlete of the Week award of Samuel's career across indoor and outdoor.
Samuel broke his own UNM and Mountain West record with an individual win and 7:37.44 performance in Seattle Saturday -- a time that ranks No. 6 in the nation. He now owns three of the top five times in the 3,000-meter distance in Mountain West history.
Samuel crossed the line 4.58 seconds ahead of the next-fastest finisher (7:42.02) en route to a time that will secure his NCAA Indoor Championship qualification in the event for the third indoor season in a row.
EYES ON 2026
The Lobos enter the spring semester with higher aspirations after a historic year in 2025. In total, UNM won women's indoor and outdoor Mountain West titles -- their first sweep of all three conference titles for the women in program history -- and finished second in the men's team score at both, sending five athletes to NCAA Indoor Championships and 12 more to NCAA Outdoors, where Pamela Kosgei (5,000m & 10,000m) and Ishmael Kipkurui (10,000m) both won NCAA titles to lead a fifth-place finish for the men and ninth for the women.
In November, New Mexico had its most complete team performance at NCAA XC Championships in recent memory – the men finished as national runners-up behind Habtom Samuel’s individual title and the women finished fourth, making UNM the only program in the nation with both teams on the national podium. They've now finished in the Top 10 in the team score nationally for both men and women in their last two NCAA Championships (2025 NCAA Outdoor, 2025 Cross Country) with at least one national champion in both.
HABTOM BREAKS 48-YEAR-OLD RECORD IN NYC
New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel broke a collegiate Two-Mile record that had stood since 1978 with a 8:11.47 performance at the Millrose Games two weeks ago at The Armory, finishing ninth in a field in which he was the only current collegiate runner.
In his first try at the distance, Samuel took 6.83 seconds off Henry Rono’s collegiate record of 8:18.3 in the event that stood untouched for more nearly five decades – the previous UNM record was a converted 8:27.5 from George Scott at the 1967 NCAA Indoor Championship (8:37.8 on a 160-yard board track).
USA's Cole Hocker won the race in 8:07.31 ahead of World Record Holder and UNM alum Josh Kerr (8:07.68) in second. Kerr's World Record of 8:00.67 set at Millrose Games two years ago still stands as the fastest on record.
The Eritrean junior is only the third Lobo to earn entry into the Millrose Games while still in college after Kerr (2018) and Weini Kelati (2020). While at UNM, Kerr finished second in the Mile in 2018 with a collegiate best 3:54.72 clocking, while Kelati finished seventh in the 3,000m in 2020 (8:54.66).
SAMUEL, KOSGEI NAMED TO BOWERMAN WATCH LIST
New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel and Pamela Kosgei continue to rank among the frontrunners for The Bowerman – annually awarded to the top athlete in collegiate track and field – after both were named to the award’s preseason watch list and the first updated watch list of the indoor season.
It's the first time in UNM history in which both a male and female Lobo athlete opened the season on the Bowerman Watch List.
Both athletes are no stranger to the award – Kosgei concluded the 2025 track season as a finalist after sweeping the 5,000m and 10,000m titles outdoors and posting Top-5 all-time collegiate performances in three different events, while Samuel made the watch list multiple times in the last two seasons and made the cut as a semifinalist in 2024. Kosgei was the first Mountain West athlete -- man or woman -- to be named a finalist.
Samuel and Kosgei both rank among the best in the nation in the indoor 5,000m after strong season-opening marks in Boston in December. Samuel leads the nation with a 13:05.21 clocking, while Kosgei ranks third in the nation with a 15:05.41 time – the duo finished second and third in the event at 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships last March.
Samuel will hunt for a qualifying mark in the 3K this weekend, with Kosgei running for the first time this semester in the women's invitational 3,000m in Seattle.
2025-26 INDOOR SCHEDULE
After a quick trip to Notre Dame for the Alex Wilson Invitational – known for its elite Distance Medley Relay competition – on Feb. 26, the Lobos head to Reno for their first Mountain West Championships away from home in a decade.
UNM athletes with marks that rank among the Top 16 declared individuals and relay squads that rank among the Top 12 in NCAA D-I at the conclusion of the season will qualify for NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted at University of Arkansas. Five Lobo athletes qualified for NCAA Indoor Championships last year in Virginia Beach, Va. – Habtom Samuel (3,000m, 5,000m), Ishmael Kipkurui (3,000m, 5,000m), Collins Kiprotich (Mile), Brodie Young (400m) and Pamela Kosgei (5,000m, 3,000m) – Samuel, Kipkurui and Kosgei all earning multiple All-America finishes. All but Kipkurui – who forewent the rest of his collegiate eligibility to sign a pro contract with Nike in the summer – are set to compete for the Lobos again this season.
