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by Connor Gilbert

Lobos Lace Up for MW Indoor Championships in Reno Feb. 26-28

Lobos Lace Up for MW Indoor Championships in Reno Feb. 26-28Lobos Lace Up for MW Indoor Championships in Reno Feb. 26-28
Tyler Schank/NCAA Photos

New Mexico heads to Reno, Nev. this weekend for the Lobos' first Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships away from home in a decade this weekend, with the UNM women entering as favorites to repeat as team champions and the Lobo men in the mix for their first indoor team title in 12 years.

Last year, the Lobo women won both the indoor and outdoor team titles to complete their first sweep of XC, ITF and OTF conference championships, with the men winning XC and finishing second both indoors and outdoors. Both New Mexico men and women won the 2025 XC Championships in November.

This weekend's action in Reno will be available to stream via the MW Network, with live results available via GoLobos.com/FollowTrack. Follow @UNMLoboXCTF on Instagram and X for live coverage, meet day content and more.

Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships
Feb. 26-28 | Reno, Nev. | Reno-Sparks Convention Center

MOUNTAIN WEST INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
- New Mexico enters this weekend ranked No. 28 in the nation for women and No. 24 for men in the USTFCCCA TFRI Rankings, leading the conference for women and ranking No. 3 for men. The men have remained in the Top 25 nationally in every ranking since the onset of the indoor season, with the women being in the Top 30 for the last three weeks in a row.
- In the USTFCCCA’s #EventSquad Rankings, the Lobos rank among the Top 10 in the nation in the women’s 3K (#3), Women’s 5K (#3), Women’s 400m (#7), Men’s 5K (#1) and Men’s 3K (#3). They also cracked the Top 30 in the Men’s Mile (#21), Men’s 400m (#29), Women’s Mile (#23) and Women’s 200m (#26).
- Habtom Samuel has built off the momentum of his undefeated cross country season with the nation’s top 5,000m time (13:05.21) and No. 6 time in the 3,000m (7:37.44), ensuring he will return to NCAA Indoor Championships to contest both for the third season in a row.
- Pamela Kosgei has also secured a return trip to NCAA Indoor Championships in both events for the women, ranking No. 10 in the 3,000m (8:44.91) and No. 5 in the 5,000m (15:05.41). Last year at MW ITF Championships, she won three different events (Mile, 3,000m, 5,000m) to score 30 points as the Lobo women won the team title.
- Last year, UNM’s women completed their first sweep of XC, Indoor and Outdoor Mountain West team titles in program history and are favored to win again – the men and women both won the 2025 XC team titles.
- Rebecca Grieve leads the Lobo women’s 400m squad that ranks Top-10 in the nation and will run the anchor leg on their conference-leading 4x400m relay that posted a 3:31.33 (3:31.77 converted) time in Albuquerque earlier this season. She’s the only woman from New Mexico to run below 52 seconds and holds the two fastest performances in program history, running a new personal best 51.71 (51.82 converted) in her last outing at the Don Kirby Elite that ranks No. 11 in the nation.
- Brodie Young, MW Indoor 400m and 4x400m relay champion in 2026, returns to the conference stage after an injury in prelims at MW Outdoor Championships kept him out of finals and the relay. With a 45.59 / 45.70 season best, he leads the conference again this season.
- 2025 NCAA Outdoor All-American Ajia Hughes (High Jump) broke a UNM record that had stood since 2018 with her 1.82m clearance that is tied for the MW lead. She joined the Lobos at the semester by way of Southern Utah.
- Matthew Endrody has enjoyed a breakout sophomore year indoors, opening with a stunning 13.1-second improvement in the mile for a 3:58.85 / 3:53.65@ performance that will likely secure his qualification for NCAA Championships (No. 14 in NCAA D1). He and Joshua Abraham (3:57.78 @) rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the conference for the men’s mile.
- New Mexico holds five of the Top 10 women’s mile times in the conference, six of the Top 10 men’s 3,000m times, seven of the Top 10 women’s 3,000m times, four of the Top 10 men’s 5,000m times and six of the Top 10 in the women’s 5,000m.
- UNM also leads the conference in both men’s DMR (9:58.53 @; Kiprotich, Young, Abraham, Endrody) and women’s DMR (10:55.34 @; Simpson, Ngom, Grieve, Jepngetich).
All four of UNM’s top women’s 400m athletes rank among the Top 7 in the conference heading into this weekend – Grand Canyon is the only other school with multiple in the Top 10.

THURSDAY'S SCHEDULE 

Event Time (MT) UNM Athletes
Women’s Pole Vault (Finals) 4:00 PM Mackenzie Hurtubise
Jacquelyn Gorman
Sofia Kazanova
Women’s 200 Meters (Prelims) 5:00 PM Rebecca Grieve
Rasha Badrani
Laylah Lawson
Taniya Looney
Men’s 200 Meters (Prelims) 5:30 PM Brodie Young
Women’s 5000 Meters (Finals) 5:50 PM Nicola Jansen
Mercy Kirarei
Pamela Kosgei
Tina Nisoli
Jasmine Wood
Men’s 5000 Meters (Finals) 6:15 PM Vincent Chirchir
Jayden Hernandez
Evans Kiplagat
Collins Kiprotich
Habtom Samuel
Thomas Termote
Women’s Distance Medley Relay (Finals) 6:35 PM Tilly SimpsonHanna KiessLi-Mari DekkerMarion Jepngetich
Men’s Distance Medley Relay (Finals) 6:55 PM Iker SanchezValin WittenburgRhys CrawfordJoshua Abraham

FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE 

Event Time UNM Athletes
Women’s High Jump (Finals) 2:15 PM Ajia Hughes
Women’s Long Jump (Trials & Finals) 4:15 PM Ajia Hughes
Men’s Long Jump (Trials & Finals) 4:30 PM Cameron Miller
Women’s Mile (Prelims) 4:30 PM Natalie Bitetti
Li-Mari Dekker
Tilly Simpson
Mia Torrecillas
Men’s Mile (Prelims) 5:00 PM Joshua Abraham
Matthew Endrody
Lukas Kiprop
Women’s 60m Hurdles (Prelims) 4:15 PM Adryana Shelby
Men’s 60m Hurdles (Prelims) 5:30 PM Semaj Thompson
Women’s 400 Meters (Prelims) 5:45 PM Rasha Badrani
Rebecca Grieve
Hanna Kiess
Eva Ngom
Sofia Pineda
Men’s 400 Meters (Prelims) 6:15 PM Brodie Young
Kahari Wilbon
Valin Wittenburg
Women’s 60 Meters (Prelims) 6:35 PM Laylah Lawson
Taniya Looney
Women’s 800 Meters (Prelims) 6:55 PM Meadow Drebert
Charlotte O’Meara
Kylie Feeney
Men’s 800 Meters (Prelims) 7:10 PM Rhys Crawford
Matthew Endrody

SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE 

Event Time UNM Athletes
Men’s Pole Vault (Finals) 12:30 PM Arian Milicija
Kyle Hatler
Women’s Triple Jump (Trials & Finals) 12:35 PM Ajia Hughes
Hannah Vincent
Mikyla Harkley
Men’s Triple Jump (Trials & Finals) 12:45 PM Cameron Miller
Women’s 3,000 Meters (Finals) 2:10 PM Natalie Bitetti
Li-Mari Dekker
Nicola Jansen
Marion Jepngetich
Mercy Kirarei
Pamela Kosgei
Tina Nisoli
Tilly Simpson
Jasmine Wood
Men’s 3,000 Meters (Finals) 2:35 PM Joshua Abraham
Vincent Chirchir
Matthew Endrody
Jayden Hernandez
Evans Kiplagat
Collins Kiprotich
Habtom Samuel
Women’s 4x400 Relay (Finals) 2:50 PM Rasha BadraniEva NgomSofia PinedaRebecca Grieve
Men’s 4x400 Relay (Finals) 3:15 PM Valin WittenburgKahari WilbonJacob CavanaughBrodie Young

*Finals events will include whichever qualifiers advance from prelims.

USTFCCCA RANKINGS UPDATE
In this week’s USTFCCCA Track & Field Rating Index (TFRI), the Lobo men dropped one spot but remained in the national Top 25 at No. 24, with the women dropping one spot to No. 28.

National TFRI Rankings - Checkpoint #5
Men: No. 24 (-1)
Women: No. 28 (-1) 

Mountain Region TFRI Rankings - Checkpoint #5
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 #5
Women’s 60m - No. 76
Women’s 200m - No. 26
Women’s 400m - No. 7
Women’s 800m - No. 41
Women’s Mile - No. 23
Women’s 3,000m - No. 3
Women’s 5,000m - No. 3
Women’s Long Jump - No. 65
Men’s 400m - No. 29
Men’s Mile - No. 21
Men’s 3,000m - No. 3
Men’s 5,000m - No. 1

LAST YEAR AT MW INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
New Mexico won its first conference track & field title in over a decade on the final day of competition at 2025 Mountain West Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center, winning the women’s team championship for the first time since 2015 with 136.5 points in total.

The Lobo women scored 91 of those points on Saturday, with Judy Rono (800) and Pamela Kosgei (Mile, 3,000m) combining for three individual titles on the final day. UNM finished with champions in five events.

The men came up just short of doing the same and completing the title sweep, finishing second in the team score with 161 points to Colorado State 165. Brodie Young (400), Habtom Samuel (3,000m), Collins Kiprotich (Mile) and the UNM men’s 4x400m relay squad all took home gold on the final day to push the Rams to the brink.

When the dust settled, Habtom Samuel was named MW Outstanding Track Performer of the Meet for the second year in a row after winning both long distance events and breaking his own MW championship records in both events. UNM Head Coach Darren Gauson earned his first MW Women’s Track Coach of the Year award after being named Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2023 and Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2024.

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
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.