Fresh off a successful culmination of the indoor season at NCAA Championships, New Mexico Track & Field opens up the outdoor portion of the schedule at home on Saturday as hosts of the UNM Spring Invitational.
Saturday’s competition gets underway with Men’s and Women’s 4x100m Relays at 10 a.m., with field events kicking off at 10:30 a.m. No live results or stream will be available – follow @UNMLoboXCTF on IG and X for meetday updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.
SATURDAY'S UNM COMPETITION SCHEDULE
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SATURDAY FIELD 10:30 AM - Long Jump 11:30 AM - Triple Jump |
SATURDAY TRACK 10:05 AM - Women’s 4x100m
10:10 AM - Men’s 1,500m
10:30 AM - Women’s 1,500m
10:40 AM - Women’s 400m 10:50 AM - Men’s 100m
10:55 AM - Women’s 100m
11 AM - Men’s 800m 11:10 AM - Women’s 800m 11:40 AM - Men’s 200m
11:50 AM - Women’s 200m 12:40 PM - Women’s 4x400m
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HABTOM AND PAMELA SWEEP MW STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR HONORS
After following up a clean sweep of the Men’s and Women’s 3,000m and 5,000m titles at MW Indoor Championships with elite showings at NCAA Indoor Championships, New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel and Pamela Kosgei have been named Mountain West Track & Field Student-Athletes of the Year for the 2026 indoor season, the league announced Thursday.
It's the eighth time a man from UNM has been named MW Indoor Student-Athlete of the Year and the fourth time for a Lobo woman. It's the first and only time UNM has swept both awards in the same year since 2010, when Lee Emmanuel and Sandy Fortner both earned the honor.
Between them, the two athletes scored a total of 40 team points at MW Indoor Championships as they set new men’s and women’s meet records in the 3K and 5K and combined for 24 points at NCAA Indoor Championships.
NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS REWIND
New Mexico Track & Field delivered a strong two-day showing at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., highlighted by an individual national title, five First Team All-America finishes and multiple program all-time performances.
Habtom Samuel led the way with a national title in the men’s 5,000m (13:36.58), securing his first indoor championship and third NCAA individual title overall. With the win, he became the first athlete in program history to claim NCAA titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor competition. Samuel closed in 26.64 over the final 200 meters to hold off the field and finish his indoor season unbeaten against collegiate competition.
On the women’s side, Pamela Kosgei scored in both distance events, finishing third in the 5,000m (15:07.76) before earning national runner-up honors in the 3,000m with a personal-best 8:43.86 that set a UNM and Mountain West indoor record. Marion Jepngetich joined her on the podium in the 3,000m, placing third in 8:44.0 as the duo recorded the No. 1 and No. 2 indoor performances in program history.
Matthew Endrödy capped a breakout indoor season with First Team All-America honors in the men’s mile, finishing sixth in 3:59.74 after advancing through prelims as an automatic qualifier. He became the program’s highest finisher in the event since 2018.
Samuel nearly added a second title in the men’s 3,000m, crossing the line first before being disqualified following contact on the final lap. Evans Kiplagat added a Second Team All-America finish in the men’s 5,000m (16th).
As a team, the Lobos totaled 20 points on the women’s side to finish tied for 10th nationally, while the men scored 13 points to tie for 19th.
USTFCCCA RANKINGS UPDATE
In the final rankings of the indoor season in the USTFCCCA Track & Field Rating Index (TFRI), the Lobo men moved up two spots to No. 20, with the women moving up one to No. 32.
National TFRI Rankings - Checkpoint #7
Men: No. 20 (+2)
Women: No. 32 (+1)
Mountain Region TFRI Rankings - Checkpoint #7
Men: No. 5 (--)
Women: No. 3 (--)
In the national #EventSquad rankings, the Lobos ranked among the Top 25 in the nation in eightr 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 #7
Women’s 60m - No. 77
Women’s 200m - No. 23
Women’s 400m - No. 9
Women’s 800m - No. 43
Women’s Mile - No. 22
Women’s 3,000m - No. 3
Women’s 5,000m - No. 3
Women’s Long Jump - No. 69
Men’s 400m - No. 34
Men’s Mile - No. 21
Men’s 3,000m - No. 3
Men’s 5,000m - No. 1
SAMUEL, KOSGEI MAKE YET ANOTHER BOWERMAN WATCH LIST
In The Bowerman’s Pre-Outdoor Watch List released on March 26, Habtom Samuel made the cut once again after winning the NCAA Indoor 5,000m title two weeks ago. He has yet to not be named to a Watch List for the Bowerman this track season since missing out on a semifinalist spot in 2025.
The Bowerman is bestowed to collegiate track & field's top male and female athlete for the year. 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. Cross country results are not within this consideration. The current collective track & field season began on November 28, 2025 and will end on June 13, 2026.