WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10
|
Time (PT/MT) |
Event |
Round |
Athlete(s) |
|
5:21 / 6:21 PM |
Men’s 1,500m |
Semifinal |
|
|
7:56 / 8:56 PM |
Men’s 10,000m |
Final |
THURSDAY, JUNE 11
|
Time (PT/MT) |
Event |
Round |
Athlete(s) |
|
6:25 / 7:25 PM |
Women’s 100m |
Semifinal |
|
|
7:29 / 8:29 PM |
Women’s 200m |
Semifinal |
|
|
7:56 / 8:56 PM |
Women’s 10,000m |
Final |
FRIDAY, JUNE 12
|
Time (PT/MT) |
Event |
Round |
Athlete(s) |
|
5:12 / 6:12 PM |
Men’s 1,500m |
Final |
|
|
6:55 / 7:55 PM |
Men’s 5,000m |
Final |
SATURDAY, JUNE 13
|
Time (PT/MT) |
Event |
Round |
Athlete(s) |
|
5:52 / 6:52 PM |
Women’s 100m |
Final |
|
|
6:37 / 7:37 PM |
Women’s 200m |
Final |
|
|
6:55 / 7:55 PM |
Women’s 5,000m |
Final |
CHAMPIONS WEAR TURQUOISE
It was 2011 when UNM first donned turquoise at NCAA Championships, an idea hatched by former UNM Head Coach Joe Franklin at the time. In their first iteration, the uniforms were originally white and dip-dyed by hand — three times, to be exact— in order to reach the proper turquoise color. The Lobos didn’t get officially printed turquoise uniforms for nationals until after they won their first women’s NCAA team Championship in 2015.
More than a decade later, wearing turquoise has become both a privilege and a tradition that honors the state of New Mexico that the Lobos represent. Only UNM athletes that reach the NCAA Championship race in cross country or qualify for NCAA Indoor or Outdoor Championships wear turquoise — the color is meant to be earned and worn with pride.
More than just a color. More than just a team.
— New Mexico XC/T&F (@UNMLoboXCTF) June 10, 2025
Ready to write another chapter in the Legacy of Turquoise.#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/KwcfQoUiww
LAST TIME AT NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
New Mexico's 2025 outdoor championships was one of the most successful combined national outdoor showing in program history, with the Lobos finishing 2025 as one of just four programs nationally — and the only non-Power Five program — to place in the Top 10 on both the men’s and women’s sides.
The Lobo men matched their best NCAA Outdoor team finish in program history with a fifth-place finish, scoring a program-record 31 points — surpassing the previous high of 25 set in 1965. UNM opened the week with a historic 1-2 finish from Ishmael Kipkurui and Habtom Samuel in the 10,000m Final, then added three more First Team All-America finishes on the final day of men’s competition. Samuel went on to finish second in the 5,000m as well, closing the meet with two NCAA runner-up finishes and 16 total points — the most of any male individual at the championships. Kipkurui added a seventh-place finish in the 5,000m, making him and Samuel the first pair of Lobo men to earn First Team All-America honors in the same year in the event, while Mathew Kosgei placed sixth in the steeplechase with the fastest NCAA Championships steeplechase performance in UNM history.
On the women’s side, Pamela Kosgei delivered one of the most significant individual performances in NCAA Outdoor Championships history, winning both the 10,000m and 5,000m to become only the fifth woman ever to complete the 5K/10K double at the same NCAA Outdoor Championships and just the third to do so since 1998. She became the first Lobo woman since Weini Kelati in 2019 to earn First Team All-America honors in two different outdoor events, while Marion Jepngetich added a fourth-place finish in the 5,000m to earn First Team All-America honors as a freshman. Behind those performances, the Lobo women finished ninth with 25 points — the second-most points by the women at NCAA Outdoors in program history, trailing only their 27-point total from 2019.
Between the men and women, New Mexico combined for 56 team points, more than doubling the previous best combined NCAA Outdoor total in program history. The Lobos earned eight First Team All-America trophies — five from the men and three from the women — and three individual national titles, while also becoming the only program in the nation to finish in the Top 10 nationally on both the men’s and women’s sides at both NCAA Cross Country and NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships during the 2024-25 season.
The historic showing capped a banner year for the program, with the women sweeping the Mountain West cross country, indoor and outdoor team titles and Head Coach Darren Gauson earning USTFCCCA Mountain Region Coach of the Year honors on both the men’s and women’s sides. Pamela Kosgei was also named USTFCCCA Mountain Region Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year after her national-title double, becoming the first Lobo woman since Kelati to earn the region’s outdoor honor.
HABTOM'S DOMINANT YEAR
Habtom Samuel enters the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships as one of the top distance runners in collegiate history and one of New Mexico’s most accomplished athletes ever. The junior from Keren, Eritrea, is set to double in the 10,000m and 5,000m after running the fastest times of NCAA West Preliminaries in both events, winning his 10,000m section in 28:42.53 and his 5,000m section in 13:38.12.
Samuel has been unbeaten by collegiate opponents this academic year and enters Eugene with a chance to win two NCAA titles at the same championship meet for the first time in his career. He is already a three-time national champion, winning the 2024 outdoor 10,000m title, the 2025 NCAA Cross Country title and the 2026 indoor 5,000m crown, and he is a 10-time First Team All-American across cross country, indoor and outdoor track. Last year at NCAA Outdoors, Samuel finished as the highest-scoring men’s individual at the meet with runner-up finishes in both the 5,000m and 10,000m, helping the Lobo men match their best national team finish in program history.
This spring, Samuel has taken another step forward historically, breaking the collegiate outdoor 5,000m record twice and becoming the first collegian to run under 13 minutes outdoors with his 12:57 performance at the LA Track Fest. He also ranks No. 2 in collegiate history in the 10,000m and has never finished lower than second in the NCAA Outdoor 10,000m Final. Samuel will open the week in the 10,000m Final on Wednesday before returning for the 5,000m Final on Friday.
TANIYA PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
Taniya Looney gives New Mexico one of the biggest sprint storylines of the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships after becoming the first Lobo woman to qualify for NCAA Outdoors in both the 100m and 200m since Barbara Bell in 1984. The junior from Oklahoma City transferred to UNM at the semester and has delivered an immediate breakthrough season, winning Mountain West outdoor titles in both short sprints and rewriting the program record book in the process.
𝙏𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙮𝙖 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮'𝙨 𝙍𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙪𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) June 8, 2026
After overcoming adversity and rewriting the record books, @UNMLoboXCTF sprinter Taniya Looney joins MWN host Karlie Drew to reflect on a historic season and her journey to this week's @NCAATrackField Outdoor Championships.… pic.twitter.com/rFsVOnEVvz
Looney enters Eugene as the fastest 100m and 200m runner in UNM history. At NCAA West Preliminaries, she became the first Lobo woman ever to break 11 seconds in the 100m, running a wind-aided 10.85 in the opening round before coming back with a wind-legal 11.07 to advance to Eugene. Less than two hours after her 100m breakthrough, she lowered her 200m best to 22.66 — also a UNM record — to punch a second NCAA ticket. She finished second overall in the 100m first round, won her 100m quarterfinal heat and advanced in the 200m as well, confirming her place among the top sprint qualifiers in the West.
Her rise has been rapid. Looney opened the championship portion of the outdoor season by sweeping the 100m and 200m at the Mountain West Championships, running 11.09 in the 100m final and 22.81 in the 200m final after also posting the top preliminary time in both events. She also helped UNM to a runner-up finish in the 4x100m relay at the conference meet and placed third in the 60m at Mountain West Indoors. A former Division II NCAA Championships qualifier at Pittsburgh State, Looney will make her first NCAA Championship appearance as a Lobo in Thursday’s 100m and 200m semifinals, with finals set for Saturday if she advances.
PAMELA SET TO DEFEND DOUBLE CROWN
Pamela Kosgei returns to Eugene with a chance to add to one of the most decorated résumés in New Mexico history, one year after sweeping the 5,000m and 10,000m national titles at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships and going on to finish as a Bowerman finalist. The sophomore from Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya, is entered in both events again after qualifying automatically in both at NCAA West Preliminaries, finishing second in the 10,000m in 31:27.58 and third in the 5,000m in 15:17.63.
Kosgei owns UNM records in the indoor mile, indoor 3,000m, indoor and outdoor 5,000m, 3,000m steeplechase and 10,000m — with all but the steeplechase previously held by Weini Kelati. She also holds four of the Top 10 fastest 10,000m performances in collegiate outdoor history, including her 30:49.99 program record from Stanford earlier this season. Already a seven-time USTFCCCA First Team All-American across cross country, indoor and outdoor track, Kosgei enters the week coming off a runner-up finish in the 3,000m and third-place finish in the 5,000m at NCAA Indoors, along with Mountain West titles in the indoor 3,000m, indoor 5,000m and outdoor steeplechase.
After becoming only the fifth woman in NCAA history to complete the 5K/10K double outdoors last season, Kosgei will open her 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000m Final on Thursday before returning for the 5,000m Final on Saturday.