After a dominant season-opening performance Saturday in Stillwater that saw them topple top-ranked Oklahoma State, New Mexico Men’s Cross Country rose to No. 1 in the USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll for the first time in program history on Tuesday.
New Mexico joins a small group of just eight programs that have ascended to the apex of Division I cross country on both the men’s and women’s sides in the modern era (1995–present) -- Arkansas, BYU, Colorado, Iowa State, Northern Arizona, Oregon and Stanford are the only other programs to do so in the last three decades.
The Lobo women first reached No. 1 in the nation in the first regular-season poll of the 2015 season, going on to win national titles in 2015 and 2017 and finishing in the Top 10 in the nation in nine of the next 10 seasons.
The UNM men have now ranked among the Top 10 in the nation for 13 polls in a row dating back to the 2024 season – the women have been in the Top 10 for the last 14. Prior to 2024, the men had only ranked inside the Top 10 seven times in their history and never ranked higher than No. 5.
The Lobos backed up their rise to No. 1 with their first Cowboy Jamboree team title on Sept. 26, scoring 28 points to finish 16 ahead of Oklahoma State, the defending national champion. Pasanjo Kitonga won the men’s 8K in his cross country debut, while Collins Kiprotich placed third, Evans Kiplagat fifth and Joshua Abraham sixth, giving UNM four of the first six finishers. Vincent Chirchir completed the scoring five in 14th.
The UNM women dropped to No. 3 after holding their own against ranked foes in Stillwater, placing third and scoring 70 points even without leading runners Pamela Kosgei and Marion Jepngetich.
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The Lobos will face a much wider field of ranked opponents at the Nuttycombe Invitational in Madison, Wisc. in two weeks – their final race before Mountain West Championships Oct. 30 in Reno, Nev.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||
| 2025 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 4 | ||||
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 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 |