USTFCCCA RANKINGS UPDATE
In this week’s USTFCCCA Track & Field Rating Index (TFRI), the Lobo men dropped six spots but remained in the national Top 20 at No. 20, with the women climbing seven spots for the second week in a row to move up to No. 26.
National TFRI Rankings - Checkpoint #3
Men: No. 20 (-6)
Women: No. 26 (+7)
Mountain Region TFRI Rankings - Checkpoint #3
Men: No. 5 (--)
Women: No. 3 (+2)
In the national #EventSquad rankings, the Lobos ranked among the Top 25 in the nation in 10 events. UNM men lead the nation in the 5,000m with the women at No. 2, with the men at No. 7 in the 3K and the women at No. 4. After a huge showing for UNM’s women’s 400m crew at Collegiate Classic, they now rank No. 4 in the nation – the highest ranking New Mexico has ever held in the Event Squad rankings in the women’s 400m.
USTFCCCA #EVENTSQUAD RANKINGS - Checkpoint #3
Women’s 60m - No. 84
Women’s 200m - No. 22
Women’s 400m - No. 4
Women’s 800m - No. 29
Women’s Mile - No. 15
Women’s 3,000m - No. 4
Women’s 5,000m - No. 2
Women’s Long Jump - No. 62
Men’s 400m - No. 24
Men’s Mile - No. 11
Men’s 3,000m - No. 7
Men’s 5,000m - No. 1
LOBO 400M STANDOUTS TAKE HOME MW WEEKLY HONORS
After standout 400m and 4x400 relay performances against elite national competition last weekend at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic, Brodie Young and Rebecca Grieve were named MW Men's and Women's Track Athletes of the Week and Eva Ngom earned MW Freshman of the Week honors, the league announced Tuesday.
It's the first such honor of the season for Young and Grieve and the first of Ngom's career.
BRODIE YOUNG | MW MEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Young posted the fastest 400m time in the Mountain West this season in his first try at the event this indoor season, finishing fifth in a loaded field at the NM Collegiate Classic. He's the only Mountain West athlete to run below 46 seconds this season.
Young also contributed a 45.13 split -- UNM's fastest of the day -- to a 4x400m relay that clocked a 3:11.66 converted time, the second-fastest in the conference so far this season. That time ranks No. 8 on the UNM Indoor all-time list.
REBECCA GRIEVE | MW WOMEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Grieve became the first woman from New Mexico to run below 52 seconds indoors or outdoors as she broke an all-conditions program record that ranks No. 1 in the conference heading into this weekend, also posting a 51.28 split as the anchor leg of a women's 4x400m relay that also leads the conference (3:31.77 @).
Grieve was one of three athletes to finish below the previous ABQCC Facility Record of 52.24 as she ran a new career best of 51.80 – she’s now the UNM program record holder in the event both indoors and outdoors and ranks No. 10 in the nation in the event.
The UNM women blew away a 4x400 school record set just last year as they finished third behind two of the fastest relay squads in the nation in UCLA and USC, running 5.08 seconds faster than the previous record of 3:36.85 ran at Mountain West Championships last season. That time ranks No. 14 in the nation.
EVA NGOM | MW WOMEN'S FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Ngom posted an improvement of .34 seconds in her second career 400m race to finish in 53.36 (53.70), the fastest 400m time of any freshman in the conference and fourth overall even after altitude conversions and is the fourth-fastest in program history.
She also ran a 52.22 split on the women's 4x400m relay as they broke the program record by more than five seconds. That relay performance of 3:31.77 (converted) leads the conference.
FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE (HUSKY CLASSIC)
| Event |
Time(MT) |
UNM Athletes (Section/Lane) |
| Women’s 3000m |
3:45 PM |
• Mia Torrecillas (Sec 2, Ln 3)
• Christina Nisoli (Sec 4, Ln 6)
• Natalie Bitetti (Sec 5, Ln 6) |
| Men’s 3000m |
4:45 PM |
• Jayden Hernandez (Sec 2, Ln 10)
• Thomas Termote (Sec 3, Ln 10)
• Vincent Chirchir (Sec 4, Ln 7)
• Matthew Endrody (Sec 5, Ln 3)
• Habtom Samuel (Sec 6, Ln 2)
• Evans Kiplagat (Sec 6, Ln 7)
• Iker Sanchez Lopez (Sec 6, Ln 10) |
| Women’s 5000m |
5:30 PM |
• Mia Torrecillas (Sec 1, Ln 18) |
| Men’s Mile INVITE |
7:35 PM |
• Joshua Abraham (Sec 1, Ln 6) |
SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE (HUSKY CLASSIC)
| Event |
Time |
UNM Athletes (Section/Lane) |
| Women’s Mile |
12:10 PM |
• Christina Nisoli (Sec 3, Ln 9)
• Mia Torrecillas (Sec 4, Ln 1)
• Meadow Drebert (Sec 6, Ln 1)
• Natalie Bitetti (Sec 7, Ln 1)
• Mercy Kirarei (Sec 8, Ln 3)
• Li-Mari Dekker (Sec 8, Ln 4)
• Jasmine Wood (Sec 9, Ln 2) |
| Men’s Mile |
1:30 PM |
• Rhys Crawford (Sec 1, Ln 3)
• Jayden Hernandez (Sec 3, Ln 15) |
| Women’s 800m |
2:05 PM |
• Kylie Feeney (Sec 2, Ln 3)
• Meadow Drebert (Sec 3, Ln 3) |
| Men’s 800m |
2:32 PM |
• Rhys Crawford (Sec 2, Ln 6)
• Matthew Endrody (Sec 6, Ln 5) |
| Women’s 5000m INVITE |
2:50 PM |
• Marion Jepngetich (Sec 1, Ln 4) |
| Women’s 3000m INVITE |
3:10 PM |
• Pamela Kosgei (Ln 2)
• Marion Jepngetich (Ln 4)
• Mercy Kirarei (Ln 10)
• Nicola Jansen (Ln 14)
• Jasmine Wood (Ln 15) |
| Women’s Mile INVITE |
3:20 PM |
• Tilly Simpson (Sec 1, Ln 9) |
FRIDAY'S SCHEDULE (DON KIRBY ELITE)
SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE (DON KIRBY ELITE)
|
*Registrations only; not all UNM athletes are guaranteed to compete in all events registered for.
^If athlete advances from prelims.
|
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.
LAST WEEKEND’S HIGHLIGHTS (NEW MEXICO COLLEGIATE CLASSIC, FEB. 6-7)
- Rebecca Grieve rewrote the record book again, running 51.80 (51.91@) in the 400m to become the first woman in UNM history under 52 seconds indoors or outdoors. Her performance shattered the previous program record and now leads the Mountain West.
- The UNM women’s 4x400m relay obliterated the school record, running 3:31.33 (3:31.77@) — more than five seconds faster than last year’s record and just .06 shy of UNM’s outdoor school best.
- Taniya Looney made an instant impact, breaking the UNM indoor 60m record in her Lobo debut with a 7.40 (7.42@) in prelims — then doubling back with a 7.44 in semis, now holding the two fastest 60m times in program history.
- Rasha Badrani continued to move up in the all-time lists in her first season in a Lobo uniform, running 23.73 (23.80@) in the 200m to move to No. 4 all-time at UNM, then adding a No. 5 all-time mark in the 400m (53.48) and running the opening leg of the record-setting relay.
- UNM’s women’s 400m group took over the Top 10 list, posting four all-time marks in one race:
- Brodie Young opened his 400m season in elite form, running 45.79 (45.90@) — the fourth-fastest race of his collegiate career and the first sub-46 mark in the Mountain West this season.
- Cameron Miller showed more progress in his sophomore season, jumping 15.49m in the triple jump -- his second straight PR and just three centimeters shy of the UNM all-time Top 10.
- Kahari Wilbon dipped under 47 seconds for the first time, running 46.94 (No. 6 all-time at UNM) in the 400m in his second race of the season.
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.
