New Mexico Dominates Mountain West Crossโ Country Championships, Securing Back-to-Back Team Titles
FRESNO, Calif. – The Newโข Mexico Lobos cemented their cross country supremacy, sweeping both the men’s and women’s team titles at the Credit Union 1 Mountain West Crossโค Country Championships held โat Woodward Park in Fresno, โคCalifornia. This marks the โsecond consecutive year New Mexico โhas achieved โthis feat, showcasing their continued dominance within the conference.
The Lobos’ performance underscores a sustained period of success; the New Mexico menโ have now captured nine Mountainโฃ West championships while the women’s team boasts an remarkable 17 titles in the last 18 years. โThis year’s championships were particularly notable for individual achievements, addingโ to the program’s โฃlegacy.
Junior Habtom Samuel made history on โthe men’s side, becoming the first Mountainโค West athlete – male or female – to win three โคconsecutive individual โขtitles. He shattered his own meet record, โขfinishing with a timeโ of 22:32.0, a meaningful improvementโ over his previous best set in 2023. Samuel bested Boise State’s Vincent Chirchir (22:56.2) by over 24 seconds. โMeshack on it of Boise State finished third (22:57.7), followed by New Mexico’s Evans Kiplagat โฃ(22:58.7) and Wyoming’s Jacob White (22:59.4). New Mexicoโ freshman โฃMathew Kosgei secured the top freshman finisher spot, placing eighthโฃ with a time of 23:07.1.
Theโข New Mexico women’s team’s victory was equally decisive, with four Lobos finishing within the top five. โขSophomore Pamela Kosgei led the charge, winning โherโฃ second straight individual championship with โคa time of 19:20.8, becomingโค the fourth โขMountain West women’sโฃ cross country โathlete โฃto achieve back-to-back individual titles. Boise State’s Kaiya Robertson finished second (19:42.3), while New Mexico’s Judy Rono (19:49.7), Jasmine Wood (19:56.1),and Jepngetic Marion (20:02.3) rounded outโข the top โคfive. Jepngetich earned the distinction of top freshman finisher โฃfor the women’sโ race.
