New Mexico Dominates Mountain West Cross Country Championships, Securing Back-to-Back Team Titles
FRESNO, Calif. – The New Mexico Lobos cemented their cross country supremacy, sweeping both the men’s and women’s team titles at the Credit Union 1 Mountain West Cross Country Championships held at Woodward Park in Fresno, California. This marks the second consecutive year New Mexico has achieved this feat, showcasing their continued dominance within the conference.
The Lobos’ performance underscores a sustained period of success; the New Mexico men have now captured nine Mountain West championships while the women’s team boasts an remarkable 17 titles in the last 18 years. This year’s championships were particularly notable for individual achievements, adding to the program’s legacy.
Junior Habtom Samuel made history on the men’s side, becoming the first Mountain West athlete – male or female – to win three consecutive individual titles. He shattered his own meet record, finishing with a time of 22:32.0, a meaningful improvement over his previous best set in 2023. Samuel bested Boise State’s Vincent Chirchir (22:56.2) by over 24 seconds. Meshack on it of Boise State finished third (22:57.7), followed by New Mexico’s Evans Kiplagat (22:58.7) and Wyoming’s Jacob White (22:59.4). New Mexico freshman Mathew Kosgei secured the top freshman finisher spot, placing eighth with a time of 23:07.1.
The New Mexico women’s team’s victory was equally decisive, with four Lobos finishing within the top five. Sophomore Pamela Kosgei led the charge, winning her second straight individual championship with a time of 19:20.8, becoming the fourth Mountain West women’s cross country athlete to 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 out the top five. Jepngetich earned the distinction of top freshman finisher for the women’s race.
