Five Lobos to watch at the Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque

It’s podium time in Albuquerque.

The Mountain West Track and Field Indoor Championships kick off Thursday at Albuquerque Convention Center, the start of a three-day close to the conference’s indoor season. Thirty-four combined men’s and women’s league titles will be up for grabs; men’s and women’s team champions will be awarded Saturday after results are compiled.

This year, runners from New Mexico’s men’s and women’s teams are either the prohibitive favorites or in the mix to win a conference team title. Five Lobos to watch this weekend:

Habtom Samuel

Analysis: For as long as the sophomore has been a Lobo, Samuel’s been a must-watch in just about every race. This weekend is no different: After winning league titles in the men’s indoor 3,000- and 5,000-meter races as a freshman, he’s favored to repeat in both events this season with conference best times of 7:39.39 and 13:04.92, respectively.

In fact — at least going off seed times — it might be a surprise if a Lobo doesn’t win in either event. UNM owns the top four times in the league across both events, with freshman Ishmael Kipkurui (7:40.06) right on Samuel’s heels heading into Saturday’s 3,000 final.

But only Samuel holds the second-best 5,000 time in the country, trailing Harvard’s Graham Blanks (12:59.89). Could UNM’s star sophomore make a run to close that gap during Thursday’s final?

Pamela Kosgei

Analysis: Only one Lobo holds the conference lead in three separate events, and that’s Kosgei. The freshman from Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya, is atop the Mountain West in the women’s 3,000 (8:44.62), 5,000 (15:00.36) and mile (4:30.68), with all three times representing program records in her first indoor season with the Lobos.

Kosgei is a touch under 20 seconds ahead of the next closest Mountain West runner in the 3,000 and a ridiculous 55 seconds ahead in the 5,000. If Samuel and Kosgei perform as expected, UNM could very well see a sweep in both men’s and women’s long distance events and the mile (more on that later) to boot.

Brodie Young

Analysis: Young’s 45.77 400 at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational was significant in more ways than one. For starters, the junior from Glasgow, Scotland, lowered the Scottish national record with a time that ranks atop the Mountain West by over a second; San Jose State’s Christopher Coats is closest with a 46.88, the only other men’s conference mark under 47 seconds.

It also puts Young in position to do something that hasn’t been done by a Lobo in some time. As of this week, he’s qualified for the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships in the 400, and would be the first UNM sprinter to do so since Jarrin Solomon qualified in 2009.

Young is also a valuable piece of UNM’s 4x400 relay, ranked atop the Mountain West at 3:11.73. Expect him to be in the hunt for two conference titles come Saturday.

Lou-Anne Pouzancre Hoyer

Analysis: A senior from Sardan, France, Pouzancre Hoyer set a new UNM program record in the women’s 400 in memorable fashion. After running in the distance medley relay on Friday night at the Husky Invitational in Seattle, she flew back to Albuquerque on Saturday morning and ran a 52.50 at the Don Kirby Invitational hours later.

Even with that performance, however, Pouzancre Hoyer is not the top seed in the women’s 400 on Saturday: Fresno State’s Ceonna Pipion holds the conference lead at 52.40 while San Diego State’s Shaquena Foote (52.53) is right behind Pouzancre Hoyer. But the Lobo is in position to make some noise this weekend, whether it’s as the two-seed in the 200 and 400 or as the starter in UNM’s top-seeded 4x400.

Collins Kiprotich

Analysis: The UNM and Mountain West indoor mile record holder, Kiprotich and his 3:53:41 is the only runner in the field this weekend with a seed time below four minutes. With a time ranked 12th in the NCAA, the Eldoret, Kenya, native is in line for an NCAA Championships appearance — but first, the freshman will get a crack at his first Mountain West championship Saturday.