NCAA track: UNM men finish top five for first time since 1967

For the first time in nearly 60 years, the Lobos are back in the top five.

New Mexico finished fifth overall in the men’s team competition Friday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, scoring a program record 31 points over two days at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Sending only three runners — Habtom Samuel, Ishmael Kipkurui and Matthew Kosgei — UNM notched its first top five team placement since 1967. The Lobos have finished in the top five just three times in program history: 1965, 1967 and now, 2025.

UNM has never placed higher than fifth.

The Lobos also finished with the highest point total of any non-power conference team; South Florida was the next closest, scoring 18 points to place 13th overall.

Texas A&M and Southern Cal scored 41 points each and split the men’s team title.

Samuel finished as the highest point-scorer of the entire meet, notching runner-up finishes in Wednesday’s 10,000-meter and Friday’s 5,000-meter finals to rack up 16 points for the Lobos. The sophomore from Keren, Eritrea ran Friday’s race in 13 minutes and 20.89 seconds, narrowly falling to Oklahoma State’s Brian Musau (13:20.59).

With three laps remaining in the 5k, Samuel trailed only Portland’s Matt Strangio (13:23.28) but soon found himself boxed in on the rail with one lap to go. Samuel held pace with Musau down the stretch but couldn’t overtake him, finishing second to earn his ninth All-America recognition — the most of any Lobo in program history.

Kipkurui ran a 13:25.18 to finish seventh in the 5k, scoring two of his 12 total points Friday.

The freshman from Baringo County, Kenya uncorked a ferocious kick to win Wednesday’s 10k in 29:07.7, beating out his teammate by a little over a second.

Kipkurui concludes his first season as a Lobo with a national championship and the 10k collegiate record, a 26:50.21 set this March.

Kosgei finished sixth in the 3,000 steeplechase final, running an 8:23.7 to earn first team All-America honors. The freshman from Tambach, Kenya scored three points in Friday’s final, finishing a second-and-a-half off his personal best (8:22.13).

The NCAA Championships will conclude tomorrow with the final day of women’s individual and team competition. UNM’s Pamela Kosgei and Marion Jepngetich are set to run in the women’s 5k; Kosgei claimed the women’s 10k on Thursday night.

LOCAL CONNECTION: An Albuquerque native came close to notching an NCAA title of his own this week.

UC Santa Barbara senior Brad Thomas finished second in the decathlon Thursday, scoring 7,888 points over 10 events.

An Albuquerque native and La Cueva High School graduate, Thomas finished top three in three events (1,500, 400 and pole vault) in his first NCAA Championships appearance.

Mississippi State’s Peyton Bair won the event with 8,323 points.