Six former Lobo athletes chosen to enter UNM Athletic Hall of Honor

Six former Lobo athletes have been chosen for induction to the UNM Athletic Hall of Honor on Nov. 1, the UNM Alumni Lettermen's Association announced on Tuesday.

Pepe Caballero (men's tennis 1995-1999), Ruben Douglas (men's basketball 2000-2003), Kailin Downs (women's golf 2001-2005), Mike Solomon (men's track & field 1973-1977), and Jarrin Solomon (men's track & field 2004-2009) and Gary Hines (wrestling 1975-1979) will be this year's honorees. In addition to being a former UNM wrestler, Hines, the founder and former owner of local food staples Twisters and Stripes, has been a longtime, high-level donor to UNM Athletics and is being inducted as the 2024 Distinguished Service Award winner.

The Nov. 1 awards dinner will also feature yearly award presentations: Lobo men's basketball coach Richard Pitino as the 2023-24 Coach of the Year, Lobo softball star Rachael Hathoot as the UNM Female Athlete of the Year and distance runner for the Lobo cross country and track & field teams Habtom Samuel as the UNM Male Athlete of the Year.

The awards dinner, which will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 in the Events Center at Sandia Golf Club, is open to all for $75 each or $750 for a table of 10. Tickets can be purchased through the Lettermen's Association at (505) 925-5905.

Biographical info on each inductee provided by UNM Athletics:

Pepe Caballero (Tennis 1995-1999)

• All-American Doubles Selection (1998 and 1999)

• 11 National Doubles ranking (1998)

• 21 National Doubles ranking (1999)

• 57 National Singles ranking (1999)

NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Doubles Semifinalist (1998)

• NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Doubles Quarterfinalist (1999)

• ROLEX Region VII Singles Champion (1996)

• Western Athletic Conference First Team All-Conference in Doubles and Singles (1999)

Ruben Douglas (Basketball 2000-2003)

• Mountain West Player of the Year (2003)

• Led NCAA in scoring during 2002-2003 season at 28.0 ppg

• Honorable Mention All-American (2003)

• First Team All-Mountain West (2002, 2003)

• Named to Mountain West 25th Anniversary team (2024)

Kailin Downs (Golf 2001-2005)

• Mountain West Player of the Year (2002 and 2003)

• Mountain West Freshman of the Year (2002)

• Mountain West All-Conference Selection (2002-2005)

• All-American Selection (2003 and 2004)

• Edith Cummings Munson National Award Winner (2004)

• Academic All-American (2002-2005)

Michael Solomon (Track & Field 1973-1977)

• NCAA Champion in 600 yards (1975)

• All-American Indoor 600 yards (1975)

• Western Athletic Conference Champion 600 yards

• Olympic finalist in 400-meter (1980)

• Olympic Semi-finalist in 400-meter (1976)

• UNM School Record holder in 400 m from 1976-2007

Jarrin Solomon (Track & Field 2004-2009)

• 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist in 4x400m

• 2017 World Champion in 4x400m

• 2017 International Olympic Committee Athlete of the Year for North America

• All-American (2009)

• UNM School Record Holder in 400-meter

• Mountain West Record Holder in 400-meter (2009)

Gary Hines- Distinguished Service Award (Wrestling 1975-1979)

• Lobo Wrestling captain (1977-1979)

• Second place in Western Athletic Conference 1979

• NCAA Tournament qualifier

• Volunteer Coach for UNM Wrestling 1979-1982

• Business entrepreneur

• Longtime Lobo supporter who recently donated $1 million to Lobo Athletics

• Lobo Champions Council member

• Lifetime Lettermen’s Association member

• Highly involved in Albuquerque community support including to the local VA Hospital, Albuquerque Public Schools and other community non-profits