UNM cross country: Samuel, Kosgei lead dominant Lobos at Mountain West Championships

Make that a three-peat for Habtom Samuel.

New Mexico’s star junior ran the men’s 8,000-meter final in 22 minutes and 32 seconds Friday at the Mountain West Championships, clinching his third straight individual league title by 24.2 seconds at Woodward Park in Fresno, Calif.

Samuel is now the first Mountain West runner to win a cross country league title three seasons in a row. The Keren, Eritrea native was also named the Mountain West Men’s Athlete of the Year, his second such honor in three years with the program.

UNM’s Pamela Kosgei also claimed the individual title in the women’s 6k, finishing in 19:20.8 to win by 21.5 seconds and notch Mountain West Women’s Athlete of the Year honors in her season debut. She is the first Lobo to go back-to-back since Amelia Mazza-Downie did so in 2021-22.

Samuel and Kosgei’s finishes helped set up team title wins for UNM men’s and women’s cross country, the first time both programs have won back-to-back league championships since 2014. The Lobos have notched men’s or women’s cross country titles in 18 consecutive seasons.

“When you got two outstanding athletes like Habtom Samuel and Pamela Kosgei … when you have them up front and you can put four behind them, you’re in pretty good shape,” UNM cross country and track and field coach Darren Gauson said in an interview Friday with the Mountain West’s Karlie Drew. “Credit to everyone. I thought our men’s team, our women’s team ran great today.

“I mean, you could tell a lot of the other teams really stepped up … We never take anything for granted. And to win both of them and do it quite comfortably was great to see.”

All in all, 12 Lobos placed among the top 14 in their respective races to earn All-Mountain West honors. UNM landed three of the four top finishers in both races, with Samuel, Vincent Chirchir (2nd, 22:56.2) and Evans Kiplagat (4th, 22:58.7) doing so in the men’s 8k, and Kosgei, Judy Rono (3rd, 19:49.7) and Jasmine Wood (4th, 19:56.1) in the women’s 6k.

Marion Jepngetich and Matthew Kosgei were also named Mountain West Men’s and Women’s Freshman of the Year, respectively. Gauson earned Mountain West Men’s and Women’s Coach of the Year honors, the second time he’s won both awards in a season.

UNM will finish its cross country season Nov. 22 at the NCAA Div. I Championships in Columbia, Missouri. Gans Creek Cross Country Course is hosting .