UNM women's track wins outdoor Mountain West track and field title, completes conference sweep

The Lobos now have a long-elusive conference title sweep to their name.

New Mexico won its first-ever Mountain West outdoor track and field women’s team championship Saturday, scoring a field-best 153 points over the three-day meet at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis, Calif.

In winning both indoor and outdoor conference titles this season, UNM broke Colorado State’s two-year run of sweeping league team championships. The Rams (112) and host Fresno State (99) finished second and third, respectively, behind the Lobos.

Just like their indoor team championship win this March, the Lobos were largely led by distance runner Pamela Kosgei. The freshman from Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya ran Saturday’s 5,000-meter-race in 15 minutes and 50.96 seconds for her second win of the weekend — with four Lobos finishing in the top five, UNM scored 30 points off the 5,000 alone .

Kosgei also set a new Mountain West record (9:31.86) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday.

UNM’s championship effort also received a boost from Judy Rono’s win in the 800, with the freshman from Eldama Ravine, Kenya running it in 2:03.91.

The Lobos closed the meet on a high, taking home a 4x400 relay title in 3:35.34.

In the men’s team competition, UNM finished second behind Colorado State. The Lobos saw key wins Saturday from Ishmael Kipkurui in the men’s 5,000 (13:26.84) and Levente Soos in the 400-meter hurdles (51.52).

WATTS WINS: Was Cam Watts overjoyed with his 100 performance? Not quite.

“Didn’t feel like it was my best race,” the senior sprinter admitted Saturday in a post-race interview with the Mountain West Network.

It was, however, good enough for a win.

Watts ran a 10.23-second 100 Saturday at the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships, winning his second conference title less than three months after making his college track debut.

The senior from Tulsa, Oklahoma originally transferred in from Texas Tech to play football for UNM, making 12 tackles for the Lobos last season as a reserve cornerback. But when he was unexpectedly ruled ineligible this spring, Watts transitioned to track and found immediate success, winning an indoor conference title in the 60 this March and rewriting the program’s record books during the outdoor season.

Now, with his track eligibility exhausted, Watts has a decision to make: Will he pursue football after receiving a handful of NFL rookie camp invites? Or track, where he’s seen a bevy of newfound success?

Watts made it clear — he’s not quite sure yet.

“I just feel like I’m blessed … a lot of people would love to be in this position, and I just feel like you (have to) take advantage of it,” he said. “Whatever happens in the future, happens. And (I) just trust in God and the process to get me there, whether it’s track or football.”