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UNM's Pamela Kosgei is first Lobo to be named a finalist for The Bowerman
UNM’s Pamela Kosgei crosses the finish line to win the women’s 5,000-meter race at the Mountain West Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 17 in Clovis, Calif.
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After a freshman year filled with program firsts, Pamela Kosgei notched another.
New Mexico’s Kosgei is one of three women’s finalists for The Bowerman, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced Monday.
The rising sophomore from Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya is the first Lobo — man or woman — to be named a finalist for the award, given annually to the best male and female athletes in collegiate track and field.
Alabama’s Doris Lemgnole and Michigan’s Savannah Sutherland are the other two women finalists for the award named after legendary Oregon track and field and cross country coach Bill Bowerman.
Fans can vote for Kosgei on the USTFCCCA’s website starting at 4 p.m. Tuesday; the fan vote runs through Thursday. The winner will be announced Dec. 18 at The Bowerman Presentation in Grapevine, Texas.
Finalists for the men’s award will be announced Tuesday. UNM’s Habtom Samuel and Ishmael Kipkurui — who signed a professional contract with Nike over the weekend — are among 10 semifinalists for the honor.
At the end of her first year with the program, Kosgei won the women’s 10,000-meter final, clocking in at 31 minutes, 17.82 seconds, at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June. The freshman’s hard kick to win resulted in UNM’s first women’s individual title since Weini Kelati won the same event in 2019.
Two days later, Kosgei ran the women’s 5,000-meter final in 15:33.96 to pull off the rare “distance double,” becoming only the fifth woman — and just the third since 1999 — to sweep both races in the same championship meet.
Kosgei earned five Mountain West titles across the league’s indoor and outdoor championship meets, and set league and program records in the indoor 3,000 meters and 5k. She also finished as the runner-up at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in November.
