Lobos set for NCAA Mountain Regional in Lubbock

LUBBOCK, Texas – New Mexico Men’s and Women’s Cross Country is set to continue postseason racing at NCAA Regionals on Friday, hosted by Texas Tech at Chaparral Ridge XC Course.

379 runners from 20 different schools will be competing at the event, including 180 men’s runners and 199 women’s runners.

The Lobo men, fresh off their first Mountain West Championship since 2014 and ranked No. 19 in the most recent USTFCCCA polls, are looking to solidify their bid for their first NCAA Championship appearance since 2014. They’re ranked No. 3 in the Mountain Region coming into Friday’s race. They’re led by Habtom Samuel, who was named MW Athlete of the Year after becoming the first runner to finish the MW Championship race in under 23 minutes and looks to be a major player in the individual battle.

The UNM women came in No. 9 in the most recent Regional polls and are looking to extend their streak of 15 consecutive NCAA appearances. They’ve won Mountain Region Championships in the last two seasons and haven’t finished outside the Top Two since 2009.

NCAA MOUNTAIN REGIONAL
Lubbock, Texas // Nov. 10 // Women’s 6K: 9 a.m. (MT) // Men’s 10K: 10 a.m. (MT)
LIVE RESULTS | MEET INFO

LAST TIME OUT
Behind a blistering race from Habtom Samuel to lead a 1-2-3 finish, New Mexico Men’s Cross Country claimed its first Mountain West team Championship since 2014 Friday morning in Boise, with Nicola Jansen (2nd place) leading a fourth-place finish for the Lobos in the women’s team total.
In his first year as Head Coach, Darren Gauson was named Mountain West Coach of the Year for the men’s historic finish en route to the program’s seventh men’s conference championship. Samuel was named Mountain West Men’s Athlete of the Year, with Evans Kiplagat named Men’s Freshman of the Year. The first UNM athlete to win an individual men’s championship since 2012, Samuel’s finish was the fastest-ever in a Mountain West Championship race and first sub-23-minute performance in history.
The Lobos have won either a men’s or women’s MW team championship in every season dating back to 2008.
Samuel became the first men’s MW individual champion since 2012 with his dominant first-place finish (22:57.7) ahead of Evans Kiplagat (2nd, 23:15.7) and Lukas Kiprop (3rd, 23:23.3) – all three ran the fastest races of their collegiate careers. Behind them, it was Jonathan Carmin (8th, 23:42.1) and Samuel Field (20th, 24:07.7) who made the difference in a tight battle with No. 26 Air Force in the team total.
A combined six UNM athletes earned All-Mountain West honors, with Jansen, Samuel, Kiplagat and Kiprop all earning First Team honors and Carmin and Klara Dess (11th place) finishing on the Second Team.

A BIT OF HISTORY
If the Lobo men’s team finish were to match their regional rank of third, it would be the best finish for a UNM men’s squad since 2013. They’ve won the Mountain Region only once in 2010 but have finished in the Top Four 11 times as a team since 1977.
The reigning Mountain Regional champions, the UNM women will look not only to defend last year’s title but to claim their sixth regional crown overall. UNM first won the regional in 1981, before kicking off a dominant decade with titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2022. UNM also finished as the regional runner-up seven times from 2012-17 and again in 2019.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday’s action will begin with the Women’s 6K at 9 a.m. MT, followed by the Men’s 6K at 10 a.m. Live Results are available via GoLobos.com. Follow @UNMLoboTFXC on Instagram and @UNMLoboXCTF on X for live coverage, race content and more.

Lobos XC Mountain Regional Championship Men’s Participants

 *Indicates alternate runner

Nationally Ranked Men’s Teams at Mountain Regional (as of Nov. 9)

Lobos XC Mountain Regional Championship Women’s Participants

 *Indicates alternate runner

Nationally Ranked Women’s Teams at Mountain Regional (as of Nov. 9)