Preview: Lobos Lace Up for MW Outdoor T&F Championships May 9-11

New Mexico Track & Field returns to Clovis, Calif. this weekend to take part in its 25th Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 9-11 at Fresno State’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Lobos head into their first outdoor conference championships under Head Coach Darren Gauson ranked No. 4 and No. 5 in the conference in the USTFCCCA TFRI rankings on the men’s and women’s sides. UNM has 21 marks that rank in podium position (Top 3) on the MW Outdoor Performance list — seven for women and 14 for men. Brodie Young (400m), Dylan Burrows (800m), Habtom Samuel (1500m; 5,000m; 10,000m), Mercy Kirarei (5,000m) and Nicola Jansen (10,000m) all enter MW Championships with the No.1-ranked times in their respective events.

Already the conference’s Male Track Athlete of the Year for the Indoor season after winning both the 3,000m and 5,000m titles and a three-time All-American (XC and Indoor Track) as a true freshman, Samuel will make his return to competition to race in the 1,500m and 5,000m – he’s ranked No. 72 in the nation in the 1,500 and No. 2 in the nation in the 5,000m, leading the conference in both. He’ll highlight a UNM distance crew that has 13 times that rank among the Top Five in the conference in the men’s and women’s 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m combined.

The Lobos will open up competition with the Women’s 800m Preliminary Round on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. MT and are scheduled to compete in a wide variety of events throughout the weekend.

All of this weekend’s action will be broadcast via the MW Network, with live results and streaming for each day available at GoLobos.com/MWOTF. Follow @UNMLoboXCTF on Instagram and X for live coverage, meet day content and more.

2024 MOUNTAIN WEST OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 9-11 | Clovis, Calif. | Veterans Memorial Stadium

RANKINGS UPDATE
Moving up to No. 26 in the nation, New Mexico’s Men’s Track & Field squad clocked in among the Top 30 teams in the USTFCCCA’s National TFRI ranking for a fourth straight week, with the Lobo’s men’s 10,000m squad ranked No. 1 in the nation for the sixth-straight week in the #EventSquad rankings. UNM’s women’s 5,000m (No. 13) and women’s long jump (No. 9) both remain ranked among the Top 15 in the nation.
The UNM men also held steady in this week’s regional and conference rankings, sitting at No. 8 in the Mountain Region and No. 4 in the Mountain West. On the women’s side, UNM remained in the Top 100 in the nation at No. 99 for the fourth week in a row, clocking in at No. 10 in the region and No. 5 in the conference.

UNM MEN’S TRACK & FIELD – WEEK 7 USTFCCCA RANKINGS
National Rank: No. 26
Mountain Region Rank: No. 8
Mountain West Conference Rank: No. 4

UNM WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD – WEEK 7 USTFCCCA RANKINGS
National Rank: No. 99
Mountain Region Rank: No. 10
Mountain West Conference Rank: No. 5

In this week’s #EventSquad rankings, UNM cracked the Top 50 in the nation in four events on the men’s side (200m, 800m, 1500m, 10,000m) and four on the women’s side (1500m, 5,000m, Long Jump, Pole Vault) – the Lobos maintain their Top-10 rankings in the men’s 10K (No. 1) and women’s long jump (No. 9) from last week, with UNM’s women’s 5,000m squad remaining at No. 13 after entering the rankings at that spot last week.

UNM MEN’S TRACK & FIELD – WEEK 7 USTFCCCA #EVENTSQUAD RANKINGS
Men’s 1500m – No. 33
Men’s 200m – No. 47
Men’s 800m – No. 40
Men’s 10,000m – No. 1

UNM WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD – WEEK 7 USTFCCCA #EVENTSQUAD RANKINGS
Women’s 1500m – No. 27
Women’s 5,000m – No. 13
Women’s Long Jump – No. 9
Women’s Pole Vault – No. 22

BRODIE PUNCHES HIS TICKET TO PARIS
Brodie Young will represent Great Britain in the Olympics this summer in Paris as part of the mixed 4x400m relay squad after helping Team GB secure one of 14 Olympic Qualifying bids with a heat win on Sunday at World Athletics Relays in Nassau, Bahamas.

Young ran the first leg of the mixed 4x400m relay for a Great Britain squad that missed out on Olympic Qualifying and a finals spot by .34 seconds with a third-place finish in its first race on Saturday (3:13.52) but won its heat of the Second Round of Olympic qualifying competition on Sunday with a 3:12.99 season-best time that ranked as the second-fastest overall out of 19 teams.

Young posted a 46.70 400m split on Saturday and ran a near-season best of 46.19 in the second round on Sunday. That 3:12.99 mark would’ve been good for fifth in the Final Round held two hours later that the USA won with a championship record 3:10.73 time.

THE YEAR OF HABTOM
Since the 2023-24 season, Samuel has racked up accomplishments at a pace unseen by any true freshman in UNM history. He’ll add an NCAA Preliminary Qualification in at least two events to an already lengthy list of accolades and achievements:

• 2023 Mountain West Athlete of the Year (XC)
• NCAA Runner of the Week (XC)
• USTFCCCA Mountain Region Athlete of the Year (XC)
• Mountain West Champion (XC)
• NCAA Mountain Region Champion (XC)
• NCAA Championship Runner-Up (XC)
• Mountain West Championship Record Holder (XC)
• UNM Program Record Holder – 5,000m, 3,000m, Mile (Indoor)
• Fastest collegiate mile ever ran at the Albuquerque Convention Center (3:59.12)
• 11th-Fastest 5,000m time in NCAA History (Indoor)
• Mountain West Championship Performer of the Meet (Indoor)
• Mountain West Championship Record Holder – 5,000m, 3,000m (Indoor)
• Mountain West Champion – 5,000m, 3,000m (Indoor)
• USTFCCCA First Team All-American – 5,000m, 3,000m (Indoor)
• No. 2 10,000m time in NCAA History (Outdoor)
• 2024 Mountain West Indoor Track Athlete of the Year

THE ROAD TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
With just two weekends of competition left, the Lobos will turn their attention to the First Round of the NCAA postseason. University of Kentucky will host the East Preliminary in Lexington and Arkansas will host the West Preliminary in Fayetteville, with both set for May 22-25.
Participants for the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships first rounds are determined by the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Committee. For each individual event contested at both of the NCAA Regional Preliminary Round sites, the Top 48 declared student-athletes and Top 24 relay squads in their respective regions will be accepted into the competition, with the Top 12 in each Prelim advancing to the NCAA Outdoor National Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. June 5-8.
In total, 17 UNM athletes currently sit in a position to qualify for NCAA Regional action across 15 events between men and women.
Seven Lobo women currently rank among the Top 48 on the West Region Qualifying List in seven events, with four among the Top 25 – Nicola Jansen (10K; No. 6), Lauren Fowler (LJ; No. 18), Elizabeth White (LJ: No. 21), Sophia McDonnell (3K Steeple; No. 18) and Mercy Kirarei (5,000m; No. 20). Jansen, Fowler and Kirarei are currently qualifying in multiple events.
On the men’s side, 10 more Lobos sit in qualifying position in eight different events – Habtom Samuel leads the way with a No. 2 ranking in both the 10,000m (28:03.30) and 5,000m (13:13.34) and 18th in the 1500m (3:41.61), with Victor Akhalu (100m, No. 23), Brodie Young (400m; No. 18), Vincent Chirchir (5K; No. 8 + 10K; No. 15) and Evans Kiplagat (10K; No. 5) making it five Lobo men ranked in the Top 25 in the region. Fabian Biondina joined the list last Saturday with a 7.53m (24′ 8.5″) long jump at the Desert Heat Classic that ranks as No. 48 in the West Region.

INDOOR FLASHBACK
New Mexico Track & Field finished fourth in the team score on the women’s side with 85.5 points and fifth in the men’s score with 66 points at 2023 MW Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center Feb. 22-24, with 10 Lobos finishing with All-Conference honors and four individual titles.
Mercy Kirarei and Habtom Samuel swept the men’s and women’s 5,000m and 3,000m titles, with Samuel and Evans Kiplagat both finishing under the previous MW Indoor Championship record twice with a pair of 1-2 finishes. After the conclusion of the meet, Samuel was named the Mountain West Men’s Performer of the Meet for his efforts.
Lou-Anne Pouzancre Hoyer (400m, 3rd), Kiara Quezada-Arzate (PV, 3rd), Hanna Bruckmayer (Mile, 2nd) and Klara Dess (800m, 2nd) all got on the podium along with a women’s DMR squad comprised of Dess, Annamaria Leszczynska, Gabriella K. Szabo and Sarah Eckel that finished second.
Samuel and Kiplagat both went on to compete at NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston, where Samuel collected two First Team All-American honors in the 5,000m (4th) and the 3,000m (7th) and Kiplagat finished as a Second Team All-American in the 5,000m (15th). Samuel was named MW Indoor Track Athlete of the Year following the conclusion of the indoor season.

LAST TIME AROUND – 2023 MW Outdoor Championships
The Lobos landed six champions at the 2023 MW Outdoor Championships, with Lokesh Sathyanathan named the Performer of the Meet as the women finished third with 101 points and the men finished fourth with 106.5. Air Force won the men’s team title with 237.5 points and Colorado State won the women’s title with 158.4.
Three Lobos that finished on the podium last year – Brodie Young (3rd, 400m), Victor Akhalu (2nd, 100m) and Annamaria Leszczynska (2nd, 400m H) – will be competing in those same events this year.

NEW MEXICO MEN’S TOP PERFORMERS

VICTOR AKHALU 

• Lobos’ top 100m runner finished as a MW runner-up in the event last season, matching the UNM program record in the event in the process (10.28). Akhalu ran a wind-aided 10.27 (10.24 raw) this season at the Don Kirby Tailwind Open.
• Ranks No. 23 in the West Region on the most recent NCAA Outdoor List with that time.
• Two-time MW Champion and HM All-American in 2022 and 2023 as part of UNM’s 4x400m relay squad.
• NJCAA Indoor National Champion in the 400m in 2020 during his time at New Mexico Junior College, where he finished as an outdoor All-American in the 4×4 (2020, 2021) and 400m (2021).

FABIAN BIONDINA

• Dutch National U20 Long Jump Champion with a 7.62m mark (2022) … improved his personal best to 7.65m in July 2022 … also competed in triple jump (14.86 PR), 400 meters (50.64 PR) and 200 meters (23.11). At one point, ranked among the Top 150 long jumpers for two weeks and Top 300 triple jumpers for a week.
• Looking to improve on his 7.53m mark from the Desert Heat Classic to ensure he qualifies for NCAA Prelims – he currently sits at No. 50.

DYLAN BURROWS

• Grad transfer (Oklahoma Christian) and 800m specialist who joined the Lobos over the semester after finishing fifth at D-II Indoor Championships in the event in 2023. Also reached the NCAA Outdoor Championships in both 2022 and 2023, finishing 10th in 2023. 
• Ran a lifetime best (1:48.40) in his last competition at the Desert Heat Classic April 26, a time that sits at No. 24 on the NCAA West Region Qualifying list and No. 1 in the MW. Finished eighth in the event at MW Indoor Championships.

VINCENT CHIRCHIR

• Will be the Lobos’ lone representative in the 10,000m, where he ranks No. 3 in the conference and No. 15 in the West Region. His 28:19.01 time at the Stanford Invitational ranks No. 6 on the UNM all-time list.
• Ranks second in the MW in the 5,000m behind Habtom Samuel (13:34.14) – good for eighth-fastest in the West Region this year and 16th in the NCAA.

EVANS KIPLAGAT

• An All-American in XC and Indoor 5,000m as a true freshman along with Habtom Samuel – also finished under the previous indoor 5,000m and 3,000m program records and MW Championships records en route to runner-up finishes in both events.
• Ranks No. 27 in the West Region Qualifying in the 5,000m (13:44.64) and No. 5 in the 10,000m (28:08.26).
• Two-time MW Athlete / Freshman of the Week in outdoor season.

HABTOM SAMUEL

• First Lobo to finish as an All-American in both XC and Indoor Track since Luke Caldwell (2014) – NCAA XC Runner-Up as a true freshman, followed up with Indoor All-American honors in the 5,000m and 3,000m. Broke the program records in the 3,000m and 5,000m during indoor season and has broken the UNM & MW outdoor 5,000m and 10,000m records this outdoor season. Ranks No. 2 in the nation in the 5,000m (13:13.34) and No. 3 in the 10,000m (28:08.30) and will be a favorite at NCAA Outdoor Championships in June in both.
• Ran the second-fastest 10,000m race in NCAA history on March 19 at Sound Running’s THE TEN (26:53.84) and posted a converted NCAA qualifying time of 28:08.30 that ranks as third-best in the nation.
• Won’t compete in the 10K this weekend but will race in two other events in which he’s posted the best marks in the conference – the 1500m (3:41.61) and 5,000m. Ranks No. 72 in the nation in the 1500m.
• MW Indoor Championships Performer of the Meet & Indoor Track Athlete of the Year as well as MW XC Athlete of the Year. Broke the conference championship record en route to runaway wins in both.

LEVENTE SOOS

• His 51.98 personal best 400m hurdles time at Bryan Clay Invitational was the fastest from a Lobo since Rivaldo Leacock in 2022 (49.63) and the fastest from a true freshman since Charles Lewis in 2011 (51.49).
• Ranks No. 37 in the West Region with that time.
• Ran the 400 leg of the second-fastest DMR in program history (9:28.79) at the Terrier DMR Challenge on Feb. 16. Finished 13th in the 400m at MW Indoor Championships (48.58).

BRODIE YOUNG

• Helped Great Britain & N.I. qualify for the Olympics in the Mixed 4x400m Relay in his second stint competing for the senior national team last weekend at World Athletics Relay in the Bahamas, running the first leg for a 46.70 400m split on Saturday and a near-season best of 46.19 in the Olympic Qualifying second round on Sunday as GB won its heat. 
• Top-ranked runner in the MW in the 400m with his 46.15 season best – touts a personal best of 45.82 from last year’s Outdoor Championships, where he finished third.
• MW Indoor and Outdoor 4x400m Relay champion in 2022-23 – two-time All-MW Outdoors (400m, 4×4) and three-time indoors (400m, DMR, 4×4). Narrowly missed out on the podium in both the 400m and 4×4 at 2024 MW Indoor Championships with fourth-place finishes in both. 

NEW MEXICO WOMEN’S TOP PERFORMERS

KLARA DESS

• Ranks No. 10 on UNM all-time list in the 800m (2:07.78) but will only compete in the 1500m this weekend, where she ranks No. 37 (4:18.25) in the West Region and No. 3 in the MW. Has ran collegiate bests in both events in her last two meets.
• All-MW finisher in XC in 2023 and MW Runner-up in the 800m and DMR at Indoor Championships Feb. 22-24. Was part of MW DMR title-winning squad at 2022 indoors and finished third in the 800m that year.
• Has ran collegiate bests in five different distances this season – the 3,000m (9:31.40) and mile (4:42.16) indoors as well as the 400m (58.56), 800m and 1500m outdoors.

LAUREN FOWLER

• The Lobos’ top performer this season in the long jump (6.42m) and 100m (11.85) – the Lobos’s women’s long jump squad ranks No. 9 in the nation in the USTFCCCA’s #EventSquad Rankings. Sits at No. 46 in the West Region in the 100 and No. 19 in the long jump.
• This will be Fowler’s first MW Outdoor Championships – she’s competed at Indoors twice.
• Ranks No. 5 on the UNM long jump all-time list with her best wind-legal mark (6.21m).

MAJA GEBAUER

• Matched the UNM program record in outdoor PV this season with a 4.06m mark that secured her an NCAA Qualifying spot (No. 46) and ranks No. 2 on the UNM indoor list (4.10m). UNM’s top performer on a women’s PV squad that ranks No. 22 in the nation entering this week.
• Finished 5th at MW Indoor Championships in February – this is her first MW Outdoor Championships.

REBECCA GRIEVE

• Her 54.52 season best time at the Desert Heat Classic moved her up to No. 5 on the UNM Outdoor list as well as No. 5 in the conference and No. 79 in the West Region – she’d need to run sub-53.66 to crack the Top 48 in the West Region and advance to NCAA Prelims if the season ended today.
• Was part of a women’s 4×4 relay that finished fourth at MW Outdoors last season, also finishing 13th in the 800m.
• Ran her lifetime best of 54.16 at MW Indoor Championships in 2023 to finish fourth and running a leg of a 4×4 relay that finished third. Redshirted this indoor season.

NICOLA JANSEN

• Bradley transfer who finished as an XC All-American in 2023 after punching her ticket as an individual with a runner-up finish at Mountain Region Championships but redshirted the indoor season. Also a MW XC Runner-Up.
• Ranks No. 6 in the West Region in the 10,000m with a 32:53.18 time in her debut in the event at Stanford Invitational. That time was the ninth-fastest in UNM outdoor history.
• Also ranks No. 23 in the 5,000m (15:52.03), in which she’ll also compete this weekend.

MERCY KIRAREI

• Kenyan freshman joined the Lobos at the semester and dominated the field in the 3,000m and 5,000m at MW Indoor Championships to cap off immense improvement in a short span – she ran more than 25 seconds faster than the next-fastest finisher in the 5,000m.
• Broke the 16-minute mark for a new 15:49.77 best at Bryan Clay Invitational – her second improvement by more than 10 seconds dating back to February – that ranks No. 1 in the MW and No. 20 in the West Region.
• Kirarei was just 9.06 seconds short of qualifying for NCAA Indoor Championships in the 3,000m (No. 33, 9:03.60 ) – she ranked No. 42 in the nation in the 5,000m at the conclusion of indoors.

SOPHIA McDONNELL

• Surefire NCAA Qualifier in the 3K Steeplechase (10:14.14) with a new lifetime best that ranks No. 18 in the West Region and No. 2 in the conference. Also ranks No. 18 in the conference in the 5,000m (16:39.82).
• Finished top-four in the MVC in the steeple and advanced to NCAA Prelims twice (2021, 2022) during her time at Bradley. Followed Head Coach Darren Gauson to Albuquerque over the summer.

ELIZABETH WHITE

• UNM’s indoor program record holder and eighth-place finisher at USATF Indoor Championships (6.29m) in 2024 after finishing sixth at USATF’s in 2023 (6.31m).
• Jumped a new personal best of 6.44m unattached during the indoor season.
• Big Sky Champion in the LJ outdoors (2021) and indoors (2022) while at Southern Utah – reached NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2022 and finished 15th to earn All-American honors.
• Ranks No. 4 on the UNM outdoor long jump list with her 6.25m jump (best wind-legal jump) at the Don Kirby Tailwind Open, although she notched a 6.38 on her longest attempt.