EARLYSVILLE, Va. – The Mountain West had three cross country teams and three individuals compete at the 2023 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Virginia.
New Mexico freshman Habtom Samuel finished as the 2023 NCAA runner-up in the men’s 10k race after crossing the finish line in 28:40.7. Samuel’s second-place finish marks the Mountain West’s third top two finish in league history and first since 2006. UNM finished 18th in the team score with 466 points in the Lobos first NCAA championship appearance since 2014.
Air Force, the second MW men’s squad to qualify as an at-large selection, placed 12th with 368 points. Senior Luke Combs placed 28th, recording a time of 29:38.2. The Falcons have finished among the top 20 in each of the last four NCAA championships.
Boise State’s Joe Hudson was one of 38 individual qualifiers for the men’s 10k race. The senior placed 60th after recording a time of 30:07.6.
In the women’s 6k race, Colorado State placed 29th with 720 points in the Rams fourth NCAA championship appearance since 2007. CSU junior Quinn McConnell was the first Ram to cross the finish line, placing 143rd after clocking a time of 20:57.8.
New Mexico junior Nicola Jansen and Air Force junior Halle Hamilton qualified as individual at-large selections. Jansen, the mountain regional runner-up, was the first Mountain West runner to cross the finish line, placing 36th with a time of 20:05.7. Hamilton finished 131st after clocking a time of 20:53.3.
