COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – New Mexico Men’s and Women’s Cross Country swept the Mountain West individual and team titles at the 2024 Credit Union 1 Mountain West Cross Country Championships on Friday morning at Eisenhower Golf Course.
The Lobos are the first team to claim both the men’s and women’s team titles in the same season since 2014, when UNM was crowned both champions.
The sixth-ranked Lobo men became the first team to sweep the top five places in Mountain West men’s championship history and a team-best score of 15 points, claiming the program’s seventh team title. Habtom Samuel crossed the finish line at 23:20.7 and defended his individual title, the first back-to-back champion since 2006. He was followed by New Mexico teammates Vincent Chirchir (23:41.5), Collins Kiprotich (23:52.6), Evans Kiplagat (24:09.9), and Lukas Kiprop (24:16.6).
Colorado State took second place, recording 70 points in the men’s 8k, as the Rams placed three among the top 10 (Michael Mooney, Lars Mitchell, and Cory Kennedy). Wyoming followed with 80 points to secure third place with Jacob White as the first Cowboy to cross the finish line in 11th place.
On the women’s side, New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei recorded the second-fastest time in Mountain West women’s championship history as she clocked a 6k time of 19:36.2. Kosgei is the first freshman to win the women’s title since 2015. The eighth-ranked Lobos placed three in the top 10 to win the team title with 32 points. Boise State followed in second with 54 points. New Mexico earns the championship title for the 16th time in program history.
Kosegi was followed by Yasmin Marghini of Boise State in second place with a time of 20:23.0. The runner-up Broncos placed two in the top five (Marghini and Kaiya Robertson), while Colorado State rounded out the top three women’s teams with 79 points.
Mountain West teams and individual runners now turn their attention to the NCAA Mountain or West Regionals, which will be held on Friday, Nov. 15
