COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Mountain West has four cross country teams and four individuals headed to the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 23, at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course located in Madison, Wisconsin.
The New Mexico men’s cross country team earned an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Championship after finishing second at the NCAA Mountain Regionals Friday, the Lobos’ best regional finish since 2010. Lobo sophomore Habtom Samuel, the back-to-back Mountain West Men’s Cross Country Individual Champion, led the way with a runner-up finish in the 10k.
Utah State and Wyoming will also compete at the national meet after earning two of the 13 at-large selections. The Cowboys are making their first appearance at the NCAA championship since 2018 and their seventh overall, while the Aggies have earned their fifth NCAA championship bid in program history.
Boise State’s Joe Hudson and Colorado State’s Lars Mitchel were two of 38 individual qualifiers for the men’s 10k race. Hudson is running at nationals for a second straight season, while the Broncos have had at least one runner in six of the last seven NCAA championships. Mitchel will represent the Rams after finishing 18th in the Mountain Regional.
On the women’s side, New Mexico will compete at the 2024 NCAA Championship after earning a women’s at-large selection. It’s the Lobos’ 16th NCAA Championship appearance in the last 17 seasons, which includes a pair of NCAA team titles in that span. New Mexico finished third as a team at the Mountain Regional behind another win in the 6k for freshman phenom Pamela Kosgei, the 2024 Mountain West Women’s Cross Country Individual Champion.
Additionally, Colorado State’s Anna Petr and Boise State’s Kaiya Robertson were among 38 individual qualifiers. Petr finished 14th at the Mountain Regional while Robertson came in 9th at the West Regional to earn the bids.
The 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET on ESPNU.
