LAS VEGAS, Nev. – For a third consecutive year, New Mexico’s Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams were both named preseason favorites to win the 2026 Mountain West titles, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. After sweeping the conference championships each of the last two years, the men will be eying a fourth straight title, while the women are looking for a third consecutive league crown in 2026.
 
The Lobo men garnered seven of eight first-place votes and sit atop the poll with 49 points. The women collected 81 points and nine of 10 first-place votes to lead the women’s poll. 
 
On the men’s side, Air Force came in second with one first-place vote and a total of 43 points, while Wyoming was picked third with 37 points. Grand Canyon checked in at No. 4 with 27 points, followed by Nevada in fifth (26), UC Davis in sixth (19), UTEP in seventh (14) and San José State in eighth (9).
 
Rounding out the top three of the cross country poll on the women’s side was Air Force in second with 70 points and one first-place vote followed by Wyoming in third with 66 points. The trio of Hawai’i, Nevada and UC Davis each collected 43 points for a tie for fourth, while Grand Canyon came in seventh with 42 points and UTEP in eighth with 34 points. Closing out the poll was UNLV in ninth (17) and San José State in 10^th (11).