The University of New Mexico announced on May 21 that 26 athletes from its track and field program have qualified for the NCAA West Region Preliminaries in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The qualifiers finished the season ranked among the top 48 in their respective events, with official entries confirmed by the NCAA.
This marks the second consecutive year that more than 25 New Mexico athletes have advanced to regionals, following last year’s group of 27 qualifiers. To qualify, individual athletes must rank within the top 48 in their event or be part of a relay squad ranked in the top 24 after scratches. The top 12 finishers at regionals will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships scheduled for June 10-13 in Eugene, Oregon.
Last season, several Lobos advanced from regionals to nationals by finishing among the top twelve: Habtom Samuel (5,000m; 10,000m), Pamela Kosgei (5,000m; 10,000m), Marion Jepngetich (5,000m), Judy Rono (1,500m), Mathew Kosgei (3,000m Steeplechase), Sophia McDonnell (3,000m Steeplechase) and the women’s 4×400 meter relay team. This year Samuel leads all collegiate runners nationally in the men’s five-kilometer event with a time of 13:03.47 and is also ranked first in his region for ten kilometers at 27:30.51. Pamela Kosgei holds second place regionally in both distance events while Jepngetich ranks seventh in her event and New Mexico’s women’s relay sits twelfth.
Of this year’s group heading to Fayetteville, thirteen are returning regional qualifiers from previous seasons.
The list of qualifiers includes Taniya Looney competing in both sprints; Eva Ngom and Lou-Anne Pouzancre running quarter-mile races; Matthew Endrody and Joshua Abraham racing middle distances; Collins Kiprotich joining Samuel as a distance qualifier; as well as representatives across hurdles and jumps such as Adryana Shelby and Ajia Hughes.
Looking ahead to next month’s national championships in Eugene, these performances could further raise New Mexico’s profile if multiple athletes secure advancement beyond regional competition.
