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Habtom Samuel toed the starting line 13 times in college races over the past year.
Those toes crossed the finish line first all 13 times, including four NCAA championship runs — in cross country, indoor track (5,000 meters), and outdoor track (5,000 and 10,000 meters) — and on Tuesday he was named one of three finalists for college track and field’s most prestigious honor.
Pamela Kosgei followed one of the best freshmen seasons in college distance running history by carrying her dominance into her sophomore campaign, earning five All-American honors with three national runner-up finishes and leading UNM to Mountain West championships in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field.
Together, the duo continues to solidify the UNM Lobos cross-country and track-and-field programs as elite.
Tuesday, Samuel and Kosgei checked another first off the list.
Samuel was named the Mountain West Male Athlete of the Year and Kosgei the Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year, the first time in the 27-year history of the conference that one school has swept the athlete of the year honors.
MWN's Jesse Kurtz reveals the 2025-26 Mountain West Athletes of the Year @UNMLoboXCTF | @UNMLOBOS pic.twitter.com/IwWiQ7REsl
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) June 30, 2026
“If you’re honored for working hard, honored with some kind of recognition, it’s really awesome,” Samuel said in a video interview with the conference. “It shows the dedication and the hard work. I’m really blessed and really happy. ...
“This has been a really great season for me, for my teammates, for our program, for my coaches, for the people who are always around me, working hard.”
Putting him in even more elite company, Samuel on Tuesday was named a finalist for the Bowerman, college track and field’s most prestigious honor. He is the first UNM athlete to be named a Bowerman finalist.
Fan voting for Samuel, the Eritrea native and junior at UNM, is open on the Bowerman's website through noon on Thursday. The award presentation is Dec. 17 at the annual U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association Convention in Grapevine, Texas.
Last year as a freshman, Kosgei was the first UNM woman named a Bowerman finalist, the first to push UNM track into that elite space.
This year, she becomes just the third back-to-back winner of a Mountain West Athlete of the Year award.
“I try my best in everything,” Kosgei said in an interview with the Mountain West of her Athlete of the Year honor. “I have gratitude for my coaches, my working hard and my teammates.”
Kosgei, who is from Kenya, earned All-America honors in cross country, the indoor 3,000-meter, the indoor 5,000-meter, the outdoor 5,000-meter and the outdoor 10,000-meter.
UNM has now had nine MW Athletes of the Year, tied for the most in conference history.
Though Samuel and Kosgei were named the Mountain West’s top athletes regardless of sport, neither was named the top outdoor track and field performers in the conference.
Air Force thrower Texas Tanner and UNM distance runner Marion Jepngetich were voted by the league’s coaches as the MW Outdoor Track & Field men’s and women’s athletes of the year, respectively.
However, Samuel and Kosgei were named the conference’s athletes of the year in cross country and indoor track and field.
Lobos tops in classroom, too
Keeping in line with Tuesday’s Mountain West honors news dump, La Cueva High School graduate and UNM Lobo third baseman Akili Carris was named the Mountain West’s Male Scholar Athlete of the Year, the league’s top academic distinction for its athletes.
New Mexico's Akili Carris and Boise State's Kaiya Robertson are the 2025-26 Mountain West Scholar-Athletes of the Year!
Read more https://t.co/TI0G3joDvSpic.twitter.com/96JrKDP2UU
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) June 30, 2026
He was one of a league-leading 245 Lobos named this past school year Mountain West All-Academic honorees — the second consecutive year UNM has had more athletes honored than any other university in the league and the 10th time in the past 14 years.
To get the distinction, a student athlete must have maintained a 3.0 cumulative grade point average and played in at least 50% of their team’s competitions, unless injured.
Carris is the fifth UNM male athlete in the Mountain West's 27-year history to earn the league’s highest academic honor, joining Matthieu Amgward (tennis, 1999-2000), Sean Murray (baseball, 2003-04), Lars Loseth (skiing/soccer, 2006-07), and Samir Iftikhar (tennis, 2014-15). Four UNM women have won the MW Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, the last being soccer’s Gwen Maly in 2021.
Carris, a senior, started 120 of the 134 games over the past three seasons after becoming the team's regular starter at third. He earned a degree in business administration with a 4.0 GPA and is near completion of a master’s in business administration.
Reach Geoff Grammer at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.
Continue reading...
Those toes crossed the finish line first all 13 times, including four NCAA championship runs — in cross country, indoor track (5,000 meters), and outdoor track (5,000 and 10,000 meters) — and on Tuesday he was named one of three finalists for college track and field’s most prestigious honor.
Pamela Kosgei followed one of the best freshmen seasons in college distance running history by carrying her dominance into her sophomore campaign, earning five All-American honors with three national runner-up finishes and leading UNM to Mountain West championships in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field.
Together, the duo continues to solidify the UNM Lobos cross-country and track-and-field programs as elite.
Tuesday, Samuel and Kosgei checked another first off the list.
Samuel was named the Mountain West Male Athlete of the Year and Kosgei the Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year, the first time in the 27-year history of the conference that one school has swept the athlete of the year honors.
MWN's Jesse Kurtz reveals the 2025-26 Mountain West Athletes of the Year @UNMLoboXCTF | @UNMLOBOS pic.twitter.com/IwWiQ7REsl
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) June 30, 2026
“If you’re honored for working hard, honored with some kind of recognition, it’s really awesome,” Samuel said in a video interview with the conference. “It shows the dedication and the hard work. I’m really blessed and really happy. ...
“This has been a really great season for me, for my teammates, for our program, for my coaches, for the people who are always around me, working hard.”
Putting him in even more elite company, Samuel on Tuesday was named a finalist for the Bowerman, college track and field’s most prestigious honor. He is the first UNM athlete to be named a Bowerman finalist.
Fan voting for Samuel, the Eritrea native and junior at UNM, is open on the Bowerman's website through noon on Thursday. The award presentation is Dec. 17 at the annual U.S. Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association Convention in Grapevine, Texas.
Last year as a freshman, Kosgei was the first UNM woman named a Bowerman finalist, the first to push UNM track into that elite space.
This year, she becomes just the third back-to-back winner of a Mountain West Athlete of the Year award.
“I try my best in everything,” Kosgei said in an interview with the Mountain West of her Athlete of the Year honor. “I have gratitude for my coaches, my working hard and my teammates.”
Kosgei, who is from Kenya, earned All-America honors in cross country, the indoor 3,000-meter, the indoor 5,000-meter, the outdoor 5,000-meter and the outdoor 10,000-meter.
UNM has now had nine MW Athletes of the Year, tied for the most in conference history.
Though Samuel and Kosgei were named the Mountain West’s top athletes regardless of sport, neither was named the top outdoor track and field performers in the conference.
Air Force thrower Texas Tanner and UNM distance runner Marion Jepngetich were voted by the league’s coaches as the MW Outdoor Track & Field men’s and women’s athletes of the year, respectively.
However, Samuel and Kosgei were named the conference’s athletes of the year in cross country and indoor track and field.
Lobos tops in classroom, too
Keeping in line with Tuesday’s Mountain West honors news dump, La Cueva High School graduate and UNM Lobo third baseman Akili Carris was named the Mountain West’s Male Scholar Athlete of the Year, the league’s top academic distinction for its athletes.
New Mexico's Akili Carris and Boise State's Kaiya Robertson are the 2025-26 Mountain West Scholar-Athletes of the Year!
Read more https://t.co/TI0G3joDvSpic.twitter.com/96JrKDP2UU
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) June 30, 2026
He was one of a league-leading 245 Lobos named this past school year Mountain West All-Academic honorees — the second consecutive year UNM has had more athletes honored than any other university in the league and the 10th time in the past 14 years.
To get the distinction, a student athlete must have maintained a 3.0 cumulative grade point average and played in at least 50% of their team’s competitions, unless injured.
Carris is the fifth UNM male athlete in the Mountain West's 27-year history to earn the league’s highest academic honor, joining Matthieu Amgward (tennis, 1999-2000), Sean Murray (baseball, 2003-04), Lars Loseth (skiing/soccer, 2006-07), and Samir Iftikhar (tennis, 2014-15). Four UNM women have won the MW Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, the last being soccer’s Gwen Maly in 2021.
Carris, a senior, started 120 of the 134 games over the past three seasons after becoming the team's regular starter at third. He earned a degree in business administration with a 4.0 GPA and is near completion of a master’s in business administration.
Reach Geoff Grammer at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.
Continue reading...
