UNM men's, women's cross country to 'empty tank' at NCAA Cross Country Championships
UNM鈥檚 Habtom Samuel points at his bare left foot as he approaches the finish line at the NCAA Div. I Cross Country Championships on Nov. 23, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. Samuel is expected to contend for a cross country national title Saturday.
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As far as team meetings go, Darren Gauson admitted it was kind of strange.
Two years ago, UNM men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 cross country teams had to go all-out to qualify for the NCAA championships. But as Gauson addressed his team before last week鈥檚 NCAA Mountain Regional, he wasn鈥檛 quite sure the heavily-favored Lobos had to go to those lengths again.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e like, 鈥榟ey, let鈥檚 make sure we qualify,鈥� UNM鈥檚 third-year cross country and track field coach remembered Tuesday, 鈥渂ut don鈥檛 go too 丑补谤诲.鈥�
Saturday will be a different story.
鈥淲e got to just completely empty the tank 鈥� (go) to the reserve if we can,鈥� Gauson chuckled.
Led by Habtom Samuel and Pamela Kosgei, UNM men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 cross country is set to compete for a national title sweep in the NCAA Division I Championships on Saturday at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Missouri.
Ranked fourth in the country, the Lobo women are vying for their first national team title since 2017; UNM previously claimed a national championship in 2015. The Lobo men (ranked third) have never won a national title, notching a program-best finish of eighth place in 2009.
After sweeping Mountain West and NCAA regional team titles over the last month, Gauson said UNM is healthy and already recovered after 鈥渃ontrolled鈥� performances from both teams in Salt Lake City.
The focus now? Keep things boring.
鈥淎ll season we鈥檝e been trying to get into (a mindset of) boring is good ... (like getting) in a routine of eating the same thing,鈥� he added. 鈥淚鈥檓 not a big Olive Garden fan, but they鈥檝e been getting it before every single race. So they鈥檒l just keep doing that.鈥�
And few runners could stand to keep things on schedule more than Samuel in the men鈥檚 8,000-meter race. After notching back-to-back runner-up finishes his first two years with the Lobos, the junior from Keren, Eritrea, has not lost a race this season and is largely considered the odds-on favorite to win UNM鈥檚 first men鈥檚 individual cross country title in program history.
Samuel鈥檚 stiffest competition is expected to come from Oklahoma State鈥檚 Brian Musau and Denis Kipngetich, Washington State鈥檚 Solomon Kipchoge and Wake Forest鈥檚 Rocky Hansen.
鈥淗e鈥檚 in a great spot, looks really calm, looks really relaxed. I think it just comes down to little things 鈥� just keeping him out of trouble. Let鈥檚 keep (him) on (his) feet, keep two shoes on (his) feet,鈥� Gauson joked, referencing Samuel losing a shoe during last year鈥檚 national championship race.
Kosgei is also expected to be in the mix for a national title in the women鈥檚 6K after finishing second to Alabama鈥檚 Doris Lemngole last year. In addition to the reigning national champion, the sophomore from Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya will also face strong competition from North Carolina State鈥檚 Grace Hartman and Angelina Napoleon and BYU鈥檚 Jane Hedengren.
鈥�(Samuel and Kosgei) are national level personalities and they鈥檙e going to give you national level performances,鈥� Gauson added.
