UNM ATHLETICS
Lobo men's, women's cross country teams preseason favorites in Mountain West 鈥� again
UNM teams received every first-place vote in the Mountain West preseason coaches polls.
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The Mountain West Conference may have a new look this fall, but the league鈥檚 coaches all seem to think it鈥檚 going to be more of the same.
The UNM men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 cross country teams are the preseason coaches poll favorites to win the Mountain West Conference this season 鈥� a prediction that, if true, would mean a third consecutive year of Lobo men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 team sweeps. In fact, the men have won three in a row (going for four) and the Lobo women have won 17 of the past 18 league titles, with the one exception in that span being 2023.
The conference鈥檚 preseason coaches poll released Wednesday showed the Lobo men securing all seven possible first place votes in the eight-team league (coaches can鈥檛 vote for their own team) and the Lobo women netting all nine possible first place votes in the 10-team league. Air Force was second in both polls, securing the lone first place vote for both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams that wasn鈥檛 given to the Lobos.
Last year, not only did both teams win Mountain West titles, each were on the podium (top five finish) at the NCAA Championship in November in Missouri 鈥� a first in program history.
While national champion Habtom Samuel has turned pro, both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams return the bulk of their roster from those teams.
The MW Cross Country Championship will be Oct. 30 in Reno, Nevada.
UNM鈥檚 teams each open the season at home next week for the Sept. 5 Lobo XC Invitational at the UNM Golf North Course.
Men鈥檚 MW Country Coaches Poll (Aug. 26, 2026)
| Rk. | Team | Points |
| 1. | New Mexico (7) | 49 |
| 2. | Air Force (1) | 43 |
| 3. | Wyoming | 37 |
| 4. | Grand Canyon | 27 |
| 5. | Nevada | 26 |
| 6. | UC Davis | 19 |
| 7. | UTEP | 14 |
| 8. | San Jos茅 State | 9 |
(First place votes in parenthesis, coaches could not vote for own team)
Women鈥檚 MW Cross Country Coaches Poll (Aug. 26, 2026)
| Rk. | Team | Points |
| 1. | New Mexico (9) | 81 |
| 2. | Air Force (1) | 70 |
| 3. | Wyoming | 66 |
| t4. | Nevada | 43 |
| t4. | UC Davis | 43 |
| t4. | Hawaii | 43 |
| 7. | Grand Canyon | 42 |
| 8. | UTEP | 34 |
| 9. | UNLV | 17 |
| 8. | San Jos茅 State | 11 |
(First place votes in parenthesis, coaches could not vote for own team)
