Habtom Samuel Breaks Indoor 3,000m School Record at UW Preview
SEATTLE, Wash. – New Mexico Track & Field made its return to competition at the UW Indoor Preview on Saturday, highlighted by Habtom Samuel breaking the 3,000m program record – his second record-breaking performance in as many meets – and Mikyla Harkley taking first place in the long jump.
Already a program record holder in the 5,000m, Samuel placed fourth (7:45.61) in one of the most competitive 3,000m fields assembled so far this season while finishing 1.91 seconds faster than Lukas Kiprop’s 7:47.52 time that broke the record for the first time this season on Dec. 2. Evans Kiplagat — who already claimed the No. 2 spot on the 5,000m list on Dec. 2 — moved into No. 8 on the all-time list in his first collegiate indoor 3K (7:59.43).
Habtom Samuel picks up today’s @Garmin 𝙋𝙍 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙚𝙚𝙩 after breaking the indoor 3,000m record with a fourth-place finish in Seattle!
He’s now in possession of both the 5,000m and 3,000m UNM indoor school records just three meets into the season 👀#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/zsPD45RZWq
— New Mexico XC/T&F (@UNMLoboXCTF) January 14, 2024
Harkley picked up her first event win of the season in the long jump with a 5.76m mark to lead 11 Lobo athletes placed in the Top 10 of their respective events in UNM’s first meet since Dec. 9.
THE ACTION
Coming off a pair of event wins in her last competition on Dec. 9 after returning from injury, Lauren Fowler opened things up in the 60m prelims alongside Mikyla Harkley. The duo placed 11th and 25th overall with 7.74 and 8.09 finishes – both good for third in the sixth and seventh heats, respectively.
In the women’s mile, Klara Dess finished second in her heat and ninth overall with a 4:46.51 time, with Sarah Eckel (4:51.76, 7th in H4) placing 14th. Up next, Samuel Field (4:02.05) finished fourth overall in the men’s mile to lead two other Lobos – Ethan Brouw (10th, 4:06.01) and Jonathan Carmin (13th, 4:07.28). Carmin picked up UNM’s first PR of the day with a 3.91-second improvement from his previous best (4:11.19) set last season in Albuquerque.
Making his season debut for UNM, Osaze Williams followed with the Lobos’ second PR of the meet with a 7th-place (1:52.81) finish, shaving .97 seconds off his prior best. He finished second in his heat.
The freshman-veteran duo of Jose Cornejo and Victor Akhalu ran away with Heat 8 of the Men’s 200m dash in their first race together, finishing first (21.93) and second (21.97) in their heat and second and third in the event overall.
UNM’s lone representative in the women’s 3,000m, Sophia McDonnell placed 16th in her heat and 38th overall in a loaded field with a 9:47.10 finish.
Mikyla Harkley became UNM’s first event winner of the day in the women’s long jump with a 5.76m (18′ 10¾”) mark – .16m (6⅓”) ahead of second place. Zennia Gonzalez (4th, 5.49m) and Lauren Fowler (6th, 5.42m) made it three Lobos in the event’s Top Six.
Habtom Samuel made certain UNM saved the best for last with his record-breaking fourth-place finish in the men’s 3,000m – his second indoor school record after breaking the 5,000m record with a 13:14.85 time in his indoor debut in Boston on Dec. 2. All three runners that finished ahead of him – of which two were professional athletes – ran under the previous meet record, with event winner Luke Houser breaking the Dempsey Indoor facility record with his 7:40.40 time.
Evans Kiplagat also finished under eight minutes with a 7:59.41 time that netted him 10th place overall – a 16.94-second improvement from his best outdoor time set in 2022 (8:16.35).
UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
UNM hosts its first indoor meet at the Albuquerque Convention Center next week at the Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational & Open on Jan. 20. All heat sheets, entry lists, live results links and schedules will be posted under the Home Meets tab on the Track & Field page on GoLobos.com. Live results will be available via GoLobos.com, with streaming available via FloTrack – follow @UNMLoboTFXC on Instagram and @UNMLoboXCTF on X for live coverage, meet day content and more.
FULL RESULTS
WOMEN’S 60 METERS
11. Lauren Fowler – 7.74
25. Mikyla Harkley – 8.09
WOMEN’S MILE
9. Klara Dess – 4:46.51
14. Sarah Eckel – 4:51.76
MEN’S MILE
4. Samuel Field – 4:02.05
10. Ethan Brouw – 4:06.01
13. Jonathan Carmin – 4:07.28*
MEN’S 800 METERS
7. Osaze Williams – 1:52.81*
MEN’S 200 METERS
2. Jose Cornejo – 21.93
3. Victor Akhalu – 21.97
WOMEN’S 3,000 METERS
38. Sophia McDonnell – 9:47.10
WOMEN’S LONG JUMP
1. Mikyla Harkley – 5.76m (18′ 10¾”)
4. Zennia Gonzalez – 5.49m (18′ 0¼”)
6. Lauren Fowler – 5.42m (17′ 9½”)
MEN’S 3,000 METERS
4. Habtom Samuel – 7:45.61*
10. Evans Kiplagat – 7:59.43*
*new personal best