Habtom Samuel Named MW Freshman & Athlete of the Week

Following his second school record in as many meets, New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel has been named Track Athlete & Freshman of the Week by the Mountain West, the league announced Tuesday.

In his first-ever collegiate 3,000m race, Samuel broke the UNM’s indoor record with a 7:45.61 finish at the UW Indoor Preview Saturday, finishing as the second-fastest collegian in one of the most loaded fields in the nation. As of Tuesday, that time stands as the sixth-fastest in the nation and fastest in the Mountain West.

All three runners that finished ahead of Samuel – 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.

The honor is the first weekly track award for Samuel this indoor season – he was named MW Freshman & Athlete of the Week Twice and NCAA Athlete of the Week once during cross country season last semester, concluding the season as MW Athlete of the Year after winning the individual title at MW Championships.

Samuel was already UNM’s record holder in the 5,000m after his indoor debut at the Sharon Danville-Colyear Opener, beating the old record by nearly 18 seconds with a 13:14.85 finish that stands as the 11th-fastest in collegiate history and 4th in the nation this season as of Tuesday.

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.