Habtom Samuel Runs No. 2 NCAA All-Time 10K in Outdoor Debut

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. – The collegiate outdoor season has not even started yet for New Mexico, but even that couldn’t stop Habtom Samuel from breaking another record.

The Eritrean superstar finished fifth with the second-fastest 10,000m in NCAA history in a field loaded with pros and Olympians at Sound Running’s THE TEN on Saturday, putting down a scorching 26:53.49 time that secured him the Olympic-qualifying standard and essentially punches his ticket to Paris for the 2024 Olympics this summer. In the process, he also shattered a UNM program record that had stood since 1984 (Ibrahim Kivina-Juma, 28:06.1).

Already a three-time First Team All-American (XC, 5,000m Indoor, 3,000m Indoor) before his first collegiate outdoor season, Samuel was one of two collegians to finish under a previous record held by Sam Chelanga (27:08.49) that has stood since 2010 along with Northern Arizona’s Nico Young (26:52.72). The duo were the only two NCAA athletes in a field of more than 30 in the invite-only race designed to produce Olympic qualifying times and world records.

Because the event is not an NCAA-sanctioned meet, Samuel will still need to put down a qualifying time against college competition this spring to secure himself a trip to NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships later in the year, but he could run 64.74 seconds slower than tonight’s time in any collegiate 10K race this outdoor season and still be faster than the top time in the nation last season from Stanford’s Charlie Hicks (27:57.47).

Lobo Alumni and former NCAA champion during her time at UNM Weini Keilati made plenty of noise herself in the women’s 10K, finishing with a new personal best of 30:33.82 that moves her to No. 6 all-time for U.S. women’s 10,000m marks. Keilati finished runner-up to Tsigie Gebreselama, who ran the ninth-fastest women’s 10,000m in world history and the first sub-30:00 10,000m performance by a woman on U.S. soil.

THE YEAR OF HABTOM
Since bursting onto the scene in the 2023 cross country season, Samuel has racked up accomplishments at a pace unseen by any true freshman in UNM history. He’ll add Olympic Qualifier to an already accolade-dense resume:

• 2023 Mountain West Athlete of the Year (XC)
• NCAA Runner of the Week (XC)
• USTFCCCA Mountain Region Athlete of the Year (XC)
• Mountain West Champion (XC)
• NCAA Mountain Region Champion (XC)
• NCAA Championship Runner-Up (XC)
• Mountain West Championship Record Holder (XC)
• UNM Program Record Holder – 5,000m, 3,000m, Mile (Indoor)
• Fastest collegiate mile ever ran at the Albuquerque Convention Center (3:59.12)
• 11th-Fastest 5,000m time in NCAA History (Indoor)
• Mountain West Championship Performer of the Meet (Indoor)
• Mountain West Championship Record Holder – 5,000m, 3,000m (Indoor)
• Mountain West Champion – 5,000m, 3,000m (Indoor)
• USTFCCCA First Team All-American – 5,000m, 3,000m (Indoor)