Habtom Samuel Punches Ticket to NCAA Outdoor Championships in 10K and 5K

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Sophia McDonnell (3K Steeplechase) and Nicola Jansen (5,000m) both narrowly missed out on trips to NCAA Outdoor Championships to close out New Mexico Track & Field’s final day of competition at NCAA West Region Preliminaries on Saturday.

McDonnell placed sixth in the first heat of the day to put herself in position to qualify with a 10:21.57 time, but was bumped down to 15th overall by the time the dust had settled to miss the cut for national Semifinals.

Up next, Nicola Jansen was the fifth athlete out of National finals qualification in the 5,000m, placing 17th with a 16:16.95 finish ahead of Mercy Kirarei (43rd, 17:38.17).

UP NEXT
Habtom Samuel will represent New Mexico in both the 10,000m and 5,000m at NCAA Outdoor Championships June 5-8 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. to conclude the Lobos’ season.

DAY THREE RECAP
New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel made it a clean sweep of the 10,000m and 5,000m with another event win in the 5K on Day Three at West Region Preliminaries on Friday, ensuring he will compete for an individual national title in both at NCAA Outdoor Championships June 5-8 in Eugene, Ore.

Samuel posted the fastest final 400m of the day (1:00.18) to hold off a late challenge from Kansas’ Chandler Gibbens, who pulled ahead with less than a lap to go – the true freshman finished in 13:44.50.

2⃣ for 2⃣‼️

Habtom Samuel has posted the top time of NCAA West Region Prelims in both the 10,000m on Wednesday and the 5,000m today to punch his ticket to @NCAATrackField Outdoor Championships in both!#GoLobos pic.twitter.com/OHgDPK3bB2

— New Mexico XC/T&F (@UNMLoboXCTF) May 25, 2024

Behind him, teammate Vincent Chirchir (13:57.94) was the first man out from advancing to NCAA Outdoor Championships, placing eighth in the same heat as Samuel but 13th overall to miss the cut by 2.97 seconds. Evans Kiplagat (15:15.89) finished 20th in their heat and 43rd overall.

Earlier in the day, Brodie Young concluded his season as the fifth athlete out from NCAA Outdoor Championships with a 17th overall finish (46.19) in the 400m Quarterfinals.

DAY ONE RECAP
Brodie Young secured a spot in the 400m Quarterfinals to open up things up for New Mexico Track & Field on Wednesday before Habtom Samuel punched his ticket to NCAA Outdoor Championships with the fastest time of the night in the 10,000m to close out Day One of NCAA West Region First Round Preliminaries at John McDonnell Field.
Brodie Young ran a new personal best and his first sub-46 time of the year (45.71) to finish second in the second heat and 12th overall in the First Round of the men’s 400m – his fastest time since last year’s MW Outdoor Championships (May 13, 2023).

Samuel ensured he’d get the chance to race for at least his fourth All-American finish at NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field June 5-8 with an event win, crossing in 28:26.91 – 33.68 seconds faster than the raw time he put down in his last 10,000m race at the Don Kirby Tailwind Open at elevation in Albuquerque (29:00.59). Behind him, Vincent Chirchir (29:02.96) finished 15th and Evans Kiplagat (30:56.85) finished 43rd, with Chirchir just 4.32 seconds out of joining Samuel at NCAA Finals as a true freshman.

The trio will return on Friday to race in the Men’s 5,000m Semifinals, set to get underway at 7:10 p.m. MT.

In other action, 100m UNM Outdoor Record Holder Victor Akhalu finished sixth in the fifth heat of the Men’s 400m to conclude his final season as a Lobo with a 10.46 (-0.3) time. He finished 36th overall.

Dylan Burrows narrowly missed out on Friday’s 800m final with a fourth-place finish in the third heat, putting down a 1:49.21 time that was just .21 seconds behind the 24th advancing runner.

DAY TWO RECAP
Klara Dess finished 10th in the second heat of the women’s 1500m with a 4:31.78 time to open up Day Two. In the women’s long jump, Elizabeth White (6.41m) finished 20th and Lauren Fowler (6.23m) finished 29th, with White jumping just .03m short of her personal best as the eighth athlete out.

Nicola Jansen (35:47.87) finished 35th in the Women’s 10,000m Semifinals to close out Day Two, running a gritty slow-paced race in which the top finisher (33:46.23) put down a time that was 53.05 seconds slower than Jansen’s personal best of 32:53.18 in April.

THE YEAR OF HABTOM
Since the 2023-24 season, Samuel has racked up accomplishments at a pace unseen by any true freshman in UNM history. He’ll be looking to add two more All-American finishes (5,000m, 10,000m) at Hayward to an already extensive list of achievements:

• 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)
• No. 2 10,000m time in NCAA History (Outdoor)
• 2024 Mountain West Indoor Track Athlete of the Year

UP NEXT
Tomorrow’s action kicks off with Brodie Young in the w0men’s 3,000m Steeplechase Quarterfinals at 5:40 p.m. MT before Nicola Jansen and Mercy Kirarei compete in the women’s 5,000m Semifinals at 7:10 p.m. All four days will be broadcast via ESPN+, with live results and streaming links for each day will be available via GoLobos.com/TrackResults. Follow @UNMLoboXCTF on Instagram and X for live coverage, meet day content and more.