Pamela Kosgei, Habtom Samuel Shatter Course Records at Pre-Nats
MADISON, Wisc. – Pamela Kosgei and Habtom Samuel both obliterated the Zimmer Championship Course records en route to runaway individual wins as the No. 8 Lobo men and No. 17 women both outpaced 15 ranked teams each to finish fourth and sixth in the team score at Wisconsin Pre-Nationals on Saturday morning.
On this year’s NCAA Championship course, Kosgei took over down the stretch to shake off Florida’s Hilda Olemomoi and dip under the 19-minute mark with a 18:59.1 clocking – 18.1 seconds faster than the previous course record set by Parker Valby in 2023 (19:17.2). UNM was one of only four teams that placed three or more runners in the Top 50 overall thanks to 37th- and 38th-place finishes from Natalie Bitetti (20:06.8) and Mercy Kirarei (20:07.5), with Klara Dess (62nd, 20:19.3) and Sophia McDonnell (100th, 20:37.3) closing the gap to finish with 236 points in the team score — good for sixth against a field that included 10 teams ranked above UNM.
Course record SMASHED!@UNMLoboXCTF‘s Pamela Kosgei dips under 19:00 as she wins Pre-Nats!
1. Pamela Kosgei New Mexico 18:59.1
2. Hilda Olemomoi Florida 19:02.9
3. Caoline Jeptanui Tulane 19:05.4@BYUTFXC wins the team title with 105 points!Washington 2nd with 157. NAU… pic.twitter.com/Is9iUdoKPa
— RunnerSpace (@runnerspace) October 19, 2024
Kosgei hung with the front pack before turning on the jets down the stretch, closing the final 2,000 meters in 6:10.0 — the fastest single split of the race — to go from seventh to first, securing her second individual win in as many races.
“I said, ‘Let me push it, maybe I’ll win — because I say that may the best win,” said Kosgei post-race. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to win today, but I’m glad I did.”
🗣️: “I said, let me push it, maybe I’ll win, because I say that may the best win.”@UNMLoboXCTF‘s Pamela Kosgei reacts to her big 6k 18:59.1 course record and win at Pre-Nationals in Wisconsin.
🎥: https://t.co/N0b06TBtep pic.twitter.com/xdwqPN26H0
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) October 19, 2024
Up next in the men’s 8K, Samuel replicated the feat, shaving more than 30 seconds off Parker Wolfe’s previous record of 23:04 with a 22:34.6 time – 6.8 seconds ahead of second-place finisher and 2023 NCAA Champion Graham Blanks — to complete the individual title sweep for UNM. Behind him, Vincent Chirchir (23:06.5) finished 11th, Collins Kiprotich (23:15.7) finished 26th, Evans Kiplagat finished 63rd and Rikus Van Niekerk finished 65th to anchor a 166-point outing that placed the men fourth in the team score.
Make it a double for @UNMLoboXCTF!
Habtom Samuel shaves 30 seconds off the course record!
1. Habtom Samuel New Mexico 22:34.6
2. Graham Blanks Harvard 22:41.3
3. Justine Kipkoech Eastern Kentucky 22:42.6Arkansas wins team title – 89 points!@CycloneTrackXC 2nd with 128,… pic.twitter.com/wtPTba2RDy
— RunnerSpace (@runnerspace) October 19, 2024
In similar fashion to Kosgei, Samuel stayed patient and controlled through the first 6,000 meters before bringing down the hammer late, closing with a 5:31.2 split over the final 2K as he put distance between himself and the next four runners that crossed the finish line within two seconds of each other. Samuel was the first of nine runners to finish under the previous record.
2023 NCAA XC runner-up Habtom Samuel of @UNMLoboXCTF stayed patient and put on the jets in the closing mile to set a CRAZY 22:33.8 8k course record at Pre-Nats 👀
🎥: https://t.co/D0CeF4l6gI pic.twitter.com/oqVJmWWOvc
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) October 19, 2024
In total, 10 UNM women ran new 6K personal bests and five men ran new 8K bests — all of the Lobo women’s top six runners and the Top Three men ran new PR’s.
| WOMEN’S 6K TEAM SCORE |
MEN’S 8K TEAM SCORE |
|||||
| TEAM | POINTS | TEAM | POINTS | |||
| 1. | No. 2 BYU | 105 | 1. | No. 3 Arkansas | 89 | |
| 2. | No. 3 Washington | 157 | 2. | No. 4 Iowa St. | 128 | |
| 3. | No. 1 N. Arizona | 166 | 3. | No. 9 Stanford | 142 | |
| 4. | No. 28 West Virginia | 207 | 4. | No. 8 New Mexico | 166 | |
| 5. | No. 4 Notre Dame | 216 | 5. | No. 6 N. Arizona | 178 | |
| 6. | No. 17 New Mexico | 236 | 6. | No. 10 Wisconsin | 199 | |
| 7. | No. 5 NC State | 293 | 7. | Notre Dame | 200 | |
| 8 | No. 13 Wisconsin | 348 | 8. | Syracuse | 258 | |
| 9 | RV Florida State | 364 | 9. | Cal Baptist | 312 | |
| 10 | No. 11 Florida | 368 | 10. | Harvard | 327 | |
Both squads proved their worth against the nation’s best on this year’s NCAA Championship course and will likely get a bump in the next national polls next week as a result. The No. 17 women finished ahead of five teams ranked above them heading into this week — No. 5 NC State, No. 11 Florida, No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 14 Furman and No. 15 Tennessee — and the No. 8 men shed 10 points over the final two kilometers to beat out No. 6 Northern Arizona for fourth place.
UNM FINISHERS
| WOMEN’S 6K FINISHERS | MEN’S 8K FINISHERS | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Athlete | Time | Athlete | Time |
| 1. Pamela Kosgei | 19:50.0 | 1. Habtom Samuel | 22:33.8 |
| 37. Natalie Bitetti | 20:06.8 | 11. Vincent Chirchir | 23:06.5 |
| 38. Mercy Kirarei | 20:07.5 | 26. Collins Kiprotich | 23:15.7 |
| 62. Klara Dess | 20:19.3 | 63. Evans Kiplagat | 23:38.2 |
| 100. Sophia McDonnell | 20:37.3 | 65. Rikus Van Niekerk | 23:39.2 |
| 154. Tilly Simpson | 21:01.2 | 159. Corne De Fouw | 24:22.9 |
| 174. Jasmine Wood | 21:09.7 | 178. Lukas Kiprop | 24:28.2 |
| 211. Hanna Bruckmayer | 21:34.6 | 209. Iker Sanchez Lopez | 24:52.6 |
WOMEN’S “OPEN” RACE
Christina Nisoli ran a new personal best of 20:44.6 — 14.2 seconds faster than her previous best at Mountain Region Championships in 2023 — to finish fourth overall in the women’s open race following the men’s 8K, with four Lobos all recording new personal bests to finish in the Top 30 behind her. Meadow Drebert moved up 43 spots over the final 4,000m of the race to finish to score 16 points with a 43rd-overall finish (22:01.2) and Anya Belisle moved up 45 spots in the same span to score 19 points in 46th place (22:07.1) — improvements of 58.6 and 22.0 seconds, respectively. Behind them, Hannah Taylor (78th, 22:58.2) and Sylvia Schwedler (79th, 22:58.8) sealed an 89-point team score.
In the women’s open race team score, the UNM women finished behind BYU (22 points), Minnesota (71 points), Louisville (72 points), and Notre Dame (73 points), outpacing South Dakota (138 points).
| Women’s 6K Open Race Finishers | |
|---|---|
| Athlete | Time |
| 4. Christina Nisoli | 20:44.6 |
| 43. Meadow Drebert | 22:01.2 |
| 46. Anya Belisle | 22:07.1 |
| 78. Hannah Taylor | 22:58.2 |
| 79. Sylvia Schwedler | 22:58.8 |
UP NEXT
The Lobos will get another break before kicking off postseason racing at Mountain West Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Nov. 1. All races will be streamed via the MW Network, with live results available via GoLobos.com/XCResults. Follow @UNMLoboXCTF on IG and X for raceday updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.