Pamela Kosgei, Habtom Samuel Sweep USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week Honors

After New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei and Habtom Samuel both smashed the Zimmer Championship Course records en route to a sweep of the individual titles at Wisconsin Pre-Nationals on Saturday, the duo have been named USTFCCCA National Athletes of the Week, the organization announced Monday.

Kosgei and Samuel outpaced the previous records on this year’s NCAA Championship course by 18.1 and 34.4 seconds respectively to anchor a sixth-place finish for the No. 17 Women and a fourth-place finish for the No. 8 Men in the final team score against a field that included a combined 39 teams ranked in the prior week’s national polls.

The honors are the seventh and eighth National Athlete of the Week honors for UNM Cross Country athletes in program history and the first since Weini Kelati won the award twice in the 2019 season. It’s also only the fourth time since the award’s conception in 2013 that both winners were from the same school – Samuel is the first male athlete from UNM to win it.

PAMELA KOSGEI | USTFCCCA WOMEN’S D-I ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (OCT. 21)
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 tht 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

HABTOM SAMUEL | USTFCCCA WOMEN’S D-I ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (OCT. 21)
Up next in the men’s 8K, Samuel replicated the feat, shaving more than 30 seconds off Ky Robinson’s previous record of 23:09 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 22:42.6

Arkansas 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

PREVIOUS USTFCCCA NATIONAL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK FROM UNM

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.