Kosgei's 5K Program Record Highlights Lobos' Day in Boston

BOSTON, Mass. – Pamela Kosgei opened her first indoor season with a program record and the fourth-fastest 5,000m time in collegiate history to highlight three new Top 10 entries and seven new personal bests for New Mexico’s distance crew at the Sharon Danville-Colyear Season Opener Saturday at Boston University.

Two weeks after finishing as a national runner-up at NCAA Championships in Cross Country, Kosgei shattered UNM’s indoor program record held by Weini Kelati since 2019 (15:14.71) by more than 14 seconds with a 15:00.36 performance that nearly guarantees her a spot at NCAA Indoor Championships in March and coming just .37 seconds away from becoming only the fourth woman in NCAA history to break the 15-minute barrier. Finishing third overall behind two familiar competitors – Alabama’s Doris Lemngole (14:52.84) and Florida’s Hilda Olemomoi (14:52.84) –  in her first indoor race, Kosgei was one of four athletes that recorded times that rank among the Top 5 in collegiate history along with fourth-place finisher Amy Bunnage of Stanford (15:00.75). Both Lemngole and Olemomoi finished under Parker Valby’s previous collegiate record of 14:52.79. Coincidentally, the four women were the four finalists for the Honda Sport Trophy for Cross Country named earlier in the week.

DORIS LEMNGOLE IS YOUR NEW NCAA 5,000m RECORD-HOLDER: 1️⃣4️⃣:5️⃣2️⃣.5️⃣7️⃣

The @AlabamaTrack sophomore crushed the final lap with intense pressure from runner-up Hilda Olemomoi, beating Parker Valby’s former record of 14:52.79.#BUOpener pic.twitter.com/IAeBoX9BGE

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) December 7, 2024

In addition to a new program record, that 15:00.36 clocking also stands as a Mountain West conference record.

When the dust settled, Kosgei was also one of three Lobos to crack the all-time Top 10 in their indoor debuts, with Collins Kiprotich running the eighth-fastest indoor 3,000m in program history (7:56.26) and Vincent Chirchir running the ninth-fastest 5,000m (13:48.73).

In her first collegiate race and the Lobos’ first of the day, Judy Rono put down a head-turning 4:45.28 to finish third in the second-fastest heat of the day and 14th overall — a time that puts her within eight seconds of cracking the UNM all-time Top 10 in the event. In the men’s mile races that followed, Luke Cunningham (4:02.85) finished 15th overall with Dylan Burrows (4:03.73) just behind in 18th — Cunningham missed out on a new personal best by just .18 seconds and Burrows shaved 5.49 seconds off his previous best in his first mile race since February 2023 when competing for Oklahoma Christian.

In the second heat of the women’s 3,000m, Mercy Kirarei (9:12.46, 28th overall) and Sophia McDonnell (9:28.77, 61st overall) both recorded new raw (non-elevation modified) personal bests as they finished 13th and 22nd in that heat. Rono returned for her second race of the day in the heat following, clocking a 9:30.09 time to finish 13th in the third heat within four hours of completing her first mile race.

In a top heat of the men’s 3,000m that saw UNC’s Ethan Strand break the collegiate 3,000m record, Lukas Kiprop finished 12th with a solid 7:51.96 season-opening time, with Collins Kiprotich (7:56.26) just behind in 14th. After his first indoor race as a Lobo, Kiprotich moves to No. 7 on the UNM All-Time 3,000m list behind teammates Habtom Samuel (No. 1) and Kiprop (No. 2) – all three times were recorded on Boston U’s track.

Behind Kosgei’s loud performance in the heat one, Klara Dess (15:57.33, 42nd) finished fourth in the third heat and Natalie Bitetti (16:06.21, 51st) and Christina Nisoli (57th, 16:13.48) both ran new collegiate bests to finish third and sixth in the fourth heat. In the same heat, Mercy Kirarei (16:17.54, 63rd) and Tilly Simpson (16:19.07) both also finished under the 16:20 mark to finish eighth and 11th. Nicola Jansen (16:25.06, 83rd) finished 22nd in her heat to likely open up indoor season among the Top 100 in the event.

Vincent Chirchir also etched his name in the indoor Top 10 as UNM’s top finisher in a loaded men’s 5,000m field, putting down a 13:48.73 time that ranks ninth all-time to finish 16th in the third heat and 77th overall. In the second heat, Evans Kiplagat recorded a 14:03.48 clocking to open his indoor season, good for 120th overall. True freshman Will Pardue wrapped up the Lobos’ day with a 14:56.39 time in his first collegiate race (184th).