Kosgei, Kiprotich, Samuel Earn MW Weekly Track Honors
After splashy distance performances on the road last weekend that included two NCAA All-Time Top 10 performances, New Mexico Track & Field’s Collins Kiprotich (Men’s Freshman of the Week), Habtom Samuel (Men’s Track Athlete of the Week) and Pamela Kosgei (Women’s Freshman & Track Athlete of the Week) took home another Mountain West weekly award, the conference announced Tuesday.
It’s the third MW weekly track award of the indoor season for Kiprotich and Kosgei — and second in as many weeks. The duo combined for three weekly cross country awards during the fall 2024 season – Kosgei was named MW Athlete & Freshman of the Week twice (Oct. 8 & Oct. 22) and Kiprotich was named MW Freshman of the Week on Oct. 22. The duo swept the first MW weekly awards of indoor season on Dec. 10 as well last Tuesday (Jan. 28).
It’s the first weekly honor of the track season for Samuel, who took home a combined three weekly awards across indoor and outdoor season last year.
PAMELA KOSGEI | MW Track Athlete & Freshman of the Week
Kosgei broke her third UNM indoor record in as many races to highlight UNM’s first day of competition at the UW Invitational Friday evening at Dempsey Indoor, putting down an 8:44.62 clocking that ranks No. 7 among NCAA performances all-time on the all-conditions list (UW track is a short track and is thus ineligible for primary USTFCCCA Top 25).
Kosgei finished 15.82 seconds ahead of the next-fastest finisher and took more than nine seconds off Weini Kelati’s UNM record that had stood since 2019 — the third race in a row in which she’s broken a school record that Kelati held. That time also stands as a new Mountain West record as well.
In her first three collegiate indoor races, Kosgei has now broken the UNM 5,000m, Mile records and 3,000m – her 5,000m record set in Boston in December ranks No. 4 on the NCAA all-time list.
COLLINS KIPROTICH | MW Men’s Freshman of the Week
In the men’s 3,000m on Saturday in Boston, Collins Kiprotich posted a new personal best that stands as the second-fastest in UNM history (7:46.90), finishing as the second-fastest collegian in the field behind Colorado’s Isaiah Givens (7:45.01) in the top heat of the night. The reigning MW Athlete & Freshman of the Week after posting the fastest collegiate raw mile time ever ran at altitude, Kiprotich is now less than four seconds away from cracking the NCAA All-Time Top 25 in the 3K. That 7:46.90 time also stands as the fastest in the MW.
HABTOM SAMUEL | MW Men’s Track Athlete of the Week
In his first 5,000m race of the indoor season, Samuel put down a 13:04.92 time that moves him from No. 15 to No. 4 on the NCAA All-Time List – a 9.93-second improvement from his UNM indoor record (13:14.85) and 8.44 seconds faster than his outdoor record (13:13.34).
It stands as the fastest 5K performance – indoor, outdoor or cross country – by any Mountain West athlete in history. It also ranks first among current D-I Athletes (Current No. 1 on indoor list, Graham Blanks, went professional over the semester and is no longer eligible).
UP NEXT
New Mexico Track & Field hosts its biggest indoor meet of the year this weekend, welcoming 18 teams to the UNM Collegiate Classic at the Albuquerque Convention Center (Feb. 7-8), featuring team scoring for the first time. The action in Albuquerque will be available to stream via paid subscription to FloTrack — Head to GoLobos.com/FollowTrack for all of this week’s live results and streaming links all in one place and follow @UNMLoboXCTF on Instagram and X for live coverage, meet day content and more.