Ishmael Kipkurui & Habtom Samuel go 1-2, Finish Under Collegiate 10K Record at Sound Running's THE TEN

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. – New Mexico’s Ishmael Kipkurui and Habtom Samuel ran the two fastest men’s 10,000m times in collegiate history as the duo finished first and second in the top heat of Sound Running’s THE TEN late on Saturday night and Pamela Kosgei ran the second-fastest women’s race in history – and a new UNM record – to finish ninth.

In a field that included Paris Olympians and former NCAA Champions, Kipkurui and Samuel were two of five men that secured qualifying times for 2025 World Championships in their heat of the 10,000m, with Kipkurui laying on the gas over the final lap to run away from the rest of the field with a scorching 55.82-second bell lap for a 26:50.21 finish – more than a second and a half faster than the previous record, Nico Young’s 26:52.72 time at the same meet last year. Young, Samuel and Kipkurui are now the only collegians to ever break the 27-minute mark in the 10,000m.

Just behind Kipkurui at the finish line, Samuel — wearing a HOKA jersey due to his contract with the brand sponsoring the meet — ran sub-27 minutes at THE TEN for the second year in a row, improving on his 26:53.84 time from last year that stood as a UNM record until tonight with a 26:51.06 time that moves him up to No. 2 on the NCAA list.

However, because THE TEN is a professional meet and not NCAA-sanctioned, Saturday’s results do not count towards NCAA Outdoor Championship qualification.

On the women’s side, Kosgei crossed in 31:02.73 to finish ninth overall, a time that is the closest any collegian has come to challenging Parker Valby’s NCAA all-time performance (30:50.43) – the previous No. 2 collegiate time was Lisa Knoll’s 31:18.07 clocking in 2010.

ISH. HABS.

NCAA ALL-TIME #1 AND #2.

𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦.pic.twitter.com/CjlyZMTgVQ

— New Mexico XC/T&F (@UNMLoboXCTF) March 30, 2025