Pamela Kosgei Wins 10K Title on Day 2 at NCAA Outdoor Championships
EUGENE, Ore. – For the first time in program history, New Mexico has swept the NCAA individual gold in the men’s and women’s 10,000m Finals after a dominant meet record performance from Pamela Kosgei (31:17.82) to secure her first national title Thursday night at Hayward Field.
After hanging on to NC State’s Grace Hartman as she led the first eight laps, Kosgei pulled ahead with a 72-second lap and didn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the way — the true freshman closed the bell lap in 70.49 seconds to put the rest of the field away emphatically and leave little doubt. She crossed the finish line 14.33 seconds ahead of Hartman — the largest margin of victory since 2010.
Kosgei is only the fifth woman from New Mexico to win an NCAA title and the first to do so since Weini Kelati won the 10,000m in 2019 with a 33:10.84 performance. She’ll return on Saturday for the women’s 5,000m Final alongside teammate Marion Jepngetich.
After Ishmael Kipkurui won the Men’s 10,000m Final on Wednesday, Kosgei made it a Lobo sweep of the 10K individual titles for the first time in program history — in fact, New Mexico is the first D-I program in collegiate history to sweep both the men’s and women’s 10K in the same year. It’s also the first time a male and female UNM athlete have both won national titles at the same Outdoor Championships. Including Habtom Samuel’s title in 2024, three different Lobos have now won the national 10,000m championship in the last two seasons since Head Coach Darren Gauson took the helm for the 2023-24 season.
In addition to breaking Parker Valby’s previous NCAA Championship meet record, Kosgei’s 31:17.82 finish stands as the third-fastest collegiate performance all-time and fastest among collegians this season.
Another 𝗗𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗧 finish from Pamela for her first NCAA title!
• New @NCAATrackField Outdoor Championship Meet Record (31:17.82)
• No. 3 collegiate performance all-time #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/eAGxcQ3WZh
— New Mexico XC/T&F (@UNMLoboXCTF) June 13, 2025
Her time was more than 28 seconds faster than Valby’s 31:46.09 record set in last year’s finals at the same venue — the next four women who finished after her also finished below Valby’s record, with three other finishers recording times that ranked among the Top 15 performances in collegiate history.
| WOMEN’S COLLEGIATE 10,000M ALL-TIME LIST | |||
| Athlete | School | Time | Date |
| Parker Valby | Florida | 30:50.43 | 4/11/2024 |
| Pamela Kosgei | New Mexico | 31:02.73 | 3/29/2025 |
| Lisa Uhl | Iowa State | 31:18.07 | 3/26/2010 |
| Grace Hartman | NC State | 31:20.60 | 3/28/2025 |
| Sally Kipyego | Texas Tech | 31:25.45 | 5/4/2008 |
| Joy Naukot | West Virginia | 31:34.34 | 6/12/2025 |
| Paityn Noe | Arkansas | 31:36.91 | 6/12/2025 |
| Betsy Saina | Iowa State | 31:37.22 | 4/28/2013 |
| Emily Sisson | Providence | 31:38.03 | 5/2/2015 |
| Kate Avery | Iona | 31:41.44 | 5/2/2015 |
| Chloe Scrimgeour | Georgetown | 31:41.68 | 6/12/2025 |
With Kosgei’s 10 points in the women’s team score, the Lobos are now tied for fifth in the standings ahead of Saturday’s final day of competition with two more point-scoring chances in the 5,000m final.
| WOMEN’S TEAM SCORE (Through June 12) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pl | Women [6 out of 21 scored] | Pts |
| 1 | Georgia | 26 |
| 2 | Illinois | 16.5 |
| 3 | Washington | 16 |
| 4 | Louisville | 15 |
| 5 | Colorado State | 10 |
| 5 | Missouri | 10 |
| 5 | New Mexico | 10 |
| 8 | Stanford | 8 |
| 8 | Texas | 8 |
| 8 | Texas Tech | 8 |
| 8 | NC State | 8 |
| 8 | Rutgers | 8 |
Six other Lobos competed in semifinal action on Thursday, with Judy Rono (1,500m), Sophia McDonell (3K Steeplechase) and a 4x400m relay comprised of Sofia Pineda, Hanna Kiess, Sofia Pineda and Rebecca Grieve all concluding their seasons shy of Saturday’s semifinals.
WOMEN’S 1,500M SEMIFINAL
18. Judy Rono – 4:13.35
After entering this week ranked 21st in the field, Rono improved on that with the 18th-fastest time of semifinals (4:13.35) but finished ninth in her heat in her final race of a 2025 outdoor season that saw her set a program record in the 1,500 (4:09.07) and the No. 2 performance all-time in the 800m (2:03.91).
WOMEN’S 3K STEEPLECHASE SEMIFINAL
21. Sophia McDonnell – 10:04.39
McDonnell concluded a six-year collegiate career between Bradley and New Mexico with an 11th-place finish in her heat of the women’s steeplechase semifinals after qualifying for NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time this season. She crossed in 10:04.39.
WOMEN’S 10,000M FINAL
1. Pamela Kosgei – 31:17.82
• NCAA CHAMPION
• NCAA No. 3 performance all-time
• NCAA Championship Meet Record
WOMEN’S 4x400M RELAY SEMIFINAL
16. New Mexico – 3:32.38
Lou-Anne Pouzancre Hoyer (54.28), Hanna Kiess (52.84), Sofia Pineda (53.71) and Rebecca Grieve (51.57) combined for a 3:32.38 relay performance but the Lobo women finished seventh in their heat and 16th overall to fall short of advancing to Saturday’s final. They entered this week ranked 23rd in the nation.
Kiess’ 52.84 is the fastest 400m relay leg of her career, with Grieve’s 51.57-second anchor leg just shy of her 51.21 split at NCAA Regionals that stands as the fastest in a 4x400m relay in program history.
