BOSTON, Mass. – Habtom Samuel remained undefeated in the 2025-26 year with a razor-thin victory in the Elite Men’s 5,000m to highlight UNM’s day at the BU Colyear-Danville Season Opener, with Pamela Kosgei finishing third in the Women’s Elite 5K with a Top-15 performance all-time and six Lobos notching new personal bests to open the indoor season.
Mercy Kirarei and Meadow Drebert got the day started with season-opening marks in the 3,000m, with Kirarei crossing in 9:43.35 and Drebert putting down a 9:48.60 in her first collegiate indoor race after redshirting last indoor season. The duo finished 43rd and 50th overall, respectively.
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Women’s 3,000m |
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Athlete |
Time |
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43. Mercy Kirarei |
9:43.35 |
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50. Meadow Drebert |
9:48.60 • Indoor collegiate debut |
In the men’s 3,000m races that followed, Joshua Abraham took more than seven seconds off his previous best and broke the eight-minute barrier for the first time with a 7:58.59 finish and Matthew Endrody clocked an 8:05.10 in his first collegiate 3,000m as the two placed 20th and 34th. Abraham finished third in the second-fastest heat of the day while Endrody placed fourth in the third heat.
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Men’s 3,000m |
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Athlete |
Time |
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20. Joshua Abraham |
7:58.59 • Personal Best |
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34. Matthew Enrody |
8:05.10 • Indoor 3,000m debut |
Pamela Kosgei bounced back from a 17th-place finish at NCAA XC Championships with a strong 15:05.41 season-opening mark en route to a third-place finish in the “Elite” section of the women’s 5,000m. She finished third behind the second-fastest indoor performance in American history from Jane Hedengren (14:44.79) and the sixth-fastest performance in collegiate history from Riley Chamberlain (14:58.97), remaining in lockstep with Hedengren through the first 16 laps before Hedengren made a late move and put eight seconds between herself and Kosgei over the next 1,000 meters.
Kosgei’s 15:05.41 time is her third career indoor 5,000m performance that ranks among the Top 15 fastest in collegiate history, and the second-fastest of her career.
Behind her, Marion Jepngetich blew away her previous indoor best of 16:07.12 (15:41.54 with altitude conversions) with a lifetime PB of 15:17.02, finishing 14th – that time stands as 4.78 seconds faster than her outdoor best of 15:22.80 set at last year’s Stanford Invitational. She moves up from No. 9 to No. 4 on the UNM all-time indoor list.
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Women’s Elite 5,000m |
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Athlete |
Time |
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15:05.41 • 14th-fastest individual indoor performance in collegiate history • 2nd-fastest individual indoor performance in UNM history |
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15:17.02 • Personal Best • No. 4 on UNM All-Time Indoor 5,000m List |
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Habtom Samuel beat out Villanova’s Marco Langon at the finish line by just a thousandth of a second to win the “Elite” Men’s 5,000m as both crossed in 13:05.21 – just .29 seconds behind Samuel’s personal best of 13:04.92 set in February on the same track. Evans Kiplagat notched a PB of his own (13:18.05) to finish sixth, taking 8.51 seconds off previous best (13:36.56) from last indoor season, while Collins Kiprotich finished 14th with a 13:29.59 time.
Samuel now holds the fifth- and sixth-fastest individual 5,000m performances in collegiate history indoors – he and Harvard alum Graham Blanks are the only two athletes with multiple performances inside the all-time Top 10. Kiplagat moves from No. 4 to No. 3 on the UNM all-time indoor list in the event.
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Men’s Elite 5,000m |
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Athlete |
Time |
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13:05.21 • 6th-fastest individual performance in collegiate history • 2nd-fastest indoor 5,000m performance in UNM history |
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15:18.05 • Personal Best • No. 3 on UNM All-Time Indoor 5,000m List |
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13:29.59 |
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In her first race since winning the UNM Lobo XC Invitational in September, Tina Nisoli led the way in the women’s 5,000m with a lifetime best of 15:53.92 – her first sub-16 finish and almost 11 seconds faster than her season-best of 16:04.99 last year – to finish fourth in her heat and 28th overall.
Behind her, Jasmine Wood (15:58.41, 37th overall) and Tilly Simpson (16:00.88, 42nd overall) also took more than 10 seconds off their previous bests – Wood took 14.29 seconds off her PB and Simpson took 12.97 seconds off hers – and Alice Seguin put down a 16:05.70 time to open her season and make it four Lobos in the overall Top 50.
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Women’s 5,000m |
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Athlete |
Time |
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28. Tina Nisoli |
15:53.92 • Personal Best |
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37. Jasmine Wood |
15:58.41 • Personal Best |
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42. Tilly Simpson |
16:00.88 • Personal Best |
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50. Alice Seguin |
16:05.70 |
Vincent Chirchir rounded out the day for the Lobos in the men’s 5,000m, putting down a season-opening time of 13:42.49 – just 2.16 seconds shy of his indoor best (13:40.33). He finished 18th in the top heat of the night.
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Men’s 5,000m |
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Athlete |
Time |
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18. Vincent Chirchir |
13:42.49 |