ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel has been named the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Scholar Track Athlete of the Year, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced Monday.
Samuel maintained a cumulative 3.40 GPA to become the first man from New Mexico to earn the national outdoor scholar-athlete honor. It's the second year in a row with a Lobo athlete taking home the honor after Pamela Kosgei was named USTFCCCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2025 and the third time in program history after Courtney Frerichs in 2016.
The Keren, Eritrea, native paired his academic success with a dominant outdoor season in which he went undefeated against collegiate competition and won NCAA titles in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.
Samuel crossed the finish line first in all of his outdoor races against collegians, lowering his own collegiate 5,000-meter record to 12:57.22 and running 27:30.51 in the 10,000 meters — the 12th-fastest performance in collegiate history. His historic campaign helped make him the first New Mexico men’s athlete to be selected as a finalist for The Bowerman and earned him Mountain Region Track Athlete of the Year and Mountain West Student-Athlete of the Year honors.