Top runner: UNM freshman Habtom Samuel wins NCAA 10,000 meters after late fall

At the tail end of his first indoor season, Habtom Samuel spoke over the din of the Albuquerque Convention Center and quietly — but confidently — called his shot.

“I’m really good in outdoors. Better than indoors,” New Mexico’s freshman phenom laughed at the Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Championships in February. “So, I’m very excited for the outdoor season. (Some) of the guys (were) faster than me this season.

“But I’ll beat them, definitely all of them in the outdoor season.”

On Wednesday, he delivered.

Samuel survived a late fall and bounced back to win the 10,000 meter final Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, running an NCAA personal best 28:07.82 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. In doing so, the freshman from Keren, Eritrea added to an already glittering résumé with UNM’s first-ever title in the men’s 10K.

A heavy favorite in a final without NCAA record holder Nico Young, Samuel controlled most of the race and appeared set to make a move for the lead with just over two laps to go.

But a collision in front of him knocked North Carolina’s Alex Phillip to the ground, taking out Samuel in the process.

At risk of being left behind, Samuel rebounded quickly and forced his way back into the picture, trailing only Oklahoma State’s Denis Kipngetich and Texas Tech’s Ernest Cheruiyot with 200 meters left. The reigning Mountain West Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year surged to outkick both down the stretch and raised his arms in celebration at the finish line, his first NCAA title in hand.

“Two laps to go, that’s not easy to recover (from),” Samuel said in a postrace interview with ESPN. “But I’m so lucky today, after falling down and hurting my leg … when I’m falling down, (there’s) like many things in my mind — can I close the gap right now (with) two laps to go?

“But, yeah, God saved me today.”

Alabama’s Victor Kiprop (28:08.59) finished second and Kipngetich (28:10.25) placed third while Cheruiyot (28:10.81) and Kansas’ Chandler Gibbens (28:10.87) rounded out the top five.

Samuel is UNM’s first outdoor individual champion since Weini Kelati won the women’s 10,000 in 2019, and the first male athlete to do so since Josh Kerr won the 1,500-meter final in 2017. He has also claimed indoor conference titles in the 3,000 and 5,000 on top of a runner-up finish at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.

Samuel returns to action with the men’s 5,000 on Friday at 8:55 p.m.