Habtom Samuel leads UNM track to top performance at Bryan Clay Invite

New Mexico Track & Field raked in the accolades and awards on Saturday at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California.

The Lobos posted nine new personal bests and three performances that rank among the top 10 in school history.

Habtom Samuel posted a time of 3 minutes, 38.30 seconds in the 1,500 meters, good for fourth all-time on the UNM list.

Judy Rono ran the second fastest 1,500-meter race in school history, posting a time of 4:11.45.

Both were Mountain West-leading times.

MEN’S POLE VAULT: The lone competitor of the day for UNM at the Beach Invitational, Kyle Hatler came short of his season best from last Friday in El Paso (4.81m), but finished tied for fourth on the day after clearing 4.54m (14 feet, 10¾ inches)

WOMEN’S ELITE 1,500 METERS: Judy Rono (4:11.45) and Alice Seguin (4:15.63) both ran new personal bests that moved them up on the UNM all-time list in the first heat of the Women’s Elite sections to finish ninth and 21st overall, with Marion Jepngetich crossing in 4:22.30 to finish 24th overall in her first collegiate 1,500 meters.

Rono came just 1.13 seconds shy of matching Abbe Goldstein’s program record of 4:10.32 set at NCAA West Region Prelims in 2023 – Rono and Goldstein are the only two Lobo women to run below 4:12 in program history.

Seguin moved up to eighth on the UNM list with a 4.39-second improvement on her converted best (4:20.02) and a 10.47-second improvement from that raw time (4:26.10) — she and Rono hold the two fastest times in the Mountain West.

MEN’S ELITE 1,500 METERS: Habtom Samuel led the way with a new lifetime best (3:38.60) — a time that now leads the Mountain West — to move up to fourth on the UNM all-time list and finish 11 overall, ahead of Collins Kiprotich (3:41.47) in 15.

WOMEN’S OPEN “A” 1,500 METERS: Meadow Drebert collected her second personal record of the weekend, shaving 2.27 seconds off her season best from the Mike Fanelli Classic two weeks ago with a 4:27.48 time, good for 17th.

AGGIES show up strong: After a strong start for the Aggies on Friday at the Bryan Clay Invitational, which included breaking a school record, the team would continue to represent NMSU with strong performances on day two.

Rachel O’Brien, who currently sits in first in the C-USA rankings for the women’s 1,500 meters, showed another dominating performance for NMSU, finishing first in her heat and posting a personal best time of 4:14.86.

All three of the NMSU’s men’s entries picked up solid personal best performances in the 5,000 meters, which was led by Leo Valenzuela who finished just two seconds under 15 minutes with a time of 14:58.47.