UNM ATHLETICS
NCAA Indoor Championships: Habtom Samuel disqualified from 3K after chaotic last lap
Officials penalized New Mexico star for impeding another runner in championship race
Published
Habtom Samuel was the first to cross the finish line of Saturday’s men’s indoor 3,000-meter final.
He just didn’t win.
New Mexico’s star junior was disqualified for “impeding (the) progress of a runner” on the final lap of the 3K championship, missing out on what would have been his second national title at this year’s NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Samuel won the NCAA indoor 5K title Friday with a time of 13 minutes, 36.58 seconds, becoming the first Lobo to win national championships in indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and cross country.
Racing the indoor meet at Randal Tyson Center, Samuel pulled ahead of Northern Arizona’s Colin Sahlman and Oregon’s Simon Birnbaum in the final 100 meters of the 3K, finishing in 7:41.65 to secure what looked to be a tight win amid a frantic finish. But Northern Arizona protested, alleging Samuel impeded Sahlman’s progress with contact on the final curve.
The protest was upheld and Sahlman was named the national champion after finishing in 7:41.66. Birnbaum (7:41.85) was bumped up to second while Villanova’s Marco Langon (7:42.56) received third place honors.
“We were just fighting for position … I have to stand for my position,” Samuel said in a post-race interview. “I have to be strong physically. (There was a) little contact but I don’t have any protests about that, and I’m happy.”
Around the track
UNM’s Pamela Kosgei ran the women’s 3K final in 8:43.86, finishing runner-up to BYU’s Jane Hedengren (8:36.61). Fellow Lobo Marion Jepngetich finished third in 8:44.00; Kosgei and Jepngetich’s times are the best and second-best indoor 3K times in UNM history.
UNM’s Matthew Endrödy ran a 3:59.74 in the men’s mile final, placing sixth.
UNM’s women’s team tied for 10th overall in the team standings with 10 points, while UNM’s men tied for 19th with 13 points. Arkansas (73.5) and Georgia (53) won the men’s and women’s team championships, respectively.
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at @lenaweereider.
