UNM’s Habtom Samuel comes up just short in 5,000-meter NCAA championship

According to ESPN’s broadcast, Habtom Samuel wanted a drama-free race.

In some respects, he got one in Friday’s indoor 5,000-meter final: there was no fall to recover from, like the one he suffered before winning the outdoor 10,000 NCAA final last June. Nor did he run half the race with just one shoe, like he did in the NCAA cross country final last November.

In other respects, he didn’t.

Samuel finished second in the men’s NCAA 5,000 championship, falling to Oklahoma State’s Brian Musau by less than half a second in a dramatic final lap between two of the fastest underclassmen in the country.

One of the best runners in program history, Samuel was the top seed in the 5,000 after authoring a 13:04.92 at the Boston University Terrier Classic in January. Musau’s kick denied Samuel his second national title, one that would’ve made him the first Lobo to win indoor and outdoor individual championships since Josh Kerr did so in the late 2010s.

Racing in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Samuel finished in 13.11.78 seconds to Musau’s 13:11.34, both breaking the previous meet record of 13:19.01. Freshman Ishmael Kipkurui, the second Lobo in the field, ran a personal best 13:15.14 for seventh place in his first NCAA indoor championships appearance.

After working up to a lead a quarter of the way through the race, Samuel gave it up to run behind Kipkurui with eight laps remaining. Seven laps later, the sophomore from Keren, Eritrea finally broke away from the pack — with Musau, also a sophomore, right by his side.

Both ran nearly in lockstep before Musau pulled ahead over the final 50 meters, earning his first individual NCAA title in the process. Samuel’s narrow runner-up finish closed an indoor season that saw him win back-to-back Mountain West titles in the indoor 3,000 and 5,000, qualifying for his second straight NCAA indoor championships appearance in the process.

In the women’s 5,000, UNM’s Pamela Kosgei finished in 15:07.57 for third behind Alabama’s Doris Lemngole (15:05.93) and BYU’s Lexy Halladay-Lowry (15:06.17). Like Samuel, she was well in the mix for what would’ve been her first indoor title before Lemngole — the 5,000 collegiate record holder — and Halladay-Lowry pulled away late.

Both Samuel and Kosgei will compete in the men’s and women’s 3,000 on Saturday at 5 p.m. and 2 p.m. MT, respectively.

UNM also had two runners compete in a pair of prelims without advancing. Brodie Young ran a 46.56 to place 12th in the men’s 400 prelims; Baylor’s Nathaniel Ezekiel ran a 45.54 to notch the fastest time across four heats Friday.

Young is the first Lobo sprinter to qualify for NCAA indoor championships since Jarrin Solomon did so in 2009.

Collins Kiprotich placed 14th in the men’s one mile prelims, running a 4:03.59. Washington’s Nathan Green led a field with eight finishers under the four-minute mark, notching a 3:56.91 to remain the runner to beat in Saturday’s final.