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UNM's Habtom Samuel earns All-American honors in NCAA 3,000-meter final
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New Mexico runner Habtom Samuel placed ninth in the men’s indoor 3,000-meter final Saturday, running it in 7:54.42 seconds to earn second team All-American honors at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Paired with a second-place finish in Friday’s 5,000, the sophomore from Keren, Eritrea has now earned All-American honors eight times across indoor and outdoor track and cross country championships. Former UNM runner Alice Wright is the only other Lobo to have done so over their career in school history.
North Carolina’s Ethan Strand won the 3,000 in 7:52.03 with Virginia’s Gary Martin (7:52.69) and Wisconsin’s Adam Spencer (7:52.71) finishing second and third, respectively. UNM’s Ishmael Kipkurui placed 14th, closing his first indoor championships appearance with a 7:58.43.
UNM’s Pamela Kosgei also earned second team All-American honors in the women’s 3,000, running it in 9:04.42 to place 11th. The freshman from Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya was in line for a top three finish, but fell with 50 meters remaining after battling for position with Alabama’s Doris Lemngole.
Lemngole went to place second with a 9:01.64, narrowly losing to West Virginia’s Ceili McCabe (9:01.18).
UNM’s men tied with Duke for a 26th overall team finish with 10 points; Samuel scored all of the points in Friday’s 5,000. The Lobo women finished 32nd overall, thanks to Kosgei’s six points, earned with her third place finish Friday in the women’s 5,000.
Southern Cal (39 points) and Oregon (55 points) won the men’s and women’s team titles, respectively.
UNM can now look forward to the start of its outdoor season later this month, sending athletes to Texas Relays (March 26-29) in Austin and the Bobcat Invitational (March 27-29) in San Marcos. The Lobos are also scheduled to host the New Mexico Spring Invitational in Albuquerque on March 29.
