Courtesy of New Mexico Athletics
EUGENE, Ore. – In his first year at New Mexico, it seemed Habtom Samuel had accomplished nearly everything a collegiate distance runner can do heading into this week’s NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field, save for one: winning an individual NCAA title.
The Eritrean-born freshman had come close on the big stage all year – he finished as the National Runner-Up at 2023 NCAA XC Championships before placing fourth in the 5,000m and seventh in the 3,000m at 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships, earning First Team All-American honors three times over but coming up short of an individual crown by less than six seconds in each.
But that elusive final box can be checked now. Habtom Samuel is your 2024 NCAA 10,000m National Champion.
It certainly didn’t happen without some drama. After entering this week as the heavy favorite with a personal best that ranks No. 2 in NCAA history, Samuel left nothing to chance with a gritty finish in the Men’s 10,000m Final Wednesday night at NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, rallying down the final lap after a late fall dropped him back with two laps to go and holding off Alabama’s Victor Kiprop (28:08.59) down the stretch for the win. Amid a collision that sent him to the ground and could’ve knocked him out of contention, he popped right back up and posted a 68.35-second split over the final 400m as he surged to retake the lead for good.
“I was really scared,” said Samuel when asked about the collision after the race. “Two laps to go — that’s not easy to recover.
“I’m lucky,” he said, noting that if he had hurt his leg he would’ve been out of the running. “When I’m falling down, I’m thinking many things in my mind — can I close the gap right now?
“Two laps to go. God saved me today.”
As it turned out, he could. Deep underlying grit melted into jubilation for Samuel as crossed the finish line in 28:07.82 to become the first UNM athlete to win an NCAA outdoor individual title since Weini Kelati won the women’s 10,000m in 2019 and first man to do it for the Lobos since Josh Kerr (1500m, 2017). He’s just the eighth man in program history to win an NCAA Individual Championship — he and Kerr are the only two to win one in the 21st century.
Already the UNM program record holder in the 10,000m, Samuel’s also the first male Lobo athlete to win an NCAA title in that distance. It’s the fourth First Team All-American honor of his freshman season alone, with a chance to secure a fifth should he finish in the Top Eight in Friday’s 5,000m Final.
“After falling over and dusting himself off, to get up and win shows Habtom’s grit, resilience and desire,” said UNM Head Coach Darren Gauson. “To see him win his first NCAA title like that was all the more impressive.”
Earlier in the morning on Wednesday, Samuel said that tonight’s 10,000m Final was “a good chance to change my life”. Consider it done.
Even though it was for from a wire-to-wire win, Samuel’s status as the heavy favorite loomed large over the majority of the race — as he took the lead to open things up with the fastest first 400m (1:04.44) and ran sub-68 on his first seven laps. Refusing to do all the work, he intentionally dropped back to compel the runners behind him to set the pace until the late movement in the pack and ensuing collision forced his hand.
“My plan was to break the championship record [27:41.87],” Samuel said. “So that’s why I’m starting with 66-67 [400m splits] until 3K.
“But the guys can’t help me — I said oh, let me stop and just go for [the] win … I join the group, follow the guys and sometimes I help them.”
Even with the fall, Samuel’s time was his fastest in an NCAA meet this season — he’s now won five finals races in a row dating back April 19. He’ll put that streak to the test on Saturday as he looks to become only the third male athlete this decade to win both the 10,000m and 5,000m in the same season (Ky Robinson, Stanford, 2023; Edward Cheserek, Oregon, 2016).
