UNM ATHLETICS
New Mexico's Habtom Samuel runs world-leading 5K time, breaks his own NCAA record
Lobos' star junior is one of 26 Lobos running at the NCAA West Regional Preliminaries this week
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Habtom Samuel has added a few more records to his name.
New Mexico鈥檚 star junior ran the world-leading time in the 5,000 meters over the weekend, clocking in at 12 minutes and 57.22 seconds at the Sound Running L.A. Track Festival on Saturday in Los Angeles.
Racing at Drake Stadium on UCLA鈥檚 campus, the Keren, Eritrea native finished first in a field with multiple Olympians to record the fastest 5K in the world this year by 0.1 seconds. His new personal best also represents an Eritrean national record, beating Zersenay Tadese鈥檚 previous mark of 12:59.27.
鈥淚鈥檓 so happy I got the national record 鈥� it鈥檚 been held for (nearly 20 years) so that鈥檚 really amazing,鈥� Samuel said in a postrace interview. 鈥淚鈥檓 in the meat of the season but I feel like I鈥檓 going to do under 13 this time (at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in June).鈥�
The only runner in the field to close under 13 minutes, Samuel beat second-place finisher Gulveer Singh by over six seconds to set a new NCAA record in the 5K. In April, he ran a 13:03.47 at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif., to break his previous record (13:05.87) set at the same event in 2025.
Samuel has already claimed an NCAA indoor championship, and indoor and outdoor Mountain West titles in the 5K this year. He is considered the clear favorite to win an NCAA outdoor championship in the event next month; no other NCAA Division I athlete has clocked a time lower than 13:13.43 this year.
In last year鈥檚 NCAA outdoor 5K final, Samuel finished second to Oklahoma State鈥檚 Brian Musau by 0.3 seconds. Before that, he won an NCAA outdoor title in the 10K as a freshman in 2024.
"Couldn't be happier for Habtom," UNM track and field head coach Darren Gauson said Saturday via release. "He hasn't backed away from any challenge this year and he hasn't lost his hunger to prove himself ... He's healthy and we're really excited to see what he can do in June."
On to regionals
Samuel will get another opportunity to set a new 5K record as soon as this week.
The most-decorated runner in program history is one of 26 Lobos set to compete this week at the NCAA West Regional Preliminaries, a qualifying event for the (June 10-13).
The top 12 finishers from each regional event in Fayetteville, Arkansas will advance to the outdoor championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Sean Reider covers college football and other sports for the Journal. You can reach him at sreider@abqjournal.com or via X at .
