Kosgei, Kipkurui break records in the NCAA

For the first time in program history, New Mexico has swept the NCAA individual gold in the men’s and women’s 10,000m Finals after a dominant meet record performance from Pamela Kosgei (31:17.82) to secure her first national title Thursday night at Hayward Field.

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After hanging on to NC State’s Grace Hartman as she led the first eight laps, Kosgei pulled ahead with a 72-second lap and did not relinquish the lead the rest of the way, closing the bell lap in 70.49 seconds to put the rest of the field away emphatically and leave little doubt.

She crossed the finish line 14.33 seconds ahead of Hartman, the largest margin of victory since 2010. Kosgei is only the fifth woman from New Mexico to win an NCAA title and the first to do so since Weini Kelati won the 10,000m in 2019 with a 33:10.84 performance.

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Her time was more than 28 seconds faster than Parker Valby’s 31:46.09 record set in last year’s finals at the same venue. The next four women who finished after her also finished below Valby’s record, with three other finishers recording times that ranked among the Top 15 performances in collegiate history.

Her 31:17.82 finish stands as the third-fastest collegiate performance all-time and fastest among collegians this season.

Meanwhile, compatriot, 2023 World Cross Country U20 champion Ishmael Kipkurui won his first collegiate title in the 10,000m Final thanks to a blistering kick that left the rest of the field in the dust as New Mexico went 1-2 in the same event at NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time in program history.

Already the NCAA 10,000m record holder, Kipkurui is now a national champion in his first year, running the final 800m in 1:57 over a final surge that gave him a lead he would not relinquish down the stretch, winning in 29:07.70 as last year’s champion Habtom Samuel finished second in 29:08.73.

“First of all, I want to thank God for today,” Kipkurui said. “The race was not easy because everyone was crazy, but I thank God for the win.”

Kipkurui and Samuel are just the second pair of teammates to go 1-2 in the 10,000m in the past ten years. They join Stanford teammates Ky Robinson and Charles Hicks in 2023.