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First Thoughts (Part Three): Ishmael Kipkurui & Habtom Samuel Make NCAA History, Pamela Kosgei Earns NCAA #2 All-Time Mark & a Pair of 3:35 (1500) Efforts for Adam Spencer & Fouad Messaoudi
The first major weekend of the outdoor track season is all wrapped up! And before the month of March even concluded, fans of NCAA distance running were treated to a handful of all-time elite performances, including multiple collegiate records!
Earlier this week, we published our "First Thoughts" analysis for the men's races and the women's races at the Raleigh Relays. However, on the complete opposite side of the country was a meet held in San Juan Capistrano, California -- Sound Running's The TEN -- where we saw a handful of uber-elite results. That meet is the main highlight of today's analysis (with a few other performances sprinkled in).
Also, if you haven't already, be sure to go check out our YouTube page where we have A TON of post-race interviews from the Raleigh Relays!
Alright, all of the housekeeping items are now out of the way. Let's chat about a very, very wild Saturday night...
NOTE: The performances seen at Sound Running's The TEN do count towards the official NCAA record books. However, those marks DO NOT count towards the 2025 NCAA outdoor national leaderboard (or national qualifying) as the meet did not host enough variety in terms of events to comply with NCAA rules.
New Mexico Duo of Ishmael Kipkurui & Habtom Samuel Break Former NCAA 10k Record, Run 26:50 & 26:51, Respectively
Going into Saturday night, I expected the 10k times at Sound Running's The TEN to be fast -- very fast. But 2024 was an Olympic year, and 2025 is not. That's why I wasn't expecting the overall performance's of this year's 10k field to be quite as extensive as what we saw last year.
But as fate would have it, Saturday night's 10k battle was just as impressive as what we saw in 2024. However, this time around, a collegiate secured the overall win and ran even faster than Nico Young did when he set the NCAA record.
I am, of course, talking about Ishmael Kipkurui, a New Mexico distance phenom who joined the Lobos from Kenya this past winter. His kick over the final 100 meters of late night's race allowed him to overtake teammate Habtom Samuel en route to a collegiate 10k record of 26:50! Samuel snagged silver in 26:51, surpassing Nico Young's former collegiate record to maintain his NCAA #2 all-time spot.
When it comes to Kipkurui's performance, I am both surprised and not surprised.
Make no mistake, Kipkurui's final time of 26:50 (10k) was definitely faster than I thought it would be. But for someone who has run times of 7:38 (3k), 8:09 (two-mile) and 13:02 (5k), it makes sense that he would thrive in an all-out, time-trial environment. After all, his resume suggested that he only got better as the distance gets longer.
And yet, to see Kipkurui take down some of the world's most elite long distance superstars, while throwing down a monster kick off of an already-aggressive pace, was stunning. Remember, this is a guy who, just a couple of weeks ago, "only" finished in 7th place over 5000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
When we see young international distance stars with tons of raw fitness produce an all-time performance like Kipkurui just did, I usually remain cautious. Oftentimes, those athletes are too aggressive with their race approach. They occasionally lack finishing speed and they simply don't have enough experience against other top-tier NCAA stars.
But Kipkurui didn't show any signs of weakness on Saturday night. He was patient, didn't make any excessive moves, knew when to move up and threw down a brilliant kick. Sure, it was an all-out affair, but it's hard to think that the men's 10k at the NCAA Outdoor Championships will be super tactical this year given the aggressive racing approaches of other top contenders.
Simply put, Kipkurui's performance is likely more than a symptom of him being a great time trialer -- he may truly be the real deal.
As for Habtom Samuel, he probably had the least surprising result of the weekend...and he still ran 26:51 for 10,000 meters. That's an absurd sentence to type out. Sure, we didn't learn anything new about Samuel, but knowing that he's just as good now as he was last year (when he won the NCAA title in the 10k) is encouraging.
Three other collegians were also in that same 10k race: Casey Clinger (BYU), Denis Kipngetich (Oklahoma State) and Valentin Soca (California Baptist). Those three men ran 27:11 (NCAA #5 all-time), 27:20 (NCAA #6 all-time) and 27:37 (NCAA #15 all-time), respectively.
Based on their pedigree and how their indoor track seasons ended, it's hard to be too surprised by Clinger and/or Kipngetich. The former is arguably the most experienced long distance talent in the NCAA right now and is currently operating at his peak fitness. The former could be viewed as the most underrated long distance runner in the collegiate ranks and is now among the most consistent stars as well.
However, it's Valentin Soca who has seemingly reached a whole new tier of fitness as of late. The California Baptist veteran ended his winter campaign with a jaw-dropping time of 7:34 over 3000 meters while racing unattached! That's a MONSTER time which has since been validated by his 27:37 (10k) PR.
Soca has reached a borderline elite level of fitness, something that he will need to further validate over the next few months. But in recent weeks, it's hard to argue that this Lancer star isn't one of the top names in the NCAA right now. The only question is, can he translate this fitness to an All-American honor in an event (the 10k) that is becoming increasingly more crowded?
New Mexico's Pamela Kosgei Runs 31:02 (10k) at The TEN, Now Sits at NCAA #2 All-Time
The analysis for this race is very, very simple: New Mexico's Pamela Kosgei stuck with a fast pace for as long as she could. In the end, she ran an ultra-fast time of 31:02 for 10,000 meters, a mark which now puts her at NCAA #2 all-time.
Is Kosgei's performance impressive? Yes, absolutely. But is it surprising? Honestly, no, not really. The Lobo rookie has been an elite megastar since she first entered to the NCAA and it's clear that she thrives over the longer distances. For as fast as her latest mark was, it's hard to say that we're totally shocked.
However, seeing Kosgei run as fast as she just did in the 10k does have implications for the future. Remember, Kosgei first came to New Mexico as a steeplechase specialist, having run 9:28 last spring and has run even faster than that via an altitude conversion.
But after such an incredible 10k result, the idea of Kosgei attempting the 10k/5k double at this year's outdoor national meet seems plenty reasonable (and maybe even probable). Both Doris Lemngole and Lexy Halladay-Lowry will likely pursue the steeplechase on the national stage this spring, making it unlikely that they will attempt the 10k as well.
That, in theory, leaves Kosgei as the heavy favorite to win NCAA 10k gold in June.
Oklahoma State's Fouad Messaoudi Runs 3:35 (1500) at The TEN, Takes Home Win Over Loaded Pro-Laden Field
Trying to analyze Fouad Messaoudi for the last two-ish years has admittedly been a headache. At his best, he is one of the most complete NCAA distance runners that I have ever seen since starting The Stride Report. However, challenges with health, consistency and staying in top form have limited his upside.
Thankfully, Messaoudi has slowly begun to return to peak form. He ran 3:52 in the mile this past winter, securing a marquee win over a loaded field. The Moroccan standout later went on to earn 4th place All-American honors in the mile at the indoor national meet.
Then, fast forward to Saturday night, and Messaoudi scored a brilliant 1500-meter win at Sound Running's The TEN in a time of 3:35, just barely off of his PR.
That latest victory spells only good things for Messaoudi. The Oklahoma State ace is a tactical nightmare when he's firing on all cylinders and as of right now, he looks like he's gaining momentum as we dive deeper into the spring months.
Don't forget, Saturday night's victory came against an accomplished field that was filled with pro runners. Sure, it's nice that Messaoudi ran fast, but being able to earn a strong win is arguably more important when talking about his national title chances.
Wisconsin's Adam Spencer Runs 3:35 (1500) in Australia, Takes 2nd Place to Cam Myers
We'll admit, Wisconsin's Adam Spencer did not have a great indoor track season...but he did salvage it.
The Badger star opened up his winter campaign with a strong 7:40 (3k) PR, but the rest of his results on the indoor oval left us wanting so much more. Thankfully, the Aussie ace rebounded beautifully, snagging a very narrow 3rd place finish over 3000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships after barely making it into the national meet.
That last performance may have been far more important than we realized as Spencer seemingly has newfound momentum. That can be seen via his latest performance, a fantastic 3:35 (1500) mark which gave him a runner-up finish against other Aussie elites in the Land Down Under. U20 phenom Cam Myers secured the win in a time of 3:34 (1500).
Sure, Spencer wasn't all that close to his 1500-meter PR of 3:31 from the summer of 2023, but that's not the point. Seeing this Badger standout produce a national-caliber mark while defeating standout pro runners suggests that his flukey winter campaign was exactly that -- a fluke. That result, paired with a national meet bronze medal, suddenly leaves us wondering if we'll get the best version of Adam Spencer sooner rather than later.
Quick Hits
Oussama El Bouchayby (Alabama) posted a solid mark of 1:47 (800) last weekend, giving him a strong start to his season. Even so, consistency will be a key factor of his that we'll be monitoring over the next months.
Really nice breakout race for Alex Kalmar (UT-Arlington) who ran 1:47 (800) at the Texas Relays. Not only did he run a strong time, but he also took down the indoor 800-meter BIG 12 champion, Lloyd Frilot (TCU). Keep an eye on Kalmar to see if he can ride this momentum throughout the remainder of the spring months.
Levi Streeval (Lipscomb) skipped the 1:49 (800) range entirely and scored a PR of 1:48 to win the title at the Raleigh Relays this past weekend. It's admittedly hard to gauge an out-of-nowhere result like that, but it does make it fun to monitor his progress throughout the rest of this season.
Matthew Kosgei (New Mexico) posted a very strong altitude conversion of 3:39 (1500) on his home track this past weekend. That's not too surprising given his credentials from before he entered the NCAA, but it's still nice to see that he's at/near top form.
BYU's James Corrigan and Isaac Hedengren posted times of 8:43 and 8:44, respectively, in the steeplechase at Willie Williams Classic this past weekend. There's admittedly not much to discuss about this pair of results as it seems fairly obvious that these were two rust-busting efforts.
I was impressed by the early-season results of Clemson's Judy Kosgei (2:01), Yale's Victoria Guerrier (2:03) and Wisconsin's Emma Kelley (2:03). The former two women had built up excellent momentum from the winter months and seem to be taking full advantage of that right now. Kelley, meanwhile, could be in store for a major season if she's able to further build upon her success from the D3 level.
