NEWS: NCAA XC Champion Habtom Samuel Added to Men's Millrose Games Two-Mile Field

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Written by Aimee Morganti, edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin

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The Stride Report has confirmed that the reigning NCAA individual cross country champion, Habtom Samuel, has been added to the 2026 Millrose Games men's two-mile field. The meet will be held at The Armory in New York City on February 1st.

The full lineup for that two-mile race includes names such as Cole Hocker, Grant Fisher, Josh Kerr, Jake Wightman, George Beamish, Ky Robinson, Edwin Kurgat, Graham Blanks, Ethan Strand, Drew Hunter and Cooper Teare.  

The two-mile race at the Millrose Games is expected to feature a 3000-meter en route split which will be eligible for the official NCAA record and the official NCAA all-time list. There is currently no official men's indoor two-mile collegiate record that is recognized by USTFCCCA.

The University of New Mexico distance standout and Hoka NIL athlete holds personal bests of 7:39 (3k), 13:04 (5k) and 26:51 (10k). Samuel is also coming off of a win at the Houston Half Marathon where he ran a time of 59:01.

The 10-time All-American athlete will face tough competition, as many of his opponents in New York are Olympic medallists, world champions, world record holders and area record holders.

Hocker is the Olympic 1500-meter champion and the world 5000-meter champion while Fisher is an Olympic medallist, the indoor 5000-meter world record holder, and the previous champion of the men's 3000 meters at Millrose Games last year.

Josh Kerr is the current indoor two-mile world record holder, a two-time Olympic medallist, the 1500-meter 2023 world champion and the 3000-meter 2024 world indoor champion. The Great Britain athlete, Jake Wightman, was the 2022 world champion over 1500 meters and claimed silver over 1500 meters at the World Championships last year.

Two Oceania athletes bring strong resumes to the race including George Beamish, the 2025 3000-meter steeplechase world champion and the 2024 world indoor 1500-meter champion. Aussie Ky Robinson took 4th place over 5000 meters at the 2025 World Championships. Meanwhile, Kenyan runner Edwin Kurgat placed 7th in that same 5000-meter World Championship race and currently holds the Kenyan #10 all-time mark for the outdoor 3000 meters.

The American athletes in this race are Olympic 10,000-meter finalist Graham Blanks, 2025 World Championship 1500-meter semi-finalist Ethan Strand, 2025 USA Outdoor Championship 4th-place 5000-meter finisher Drew Hunter and Cooper Teare who holds the USA #9 all-time indoor 3000-meter mark.