Ishmael Kipkurui’s 53.3 Final Lap Leads New Mexico Sweep at 2025 NCAA 10,000m Final

EUGENE, Ore. — On Wednesday night, the collegiate running world got to see what it looks like when a U20 world cross country champion runs against the best the NCAA has to offer.

It looked a lot like domination.

In a slow race that did not kick off until three laps to go, 20-year-old Ishmael Kipkurui of New Mexico seized the lead entering the final turn and ripped a 53.38-second final lap to close out a 4:09.55 final 1600 and win his first NCAA title in 29:07.70. His teammate, 2024 champion Habtom Samuel, moved from 5th to 2nd on the last lap to run 29:08.73 and clinch a Lobo sweep. Furman senior Dylan Schubert, the third placer at NCAA XC, was the top American in 7th in 29:11.18.

Typically NCAA finals are not slow when Samuel is in the field — he attacked the meet record last year and spurred a meet record in the NCAA indoor 5,000 final in March — but Samuel said after the race he was not feeling up to his usual self and chose to hang near the back for the early stages of the race. Without Samuel to push it, the early pace lagged (15:22 at 5k) as no one wanted to run fast despite pleasant conditions (70 degrees, shade covering the track).

That led to a free-for-all with nine guys within a second of the lead at the bell. Kipkurui was in 3rd at that point but was still full of run, as evidenced by his gentle shove to the back of Washington State’s Evans Kurui on the first turn as Kurui began to slow while leader Ernest Cheruiyot of Texas Tech tried to break the field. But Kipkurui would not allow Cheruiyot to get away, moving into second early on the back straight before passing him before the turn and streaking away to a decisive victory.

Kipkurui’s last 400 was the quickest by anyone in this race since Oregon’s Edward Cheserek closed in 53.17 to win his first 10,000-meter title in 2014. He also became the first Kenyan man to win the NCAA 10,000 since Cheserek claimed his last title in 2016 — a notable drought considering that Kenyan men claimed 10 of 12 titles from 2005-16. Overall, Kenyans finished 1-3-4-5 in tonight’s race.

From World XC champ to NCAA champ

Kipkurui enrolled at New Mexico in January, and it has taken him all of five months to win his first NCAA title. Hardly surprising when you consider that Kipkurui is one of the greatest recruits in the history of collegiate distance running — someone who, until recent NCAA rule changes, would never have stepped foot on a university campus in the United States.

Kipkurui marked himself for greatness in February 2023 when he won the U20 race at the World Cross Country Championships in Australia — a race that consistently features the best U20 talent in the world and has produced previous champions such as Kenenisa Bekele, Eliud Kipchoge, and Jacob Kiplimo. Until a few years ago, the winner of that race would never consider coming to the NCAA because 1) they would be better than everyone in the NCAA; and 2) they would be able to get a professional contract immediately (if they did not already have one). From 2001-23, no male distance runners entered the NCAA with a U20 medal (either in cross country or on the track).

Presented with the opportunity to sign a pro contract immediately or having to wait a few years after their collegiate career was over, most young East Africans have historically taken the pro deal. Many of these athletes come from impoverished backgrounds and they (and their families) could not afford to wait. But as the NCAA has taken steps towards professionalizing collegiate athletes, the calculus has shifted. NCAA schools have been allowed to offer more generous aid packages and, starting on July 1, will be able to directly pay athletes in the wake of the House v. NCAA settlement. Plus a year or two of exposure to an American audience can help raise an athlete’s marketability and lead to a larger offer when it comes time to sign a professional contract. In the meantime, an athlete can sign an NIL with a shoe company, which gives them cash immediately to send back home. Oh, and they can get a university degree on top of it.

We should note in recent weeks, another school reached out to both New Mexico compliance and the NCAA with concerns about the eligibility of some New Mexico athletes. Kipkurui participated in three Diamond Leagues in 2023 and ran the senior world championships in the 5000 for Kenya that year and last year competed in the specially made Nike kit used by agent Federico Rosa‘s athletes. Rosa told LetsRun.com he had represented Kipkurui since 2021 and was surprised to learn last fall that Kipkurui was coming to the NCAA. But athletes are allowed to compete in Diamond Leagues as long as any prize/appearance fee they receive does not exceed their expenses and are allowed to hire agents to negotiate NILs while retaining their eligibility.

New Mexico head coach Darren Gauson told LetsRun.com that the NCAA was satisfied with the documentation they had to show that the athletes in question were eligible to compete, which had been shared prior to the athletes first competing in the NCAA. Gauson said the NCAA cleared the athletes to compete at regionals.

Kipkurui took the winter to get healthy and settled in Albuquerque — he was only 7th in the NCAA indoor 5,000 and 14th in the indoor 3,000 in March, despite owning a 13:05 personal best and finishing 10th at the senior World Championships in 2023 in the 5000. But he blossomed this spring, running a collegiate record of 26:50.21 at The TEN on March 29. Now he is an NCAA champion, and it is a good bet that more titles are on the way if he remains in the NCAA.

And he’s not done at Hayward Field yet this season. Kipkurui will run the 5,000 final at NCAAs on Friday and plans to be back in Eugene for the Kenyan World Championship trials in the 10,000, which will be held at the Pre Classic on July 5.

*Results

2025 NCAA Men’s 10,000m Final – Full Results

Habtom Samuel finishes 2nd…again

Samuel — a two-time World U20 medalist on the track himself — won this race last year but since then he has been relegated to bridesmaid. He was 2nd to Graham Blanks at NCAA XC in November, 2nd to Brian Musau in the 5,000 indoors, and now 2nd again to Kipkurui tonight. Samuel was a little miffed to keep coming up short but was pleased tonight that if he lost, it was because he lost to a teammate.

Samuel ran an odd race tonight as he was shuffled back to 5th at the bell before rallying over the last lap and closing in 54.08 for 2nd. Had he been farther up, he may have even challenged Kipkurui for a win. Samuel said he was hoping for a fast pace but his body was not feeling good, so he did not want to take a risk by pushing it too hard, too early.

Dylan Schubert was the top American in 7th

Schubert was a surprising 3rd at NCAA XC in November and after missing some time due to injury in the winter, finished as the top American tonight in 7th. Schubert admitted after the race that he was hoping to be more competitive.

“I’d be lying if I wasn’t a bit sad, a bit disappointed as well, to be honest,” Schubert said. “Really wanted to go for the win today.”

Schubert is out of eligibility and said he’d like to continue running some track 5,000 and 10,000s but knows his future is on the roads.

Talk about the race on our world-famous messageboard / fan forum:

• MB: NCAA Day 1 Thread
• MB: Ishmael Kipkurui DOMINATES NCAA 10,000 New Mexico went 1-2 to boost their team chances but this one was no contest over the last 400.
• MB: Men’s 1500 &#@$@#: Teffra and Murphy go home devastated
• MB: JACK MF CRULL Stayed on the rail and dominated heat 1 of the 1500.
• MB: Tinoda Matsatsa DNS – What happened to Georgetown? A quad injury kept the sophomore phenom from running while the indoor mile champ Abel Teffra failed to make the 1500 final along with NCAA record holder Liam Murphy.
• MB: Liam Murphy disappoints His 51.1 final 400 wasn’t enough as it was quite tactical.