New Mexico Teammates Collins Kiprotich, Habtom Samuel Clocked All-Time Altitude Miles

There have been eight instances of men running sub-4 minute miles at altitude in collegiate history. Two of them happened at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational this past weekend inside the ABQ Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

It might have flown under the radar to some, but not to us. What New Mexico teammates Collins Kiprotich and Habtom Samuel did was downright impressive – historic, even. Kiprotich and Samuel went 3:58.60 and 3:59.59, respectively, at nearly 5000 feet of elevation. Their teammate Lukas Kiprop knocked on the sub-4 door with his 4:00.82 finish.

Where do Kiprotich and Samuel rank in collegiate history? We’re glad you asked.

We also want to draw your attention to Reece Sharman-Newell of CSU Pueblo.

Sharman-Newell became the first collegian to run a sub-4 minute mile on Colorado soil when he stopped the clock in 3:59.37 at the Colorado Classic on January 18. Not only is that a historic mark in that state’s annals, it also just one of 18 sub-4 minute miles on the NCAA DII all-time chart.

Both Samuel and Kiprotich will compete at sea level this weekend at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston. Samuel is entered in the 5000 meters, an event in which he ranks 15th in collegiate history, but will surely leave a bigger mark as of Saturday night. Kiprotich is slated to test his prowess over 3000 meters, where a sub-7:40 effort cracks the top-10. And just so you know, nine of the top-10 fastest times in collegiate history in both the 3000 and 5000 meters were registered inside the BU Track & Tennis Center, including both collegiate records: Ethan Strand of North Carolina lowered the 3000-meter best to 7:30.15 back in December; former Northern Arizona standout Nico Young went sub-13 over 5000 meters at this meet last year and holds the 25-lap standard of 12:57.14.