Bryan Clay Invitational - Thursday Recap

The deepest men’s and women’s 5,000-meter races in collegiate history highlighted Thursday night’s showcase at the Bryan Clay Invitational, but it might have been a high school senior racing unattached who generated the most attention at Azusa Pacific University’s Cougar Stadium in Azusa, Calif.

New Mexico sophomore Habtom Samuel achieved the NCAA outdoor 5,000 record of 13 minutes, 5.87 seconds to lead five of the top 16 all-time collegiate competitors in the featured men’s invitational section, and his freshman teammate Pamela Kosgei prevailed by a 14:52.45 to 14:52.93 margin against Lexy Halladay-Lowry of BYU in the elite women’s 5,000 race, which produced five of the top 10 female athletes in Division 1 history.

Jane Hedengren, a Brigham Young-bound senior at Timpview High in Utah, was third behind Kosgei and Halladay-Lowry in an American Under-20 record 14:57.93.

(Jane Hedengren, April 17, 2025, Bryan Clay Invitational / Photo credit: Kirby Lee)

Hedengren, 18, lowered her own American U-20 absolute mark from 15:13.26, which she ran March 13 to win the 5,000 title at Nike Indoor Nationals at The Armory in New York.

She also eclipsed the national high school outdoor record of 15:25.27 achieved last year by Elizabeth Leachman of Boerne Champion in Texas at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin.

Hedengren recorded the earliest sub-15 performance on the outdoor calendar ever by a World U-20 competitor.

She also became only the third 18-year-old female athlete to achieve a sub-15 outdoor effort on American soil, with two Ethiopian competitors producing their marks in a professional race last year at the Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field in Oregon.

Hedengren, who still remains eligible to complete her final prep season in Utah, boasts the absolute national high school records in the mile (4:26.14), 2-mile (9:34.12) and 5,000 (14:57.93), all produced during a 33-day stretch.

Kosgei elevated to the No. 2 all-time collegiate outdoor 5,000 competitor, only trailing the 14:52.18 performance achieved at last year’s NCAA Division 1 final by Parker Valby of Florida.

(Pamela Kosgei and Lexy Halladay-Lowry, April 17, 2025, Bryan Clay Invitational / Photo Credit: Kirby Lee)

Kosgei now boasts the second-fastest collegiate marks in the 3,000 steeplechase (9:15.93), 10,000 (31:02.73) and outdoor 5,000 (14:52.45), with all three races in a 19-day span.

Halladay-Lowry ascended to No. 3 in NCAA history, eclipsing the BYU program record of 15:12.91 set in 2021 by Whittni Morgan.

Hilda Olemomoi, a junior at Florida, finished fourth in 15:04.65, with Georgetown’s Chloe Scrimgeour placing fifth in 15:05.40 and Stanford’s Sophia Kennedy securing sixth in 15:11.12.

Olemomoi ranks No. 5 all-time among collegiate outdoor competitors, with Scrimgeour at No. 6 and Kennedy elevating to No. 10.

Olemomoi still ranks No. 3 in NCAA indoor 5,000 history with a personal-best 14:52.84 from December in Boston.

Samuel has also run faster in the indoor 5,000, ranking No. 4 all-time among collegiate athletes at 13:04.92 following his performance Feb. 1 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston.

(Habtom Samuel, April 17, 2025, Bryan Clay Invitational / Photo Credit: Kirby Lee)

But his victory Thursday at Bryan Clay produced the first collegiate record for the Eritrean standout, who also won the NCAA Division 1 title last season in the 10,000.

Ishmael Kipkurui, Samuel’s freshman teammate at New Mexico and the collegiate record holder in the 10,000 at 26:50.21, finished second Thursday in 13:09.24, followed by Valentin Soca of Cal Baptist taking third in 13:13.10, Evans Kurui from Washington State placing fourth in 13:16.01 and Northern Arizona’s Drew Bosley finishing fifth in 13:17.06.

Kipkurui ascended to the No. 4 all-time collegiate outdoor competitor, Soca improved to No. 7, Kurui elevated to No. 12 and Bosley is ranked No. 16.

Woody Kincaid, a Nike professional athlete, secured sixth in the elite field in 13:23.66.

Evert Silva, a senior at Oklahoma City, set the NAIA all-time outdoor mark by clocking 13:27.76 to win the second men’s invitational section, eclipsing the 2014 standard of 13:33.20 established by Luc Bruchet of British Columbia.

Michaela Rose, an LSU senior, repeated in the women’s elite 800 meters, holding off Northern Arizona senior Maggi Congdon by a 2:00.22 to 2:00.27 margin.

Rose has been the top collegiate competitor in the 800 at Bryan Clay for the past three years, including her meet-record 1:58.37 last season.

Sophie O’Sullivan of Washington took third in 2:00.61 and Juliette Whittaker from Stanford ran 2:00.76 to place fourth.

Skylyn Webb, an American professional athlete representing Saucony, ran a lifetime-best 2:01.47 to win the second elite 800 section.

Boh Ritchie, an 18-year-old athlete from New Zealand, prevailed in the fastest invitational 800 race in 2:03.76, just off her personal-best 2:03.68 from February.

Lieke Hoogsteen, a Dutch athlete competing for Adams State, placed second behind Ritchie in 2:03.99 to elevate to the No. 10 all-time NCAA Division 2 athlete in the outdoor 800.

Kyle Reinheimer, a senior at Washington, won the men’s elite 800 in a lifetime-best 1:46.09, holding off BYU freshman Tyler Mathews and his personal-best 1:46.20.

Reece Sharman-Newell of CSU-Pueblo, a British competitor, took third in 1:46.50. Sharman-Newell ranks No. 4 in Division 2 outdoor 800 history at 1:45.54.

Yared Kidane from Wichita State edged Josue Le Cadre of Indianapolis by a 1:46.73 to 1:46.79 margin in the first elite section of the men’s 800. Le Cadre ascended to the No. 8 all-time Division 2 outdoor competitor.

Edouard Lecrivain from Houston Christian produced the fastest performance among all the invitational 800 races at 1:47.03.

Emma Holmgren Loef, a Swedish athlete, set the meet record in the women’s hammer throw with an lifetime-best mark of 211-8 (64.52m) in the opening round of the event held at Citrus College.

– Erik Boal