EUGENE, OREGON – Villanova’s Marco Langon ran his final collegiate race in the 5,000-meter men’s final on Friday at the NCAA Track & Field National Championships at Hayward Field.
In a field that sped up and slowed down for the entire 12.5 laps, Langon took the lead with 500 meters left, but he did not have enough finishing speed to cross the line first. Langon finished fourth with a time of 13:42.77, falling three places in the final straightaway. It was his third appearance in the 5K final and his second time earning All-American honors.
“I didn’t have the legs for it today,” Langon said. “But, yeah, it’s really nothing you could do about it. Just, I gave it all I had. I could not shift another gear.”
New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel won the 5K title with a time of 13:39.93. He is the first to win both the 5K and 10K men’s finals at the NCAA Championships since 2023, when Stanford’s Ky Robinson did it.
Wake Forest’s Rocky Hansen finished second in 13:39.91, while Louisville’s Elsingi Kipruto finished third with a time of 13:42.58.
“I mean, you look at these guys, it’s like some of the best guys in the world,” Langon said of the 5K final field. “I mean, you got Rocky [Hansen], he made a U.S. Cross team. Obviously, Elsingi [Kipruto] was second in the 10K [men’s final].”
Langon noted the race’s “fartlek” type tactics were something he had never experienced or trained for. He said it was “the worst [he] felt in the past two years.” Samuel also mentioned it was something he was not used to, and his decision to take the lead with around 2,000 meters to go.
The 5K final marked Langon’s final race as a collegiate athlete. He told reporters after the race that he plans to sign a pro contract in the coming days or weeks. Langon plans to move to Boston to begin his professional running career while maintaining his current college coaches, Marcus O’Sullivan and Matt Valeriani. He will also bring in his high school coach, Rob DeFillipis.
“I’m going to stay with my college coach, Matt and Marcus,” Langon said. “And I also kind of want to go back a bit to my high school coach, Rob. He’s, like, my father figure, and he’s someone who I know could help push me for the next moment. So I feel like having all three of those guys is kind of telling me what to do. They never clash. It’s all kind of the same concept, but there’s some things that I want to like pull from other people. You don’t want to just be a one-dimensional runner.”
Langon has not officially announced with which company he will sign his professional contract, but he has been under an NIL deal with Diadora and has worn its clothing and running shoes.
“It could have been anything, and it was running,” Langon said when speaking about what he wanted to pursue. “ I just want to be good at something. I wanted to be known for something that wasn’t being a bad kid or a bad job. I wanted to be a runner. I want to be something where people respect what people could look at you and be like, ‘Damn, this kid has talent. This kid has skill, and he’s working hard to get there.’ I’m working my ass off day and day out. And I’m not guaranteed a win. I’m not guaranteed a title. I’m not guaranteed an Olympic gold medal. But I’m gonna practice and go forth as if that type is going to be mine. It is mine already.”
Langon will have a quick turnaround to prepare for his first professional race – the 2-mile at the Prefontaine Classic on Friday, July 3, in Eugene, OR, at Hayward Field. Currently, the only official entry in the 2-mile is the American 2-mile record holder, Grant Fisher (8:03.62).
