Eastern Kentucky University Athletics

Personal Bests:
800m - 1:57.13
1,500m - 3:50.0
Mile - 4:11.1
3,000m - 8:15.8
3,000ST - 8:42.5
5,000m - 14:51.25
8K (XC) - 24:32.57


National/Regional Honors:
Cross Country - All-OVC, first team (2019); All-OVC, second team (2018)
Outdoor Track - OVC Track Athlete of the Year (2019); Regional Qualifier, 3,000-meter steeplechase (2019, 2018, 2017)


OVC Individual Championships:
Outdoor Track - 3,000m Steeplechase (2019); 1,500m (2018)


2019-20
Cross Country – Named first team All-OVC after placing third overall at the OVC Championships with an 8K time of 24:53.0 … his performance helped the Colonels win their 14^th consecutive conference title … finished third on the team and 43^rd overall at the NCAA Southeast Regional in November, clocking a personal-best 10K time of 31:07.4 … ran a season-best 5K time of 24:32.57 at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational in October.
Track and Field – Scored points with a fourth place finish in the 5,000 meters at the OVC Indoor Championships, clocking a personal-best time of 14:51.25 … also scored points with a fifth-place finish in the 3,000 meters (8:23.72).


2018-19
Cross Country – Named second team All-OVC after finishing fourth on the team and eighth overall at the conference championships in October (8K time of 24:45.4) … helped lead the Colonel men to their 13^th consecutive OVC title … placed 34^th overall at the NCAA Southeast Region Championships with a 10K time of 30:54.2, helping the Colonels qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Track and Field – Voted OVC Male Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year after running a personal-best time of 8:42.5 in the steeplechase at the Stanford Invitational in late March … that was the No. 3 time in the NCAA East Region during the regular season … won gold in the steeplechase at the OVC Outdoor Championships in May (9:03.7) … also scored points with a fifth-place finish in the 1,500 meters (3:50.6) … placed 27^th in the steeplechase at the NCAA East Region Preliminaries … helped the Colonels to an OVC title during the indoor season … took second in the mile (4:12.7), third in the 3,000 meters (8:35.05) and ran anchor leg on a DMR team that finished second (10:04.8) at the OVC Indoor Championships in February … ran PBs of 4:11.5 in the mile and 8:15.8 in the 3K during the indoor season.


2017-18
Cross Country – Finished 15^th at the Bluegrass Cross Country Invitational with a season-best 8K time of 24:33.7.
Track and Field – Was the last man out of NCAA Championships qualification in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing fourth in his heat and 13^th overall at the NCAA East Preliminaries with a  personal-best time of 8:49.1 … won his first career OVC gold in the 1,500 meters at the conference outdoor championships on May 12, storming back over the final 200 meters to win with a time of 3:53.1 … took silver in the steeplechase at the OVC Outdoor Championships, clocking a time of 9:01.1 … was a member of the gold medal winning distance medley relay team at the OVC Indoor Championships in February … also scored points at the indoor championships with a fifth-place finish in the mile (4:17.2) … clocked personal-bests during the indoor season in the mile (4:13.1) and 3,000 meters (8:26.3).


2016-17
Cross Country – Finished 19th at the OVC Championships with an 8K time of 25:51.6 ... ran a season-best 8K time of 25:00.7 at the Greater Louisville Classic on October 1.
Track and Field – Qualified for the NCAA East Regional in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:53.1, which he ran at the Virginia Challenge on April 21 ... took 37th in the event at the regional meet in Lexington ... earned bronze in the steeplchase at the OVC Outdoor Championships in May ... was a member of EKU's gold medal-winning distance medley relay team at the OVC Indoor Championships in February.


Prior to EKU: Transfer from University of Leon ... has represented Spain as a member of the Spanish National Team on multiple occasions ... finished sixth at the 2015 European Junior Track Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase ... personal bests include: 1:53.40 for 800 meters; 3:52.65 for 1,500 meters; 8:25.87 for 3,000 meters (indoors); and, 8:53.10 for 3,000-meter steeplechase ... his parents were both athletes and his father represented Spain internationally in the 1980s, earning a Bronze Medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in the 1,500 meters.


Personal: Son of Beleu and Jose Manuel ... currently pursuing an MBA.


Get to know Samuel Abascal ...

What is your proudest accomplishment?
Earning two degrees from EKU

What would you do if you won the lottery?
Travel and surf for the rest of my life

One interesting fact about you?
I have been to 20 different countries