I have to admit that this first day of the NIKE Indoor Championships left me wide-eyed. The level of performance was outstanding. But what influences me the most is the attitude of the young athletes, the enthusiasm of the parents, and the knowledge of the high school coaches.
Check out my column for Day 1 of Five Takeways.
Records fall on the first day of the 2026 Nike Indoor Nationals
New York City, NY – On the first day of the Nike Indoor Nationals, five meet records, three national records and one national record fell on the Nike Track Center at The Armory.
The first of the records to fall was the middle school 60 meter dash. Franklinton, NC eighth grader Camryn Daly lowered her personal best from 7.40 to 7.38 to lead all qualifiers. In the evening finals, he lowered that time to 7.27, moving to US #5. The previous record was 7.66 Melanie Doggett who went on to set her record in the girls freshman 60m.
DoggettFreshman at GA, broke Kayla Jackson (Detroit, MI) Recorded 7.44 in the 60m prelims to lead all qualifiers. In the final, she clocked 7.26, lowering her record. US No. 3 Doggett has produced four efforts between 7.20 and 7.29 this season. That ties him with the senior and 60m record holder Mia Maxwell’s (Humble, TX) for the best sub 7.30 shows of the season.
The boys’ 60 meters maintained a record attack. Eighth-grader Rudyard West Jr. of Monroe, LA entered his best season hoping to drop from 7.10 to 7.00, but exceeded those expectations by blasting 6.90 in the prelims. Cameron Bethea (Buford, GA) a two-year-old record of 7.00. West had more left in the finals. The powerfully built sensation got off to a fast start and never looked back as she crossed the line in 6.87 to once again surpass her mark and take down the record.
The remote high school students did not disappoint.
Provo, UT seventh grader, Angie AlderThe youngest of the Alder clan, who competes for BYU and Timpview HS, entered the meet with high expectations after producing a 4:47.93 1,600m over 4,528 feet on Feb. 6. On Friday afternoon, he cautiously jogged behind. Daniela Posluszny (Toronto, CAN) 1000 meters before winning in 4:53.92. His last 800m was 2:23.8, with most of that coming in the last 400m where he clocked 66.74. Her time broke last year’s meet record of 4:57.63.
In the boys’ mile, Fort Worth, TX eighth grader Cashton Martinez set another record. He’s only been running for a year, but his inexperience doesn’t matter. He flew a 30.23 first lap and a 62.51 second lap to lead wire-to-wire in 4:28.64. That cut almost four seconds off his previous best. Rounding out the top four overall, Martinez, Gabriel Hill (Mt. Albert, Canada) 4:30.78, Lucas Pfutz (Mt. Prospect, IL) 4:31.12 and: Jacob Nuckols (Ventura, CA) 4:33.98 tied the old record of 4:34.64 Micah Weiss (Chicago, IL). He wasn’t done. Showing his range, he ran the 400m three hours later in 50.46 minutes, winning by 3.13 seconds. That reduced his previous best by 1.36 seconds.
In middle school field activities, Wyomissing, PA eighth grader Loveline Zudie produced a heave of 41 feet ¼ inch, set a meet record. His streak included four marks at 40 feet, but fell short of his monstrous personal best of 42 feet, 4 inches.
Five high school championships were held on the first day, one of which was a national record for finishing the meet.
Eugene Zmailo (WA) broke the 38-year-old triple jump record set by Keith Holley earlier in the season with his mark of 52 feet 9 ½ inches on January 25. USA #2 Miles Nesmith (TN) was not far behind with a season best of 51 feet 9 ¼. In Friday’s triple jump final, Nesmith, last year’s runner-up at 49 feet, 11 ¼ inches, led the way in the second round with a mark of 50 feet, 8 inches, ahead of Zmailo’s 50-foot mark of 6. In the third round, Nesmith cleared a personal best of 52 feet, 0 inches to set a new personal best. In the final three rounds, Zhmailo committed fouls on his final attempts. Nesmith, on the other hand, was hot. He established three marks of 51 feet 7 inches, culminating in a pull-off that defied the mark of 53 feet 0 inches on his final jump to erase Jamilo’s record by 2.5 inches. Overall, Nesmith’s streak included three top ten finishes in all performances: US #7, 52’0″ and US #0 51’11 ¼”.
The 5,000-meter distance race featured some of the top-ranked athletes in the country.
Blair Bartlett just won the 5000m at the Nike Indoor Nationals. Blair Bartlett and Avery Lowen were side by side until the final 200m when Blair pulled away to beat Avery in 15:28.07 to 15:32.94.#inhemixedzonewas interviewed by Blair Bartlett #runblogrun post-election race!
🎥… pic.twitter.com/WMfnzQG1SE
— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) March 12, 2026
The girls’ race was the first. US #1 Avery Lowen (Bowdon, GA) At the David Hemery Valentine’s Day Invitational on February 13, he ran a meet in 15:53.35. He had company in Friday’s finale. Blair Bartlett in his first 5000m race (Lawrenceville, PA) shaded 1200 meters before taking the lead. It looked to be another run for Bartlett, who has lost just once this season and is en route to a US #5 all-time mile performance of 4:34.55 and a US#4 all-time 2-mile performance of 9:44.34 this year. He hit the 1,600 meters in 4:55.78 and opened up a bit on Lowen. However, Loewen was hooked. He retook the lead five laps later, hitting the 3,200 meters in a jaw-dropping 9:55.89. Bartlett stayed in Lowen’s slipstream the rest of the way before exploding on the final lap for US #3 all-time in 15:28.07. Lowen finished 5th all-time for the USA in 15:32.94. Bartlett’s time was a US junior record, and Lown was ranked the No. 2 US junior. Lowen set personal bests in the 3,000 meters of 9:18.36 and 3,200 meters of 9:55.88. It is remarkable. The top five all-time 5,000-meter performances have come at the Nike Indoor Nationals in the past three years.
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15:13.26 Jane Hedengren 2025 as senior
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15:16.72Rylee Blade2025 as captain
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15:28.07 Blair Barlett 2026 as a junior
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15:28.90 Elizabeth Leachman 2024 Sophomore
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15:32.94 Avery Lowen 2025 ace jr
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15:37.12 Katelyn Touhy 2018 as a sophomore
Boys 5000 meters Marcelo Mantecon (Miami, Florida) collected his second mock title in resounding fashion. Jr. followed the pace of US no Jayden Merrick (IA) 20 laps before taking the lead. Mantecon then turned on the jets with 600 meters to go, burning the next lap in 30.61. He continued to push the pace with a 28.65 and a final lap of 28.60 as he stared into the stands at the finish line, crossing the finish line in a record 13:57.94. His time was in the 0.90’s Edward Chezerek The junior class record was set in 2012.
Mantecon wasn’t alone when he made his latest surge. Second year Reuel Newberry (Denton, TX) Followed the speedy junior in the 4,600 meters and finished second in a new sophomore record of 14:04.33. The previous record, 14:14.38, was set by Mantecon in last year’s win.
Second year Dominic Mathias (Moore, OK) finished third in 14:16.42 ahead of Merrick who finished in 14:17.29.
The workload on the field lived up to its billing.
Athletes competing in the top five weight classes put on a great show. Defending champion Vanessa Jones (Warwick, RI) won after the first round with a heave of 56 feet 1 ¼ inches. It had a short life as a captain Kim Byrd (Seattle, Washington) Opened a personal best of 59 feet, 4 ¾ inches in the second round. Jones, nursing a right ankle injury, launched a putt of 58 feet 5 ¾ inches and 58 feet 7 ¼ inches that fell short of the beard mark. In the fifth round, Jones eclipsed Baird’s mark to win with a personal best of 59 feet, 5 inches.
In the single relay championship of the day to Minisink (NY) out of four M. Wickrath, C. Beck, R. Labarbera, and F. Hill defeated Warwick Valley TC (NY) 3:38.68 and: Spartanburg TC (SC) 3:38.99 nail biting.
Today’s track and field action includes championship finals with the following events:
4 x 55 meter hurdles boys and girls
2 Mile Boys and Girls
Pentathlon boys and girls
4 x 200 meter relay club and high school boys and girls
4 x 1 mile Boys and Girls
Boys and Girls 1600 Meter Sprint Medley Relay
Schedule:
Live results including heat sheets
Live streaming
