Nikki Hiltz served up a major dose of drama down the stretch to claim the women’s 1,500m title on a packed day of competition at the third day of the USATF Outdoor Championships in New York on Saturday.
Under the roar of the crowd at Icahn Stadium, Hiltz kicked on the last 50 meters to take the win in 4:06.92 to barely edge past Addy Wiley who took second in 4:06.96 and Emily Mackay’s 4:06.98 finish for third.
On the bell lap, Hiltz and Wiley picked up the pace after what felt like a cautious first trip around the track and in the closing stretch the battle first was still in reach for both — but Hiltz knew they had an extra gear to take the title.
“It was, honestly, probably, I think, out of all my titles, the hardest one,” Hiltz said. “I feel really, really, really happy with that one. It’s so hard to defend one. It’s hard to defend two. Going into this, I was a three-time defending champ, and I think the weight just gets heavier and heavier and heavier. So, I feel a lot of relief right now.”
In the women’s 100m hurdles, the weight of closing day three was executed with precision by Alia Armstrong as she powered her way to a 12.38 win over Alaysha Johnson (12.42) and Tara Davis-Woodhall (12.57) who proved that she can adapt on either track or in the field as she took bronze.
Nathan Green needed every inch of the track to leg out a 3:50.27 win in the men’s 1,500m over a charging Vincent Ciattei (3:50.32) and Rheinhardt Harrison (3:50.65). The relatively calm pair of opening laps crossed the 800m point at 2:15.03 but picked up noticeably despite being on slowest winning times in the event in the past 50 years.
“It means a lot [to win]. We came off the European circuit in pretty high spirits,” Green said. “We just kept building on that momentum. And then last week I was up against the world record holder, Josh Kerr. But this one ranks pretty high because it means a lot to come back to attack the race and show that I still have it, even if it’s been a while since I’ve touched my real speed work.”
Chase Jackson used her final attempt to toss a 20.55m winning throw in the women’s shot put over Abria Smith (19.31) and Adelaide Aquilla (18.74) with Jackson and Smith being only two competitors to push past 19 meters in the final, while Nathan Mountain 8:13.81 nearly stumbled on the last barrier but held on to win the men’s 3,000 steeplechase in 8:13.81 to slip past Carson Williams (8:13.88) and Duncan Hamilton (8:14.05).
In the women’s 3,000m steeplechase, Lexy Halladay took the title in a commanding 9:12.54 with a comfortable lead as Gabbi Jennings (9:17.42) and Madie Boreman (9:17.68) battled in the final moments to decide the last two podium spots. Sandi Morris
cleared 4.90m for her sixth national total in the women’s pole vault with a statement win over Emily Grove (4.70) and Tori Thomas (4.60).
Aaliyah Butler took the women’s 400m title in 49.93 after a strong start that put the race out of reach as Alexis Holmes (50.47) took season and Sanaria Butler (50.89) finished third, while Salif Mane leaped 16.66m on his final attempt to take the men’s triple jump over Russell Robinson (16.66m) and James Carter Jr (16.15m).
A touch of drama in the men’s 400m wiped away Justin Robinson’s 44.31 win after he was disqualified for several lane infractions and Chris Bailey was upgraded to gold in 44.39 with Khaleb McRae (44.41) and Demarius Smith (44.54) taking the final two spots as Texas Tanner won the men’s discus in 65.46 in his fourth attempt over Reggie Jagers (64.00) and Mitchell Weber (63.84).
Curtis Thompson won the men’s javelin with a 87.59m final attempt over Jordan Davis (82.36m) and Marc Anthony Minichello (75.98m) for his fourth straight and sixth over all title in the event.
