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More Champions Crowned on Day 2 of the 2026 Nike Indoor NationalsPublished by
Contact Information: Release Date: Friday, March 14, 2026 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE More Champions Crowned on Day 2 of the 2026 Nike Indoor Nationals New York City, NY - Competitive fields produced exciting competition on day 2 of the Nike Indoor Nationals at the Nike Track and Field Center at The Armory. US #2 Kaddell Howard (Philadelphia, PA) entered the 400 meter championship race with two of the top five performances this season. A late scratch by US #5 Brooke Lloyd (TX) left the final two sections with US #3 Ataja Stephane Vazquez (Daniel’s High Performance TC, NC) and up-and -comer Taylor-Nicole Overton (Indians TC, FL), a 53.19 performer, as her strongest challengers. Nicole-Overton took the pace out hard, taking the pole and hitting the 200 meter in 24.64 to lead Howard’s 25.03. As she rounded the final backstretch, the taller Overton held the inside lane, but the smaller Howard was able to produce a burst that shot past her as she pulled away with a 52.65 personal best. That improved on her US #2 time. Overton finished second in a new indoor best of 53.23 and Ataja Stephane-Vazquez third in 53.66. Howard’s time moved her to #5 and Overton moved to #10 all-time meet performer. The boys 400 meter final defied the seeding. Only Kendrick Joshua (Richmond Hill, GA), the winner of the fast heat in 48.33, placed and that place was an off the podium ninth. The winner was Joshua Shelton (APXP, TX) who was in the second fastest heat. Shelton, who came in with the US #1 outdoor time of 45.91 shot out of lane lane 6 to reach the pole in 22.03. He continued to push to finish in 47.80. Taking second was William Hollensteiner (Stumptown TC, MT) who won the third fastest heat in 47.87. The two mile fields were packed and produced top ranked performances. In the girls’ race, Averi Lowen (Bowdon, GA) was attempting a tough double, but was the only athlete in the field under 9:20 for the 3,000 meters so was a slight favorite. Lowen set a stiff pace clipping off 36-37 circuits. Behind her, defending champion Addy Ritzenhein (Real Training Colorado TC) and upstart sophomore Leah Starkey (Ocean Township, NJ) kept pace. Ritzenhein lost three seconds by the 11th lap, but Starkey remained in contact chomping at the bit as she settled closely behind Lowen. With three laps to go Starkey pounced and closed the last 600 meters in 1:46.45 to finish in 9:48.02. The time was remarkable for the sophomore. Her previous best was a 10:19.85 from June’s New Balance National Outdoor Championships. Her 1 mile best this indoor season was a 4:48.33. She moved to US #2 sophomore all-time behind Elizabeth Leachman’s (San Antonio, TX) 9:47.15. For Lowen, her double 15:32.94/9:52.57 was the second best 5,000m/2 mile double behind Elizabeth Leachman’s 15:28.90/9:44.16 at the ‘24 Nike Indoor Nationals. She moved to US #5 junior 2 miler all time. In the boys’ two mile, the expectations were high as seven of last year’s top ten two mile performers who had bests of 8:52.35 or faster toed the line. The race was sloppy. After two circuits in 67.42 the pace crawled to a 4:30.47 1,618 meter split. A lot of pushing on shoving ensued over the next few circuits before the racing began. A 30.7 circuit with four laps to go from Caden Leonard (Southlakes, TX), the owner of the US #1 4:00.07 1 mile performance, launched him into the lead. 5,000 meter champion Marcelo Mantecon (Miami Havana, FL), Abdi Hassan (Great Strides TC, CO), and Brody Clark (Milton, CAN) countered following closely. Leonard kept the pedal to the metal as he turned another 30.70 lap. Mantecon was not fazed as he stayed in his slipstream. Mantecon then accelerated as he is becoming known for blazing the next lap in a torrid 28.75 which drew him clear of a hard charging Leonard. Mantecon kept up the pressure with a final lap of 28.91 to finish in 8:48.02. His splits were remarkable: he finished his last 1,600m in 4:12.38; his last 800 meters was 1:59.53 and his last 400 meters was 57.65. Leonard scored a personal best of 8:49.46 to take second place. Clark edged Hassan, 8:51.06 to 8:51.33 to finish third and fourth. Hassan’s mark placed him US #7 sophomore all time and US #3 fastest indoors all time behind Edward Cheserek’s 8:42.66 and Mantecon’s 8:49.78 from last year’s NIN. The field events produced surprising results. In the girls shot put, US #1 Addy Stiverson (Montrose, MI) had an off day to finish third with a 48 feet 4 1/2 inch performance. Two personal bests from Jaslene Massey (Aliso Viejo, CA) and Briana Davis (Texas Pressure TC, TX) led the way. Massey, a former figure skater and volleyball player, twirled to a personal best of 54 feet 2 ¾”. She improved her best by 2 feet 10 ¾ inch. An elated Davis had a slightly smaller 10 ½” personal best of 52 feet 0 inches to place second. In the boys’ long jump, US #1 Joseph West III (Texas Titans Athletics, TX) put himself into the history books. On his third jump, the unsigned senior soared to a US #5 all time 25 feet 9 ½ inch stunner. It improved his personal best by 1 feet 1 ½ inches. The top jumpers all time? In pentathlon action, Cate Bryant (Houston, TX) collected her second national indoor championship with a meet #5 performance 3,875. His marks were: 9.19 60 mH, 31’7” shot put, 19’ 4 ¾” long jump, 5’6” high jump, and 2:18.27 800 meter. The junior improved 109 points over last year’s 3,766 point total. In the boys’ pentathlon, Owen Proskin (Plum TC, PA) scored 3,816 to run away with the competition. His scores included a 8.21 60mH, a 21’ 3 ¾” long jump, 44’ 9 ¼” shot put, 6’ 4 ¾” high jump and 2:54.04 1,000 meters. In the girls 4 x 55 meter shuttle hurdle relay, four teams finished within 0.57 seconds. 434 TC (VA) scored the win with a 33.43 in the fastest section. The team of E. Bradner, B. Tune, A Johnson and J. Benjamin led from start to finish to outpaced Woodlawn Elite TC (MD) who finished second in 33.87. Track 7-5-7 (VA) took third place out of the second fastest section with a 33.99. In the boys 4 x 55 meter shuttle hurdle relay, Irvington TC (NJ) raced to a 30.83 to outdistance Bloomfield TC (CT) who finished in 31.01. Fordham Prep TC (NY) finished third with their 31.27 in the third fastest section. Today’s finals Track 1 Mile Race Walk Girls and Boys Field Boys Shot Put Meet records Boys 2 Mile Emerging Elite Ethan Thorne Cavalier TC VA 9:10.36 Schedule ### More news |
