Marcelo Mantecon Anchors Miami Havana TC To DMR National Record, Wins For Third Time This Weekend At NIN

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

Evan Poulsen Photos

NEW YORK — As of Saturday night, Marcelo Mantecon is on track to have one of the best single-meet performances in high school track and field history.

The Belen Jesuit FL junior earned his third national title of the weekend at Nike Indoor Nationals, splitting a 4:04.73 anchor leg to lead his Miami Havana TC distance medley relay squad to a high school record of 9:47.01.

Mantecon ran 13:57.94 to win the 5,000 on Thursday and then ran 8:48.02 to win the 2-mile on Friday. On Saturday, with five miles of racing under his legs, he ran nearly three seconds faster than his 1,600 personal best, and his squad broke the DMR record by six seconds.

“A national record is something I’ve never done before,” Mantecon said. “It’s great that I got to accomplish it with my brothers.”

He hardly did it alone. His teammates Armando Cruz, Carlos Benitez and Jack Michalak recorded splits of 3:00.02 on the 1,200 leg, 50.78 on the 400 leg, and 1:51.49 on the 800 leg, respectively, setting Mantecon up in perfect position.

“Last night, all of us barely slept,” Cruz said. “We were just thinking about this record, thinking about all the things that could go wrong, all the things that would have to go right.”

Ridge NJ previously held the indoor record with their 9:53.40 performance from 2022, and Crater OR’s outdoor record is only a few seconds better at 9:44.30. Perhaps the most impressive part of this squad’s performance is that all four members are underclassmen. Benitez is a freshman, Michalak is a sophomore and Cruz and Mantecon are juniors.

For Mantecon, unbelievably, the weekend is not over. He’ll be recovering — and praying — to the best of his ability in the next 24 hours as he prepares for a loaded mile race on Sunday afternoon. 

He’ll battle against the likes of Andrew Beroset (McCallie TN), Paul Van Laningham (Union KY), Benjamin Adams (Mountain Vista CO) and Caleb Ten Pas (Des Moines Christian IA) as he attempts to win his fourth gold medal of the weekend, an extremely rare feat on the high school stage.

Marcell Throws Eight-Foot PB to Topple National Leader

CJ Williams was the obvious favorite in Saturday's shot put championship at Nike Indoor Championship. He held the national lead by six feet with a season's best of 71-6, and he had just won the New Balance Nationals Indoor title on Friday in Boston.

"I thought it was going to be a breeze," Williams said.

Chris Marcell had other ideas. On his fifth attempt, the senior from Marathon WI, heaved a 69-foot, 2-inch throw, a personal best by over eight feet, and beat Williams by an inch for the national title.

Coming into the weekend, Marcell was just happy to be in the presence of the best throwers in the country. He was barely ranked in the top 50 in the country, and he hadn't competed since June 2025.

From the time his first throw left his hand, though, everyone watching at The Armory knew he was a different athlete. He threw 64-4 on his first attempt, immediately obliterating his PB, and he did not cool off after that. He only fouled on one attempt, and all five of his measured throws were above 63 feet. 

"I came into (the weekend) hoping for a top-10 finish and to take my state lead," Marcell said. "Obviously, it turned into something much more than that."

Marcell had been laying the groundwork for a shocking performance for months, though. Over the course of nine months, his diet of 5,000 calories a day and 250 grams of protein a day -- "eat anything and everything," Marcell calls it --- helped him put on 40 pounds and make major gains in the gym (he can now bench press 405 pounds.)

"(Weight training) went into it for sure," Marcell said. "I worked hard all season, I put on weight, I tried to get my technique up to par with these guys, and I think I can say I finally did that."

His shot put progress is only the beginning; Marcell envisions himself as a dual threat in the throws. He owns a PB of 220-8 for the discus, and he says he'll definitely improve upon that mark this season.

"I'll throw the discus, the discus won't throw me this year," Marcell said.

Williams, meanwhile, threw 69-0.75 for second -- a disappointing performance by his own standards. The senior from Frisco Heritage TX expected to win easily, especially after he broke the meet record with a throw of 67-4.75 at New Balance Nationals Indoor on Friday, but he knew he was in trouble early.

"The first three throws were really bad... I couldn't really find one," Williams said.

Williams was as surprised as anyone to see Marcell nearly break 70 feet, and after a long travel day -- he got into New York around midnight -- he simply wasn't up to the challenge.

"That's on me," Williams said. "I shouldn't have been so complacent. Chris is a dog... I'm happy for him, and I know it's gonna be a shootout when we get to (Nike Outdoor Nationals)."

If there's a positive for Williams to take away from the meet, it's that he knows he has competition now, and he's got a fire under him that he believes will propel him to new heights. He's got plenty of lofty goals for the outdoor season; among them, he wants to go undefeated for the entire spring and win a World U20 title in August.

"(It's about) being the best thrower I can be on the day," Williams said. "I know that wasn't what I did today."

Cooper Wins 800

Joshua Cooper (Willow Spring NC) went into the boys 800 meters championship with a plan to take the lead quickly and keep it.

When Greg Myers went out in 25.8 seconds for his first 200, though, Cooper didn’t let it faze him; he stayed in the chase pack, nearly a second behind Myers. As the race progressed, Cooper slowly caught up to Myers, and by the bell lap, he had the race in hand. After holding off a last-lap surge by Jayden Lloyd McKenna, he broke the tape in 1:50.59 and earned his first national title.

When Cooper saw Myers put a gap on him, he knew that he would be able to close that gap eventually, but he had no idea how long it would take. Instead of trying to make up ground immediately, he adjusted his race plan, giving himself until the bell lap to make a move.

“That’s where trusting your training comes in,” Cooper said. “You can win a race in multiple ways, you don’t always gotta be in the front."

Despite having sub-1:50 credentials coming into the race, Cooper wasn’t heavily talked about as a favorite, as guys like Quentin Nauman and Wyland Obando demanded most of the attention. Knowing that, Cooper had a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

“Knowing you’re coming in as a little bit of an underdog,” Cooper said, “you wanna get your name out there… this means a lot to me.”

Cooper will head to the outdoor season with plenty of momentum. Last year, he finished third in the 800 at Nike Outdoor Nationals, running a PB of 1:49.32, while Cooper Lutkenhaus stole the show with a 1:45.45 performance. With no Lutkenhaus or runner-up Bodey Lutes in the field this year, Cooper is a clear contender on the national stage this spring.

Olesen Repeats In Pole Vault

In a bit of deja vu from 2025, Victor Olesen (St. Christopher’s VA) and Luke Beattie (Warwick Valley NY) went 1-2 in the boys pole vault; Olesen cleared 16-8 for the win, while Beattie cleared 16-4.

Olesen, a Stanford commit, has had an up-and-down season. He won all of his indoor competitions in Virginia but took fourth at the Millrose Games, and his technical prowess has ebbed and flowed at times.

“I had a series of crummy meets,” Olesen said, “but I’m glad to get back on track here.”

Reflecting on his indoor season as a whole, Olesen didn’t seem too excited or concerned with those ebbs and flows. 

“You win some, you lose some,” he said, “and we just hope to win more than we lose.”

Olesen has his sights set on the outdoor season — especially the World U20 Championships in Oregon. Last year, he won the US U20 title with an 18-foot clearance.

More highlights

<<  DeMatha Catholic torched the meet record in the boys 4x400 relay and ran the 10th fastest time in high school indoor history, clocking a 3:14.33.

<< Jordan Randall (Warsaw IN) won a thrilling boys high jump with a clearance of 7-1.75 (2.18m). Chase Hunter (Durham NC) cleared 7-00.25 (2.14m) for second, followed by Niles Nesmith, who cleared 6-10.75 (2.10m) for third. Nesmith, who broke the high school record in the triple jump on Thursday, came agonizingly close to clearing 7-00.25, but the bar fell off nearly five seconds after he landed on the mat.

<< Hansen Hsu clocked a 7:46.57 mile to win the 1 mile racewalk title.