Hall produces 5,004 points to eclipse 2014 U.S. mark of 4,805 points achieved by Day-Monroe in Albuquerque, just shy of 2012 world record 5,013 points held by Ukraine star Dobrynska; Melville wins 19th career women’s national racewalk crown and Christie gets 14th all-time men’s title

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Anna Hall knew the rarefied air of Albuquerque could be a potential catalyst toward her challenging the pentathlon world record Thursday at the USATF Indoor Championships.

Hall, an adidas professional athlete and the reigning World Outdoor heptathlon bronze medalist, also knew that the demanding task of running the 800 meters at 5,300 feet elevation could make the difference in whether or not she achieved the all-time mark at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Her analysis proved to be correct in both cases, with Hall smashing the American record and becoming only the third female competitor in history to surpass the 5,000-point barrier, but still leaving the track disappointed after missing her target time in the 800 by 0.6 seconds in her quest for global supremacy.

Hall clocked 2 minutes, 5.70 seconds in the 800 to finish with 5,004 points, elevating her to No. 2 all-time, trailing only the 2012 mark of 5,013 points produced at the World Indoor Championships by Ukraine’s Nataliya Dobrynska.

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“Honestly, right now, I’m just a little upset with myself for not being number one because that’s always my goal, to win the day and be number one all-time and that’s what I’m going to be chasing,” said Hall, who ran 2:05.33 last year to achieve a then-indoor-best 4,618 points competing for Florida at the Southeastern Conference Championships at Texas A&M.

“In the back of my mind, of course, I’m always shooting for a perfect day and I knew a perfect day was the world record, and obviously that’s going to be the goal every time, so obviously it hurts to fall a little short.”

Hall, 21, eclipsed the 2014 American record of 4,805 points accumulated by Sharon Day-Monroe at the USATF Indoor Championships, also in Albuquerque.

“Honestly, in my mind, I told my coaches if we don’t get the American record, then I had a bad meet,” Hall said. “Just based on my marks this indoor season, we knew that if I put together a solid multi, I should end up with (the American record). Now, getting the world record, we knew it would have to be a perfect day, so we were kind of expecting to be somewhere in between, which is where we ended up.

“For it being my first multi as a professional, I think it’s more than we could have asked for coming into this season, so I’m happy with it.”

Hall produced a lifetime-best 8.04 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles, before clearing a personal-best 6-3.25 (1.91m) in the high jump, the all-time performance in the event for an American female competitor in the pentathlon and her first PR since 2021.

“We knew coming into today that she could jump 1.85m (6-0.75) or 1.88m (6-2), because she jumped 1.83m (6-0) in practice. And then she jumped 1.85m in warmups and I was like, ‘OK, we’re onto something,” said Florida associate head coach Mellanee Welty, who still trains Hall in the high jump as a post-collegiate athlete.

“When she made 1.88m, I wasn’t surprised, and then she made 1.91m, and I was like, ‘That was pretty good.’ Even the 1.88m and 1.91m jumps were not her best of the day, but the bar stayed up and the bar gods loved her. She hit it a little bit, but the bar stayed up and that was really good. But to get (that high jump record) is awesome.”

Hall matched her personal-best 45-3.50 (13.80m) in the shot put and then came through with a clutch indoor-best 20-9.75 (6.34m) effort on her final long jump attempt to place herself well ahead of American record pace and in world-record contention entering the 800.

“I knew the altitude was going to be a little bit of a factor (in the race),” Hall said. “I know I’m going to notice it, but I was just telling myself that the adrenaline makes up for it and it just means that it’s going to hurt more, but it doesn’t mean that I have to run slower. I ran it the same way I would no matter where I was in the world and I just gave it everything I had and waited to see what happens.”

Hall highlighted a pentathlon competition with the top four athletes all producing personal-best performances.

It also marked another record effort in New Mexico for the graduate of Valor Christian High in Colorado, who first competed at the Albuquerque Convention Center as a freshman in 2016, representing FK Elite Club.

“It’s really meaningful, I like this track a lot,” Hall said. “I haven’t been on the new one (before today), but I like competing here a lot, and it’s closer to home, so my parents are here, and it’s just a nice fast track and a place where I feel comfortable.”

Hall also set the U.S. national high school heptathlon all-time mark with 5,798 points in 2018 at the Great Southwest Classic at the New Mexico Track and Field Complex.

Santa Barbara Track Club’s Hope Bender relied on an indoor-best 2:13.25 in the 800 to elevate from fourth to second with 4,445 points, improving on her previous-best by more than 100 points from last year at Texas Tech.

Duke graduate Erin Marsh, who placed second behind Hall at the Division 1 Indoor Championships last year at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Alabama, improved by 49 points to take third with 4,432, as she and Bender both ascended among the U.S. all-time top 20 indoor pentathlon performers, with Hall elevating from eighth in the country’s history to the American record.

“It’s crazy to even see that number. It’s so incredible,” Marsh said. “Earlier, her agent (Paul Doyle) was talking about her going for the world record and I was like, ‘She’s out of her mind, but she can absolutely do it.’ That’s just being on a different level.”

Shaina Burns boosted her indoor best by five points to finish fourth with 4,380 and defending champion Chari Hawkins – already the No. 15 all-time American indoor competitor at 4,492 – was fifth with 4,312.

Miranda Melville, representing New York Athletic Club, achieved her 19th career U.S. national title, including her second indoors, to secure victory in the women’s 3,000-meter racewalk in 13:37.69.

Melville, who won the 35-kilometer outdoor championship Jan. 15 in 2:57:22 in Santee, Calif., covered the final kilometer Thursday in 4:35.03 to separate herself from 46-time national champion and Oiselle athlete Maria Michta-Coffey (13:49.29), who prevailed Feb. 11 in the USATF 1-mile event at the 115th Millrose Games at The Armory in New York.

Nick Christie captured his 14th career national crown, including his sixth indoors, with an impressive 11:56.67 performance in the men’s 3,000 race walk. Christie won for the third time in Albuquerque, including 2018 and 2020.

Iowa graduate Will Daniels leads the men’s heptathlon following four events with 3,430 points and former Michigan All-American Steven Bastien enters the second day with 3,390 points.