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Girls Preview: Nike Indoor Nationals 2026Published by
Mia And Mariah Maxwell Look For Fast 200s; Blair Bartlett Ready To Cap Breakout Indoor Season In Distance Races; NIN Field Events Loaded By Keenan Gray of DyeStat John Nepolitan Photos Nike Indoor Nationals returns this weekend to The Armory in New York City where many of high school track and field’s brightest stars will gather and compete for championship glory in the culmination to the indoor season. Catch all the action from Thursday to Sunday on the RunnerSpace free live webcast, as well as live results and videos on AthleticLIVE and nonstop coverage here on DyeStat. Here’s a breakdown by event group: Sprints/Hurdles
In preparation for the World Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland the following weekend, newly minted high school 60 meters record holder Mia Maxwell (APXP/Humble Atascocita TX) will contest in her final indoor 200 of the season.
It’ll be just the second 200 Maxwell has raced this indoor season and first since running a US#1 22.89 at the Texas High School Indoor Championships on Jan. 10. Maxwell finished third in last year’s Nike Indoor Nationals 200 final.
Maxwell’s twin sister, Mariah (APXP/Humble Atascocita TX), is also scheduled to race in the 200, bringing in a US#2 time of 22.97, which she also ran at the Texas High School Indoor Championships.
The 200 field also features seven other girls ranked top 20 in the U.S., including three more in the top 10 alongside the Maxwell twins: Freshman and US#3 Melanie Doggett (Major Impact Track TX), US#7 Aster Jones (Roosevelt OR) and US#11 McKenzi Roberson (Shadow Creek TC TX).
Since Mia and Mariah both ran lifetime best performances in the 60 final at the USATF Indoor Championships, they both have scratched the 60 after finishing top four last season. The favorite now becomes Jones, who’s US#5 after running 7.31 at the STCU West Coast Indoor Championships on Feb. 22. Jones was a finalist in the 200 last year, finishing fifth overall.
US#10 Grace Bethel (Hero Sprint Club/Male KY) is another top contender in the girls 60, running 7.38 twice this season including one at The CIRCUIT Chicago on Feb. 21. London Graham (Texas Titans Athletics/Northside Brandeis TX), Evah Elleby (AP Ranch/Mansfield Lake Ridge TX) and Lily Pierrot (Lancaster TX) are other notable entries who have run under 7.40 this season.
In the girls 400, Kaddel Howard (Cedar Crest PA) returns to The Armory a month after running a US#2 52.83 at the Colgate Women’s Games Finals on Feb. 7. Howard finished third in the 400 last season, and was seventh in the 200 final.
Howard will rematch against defending champion Brooke Lloyd (H-Town Hurricanes/Humble Summer Creek TX), who’s US#6 this season in 53.43. Lloyd won last year’s 400 final in 52.96, breaking Zaya Atkins’ meet record of 53.26.
US#3 Ataja Stephane-Vazques (Daniel's High Performance TC/Southeast Guilford NC) and US#11 Ashtyn Lewis (Track Houston Youth) were another pair of finalists from last year’s 400 back in the field. Lewis finished fifth in 53.96 and Stephane-Vazquez finished seventh in 54.70.
Angel Brefo (Midlothian Heritage TX), the Texas 5A state champion, and Clara Adams (Wilson CA), the AAU Junior Olympics Games outdoor champion, are another pair of sub-53-second performers in the field.
Two finalists from last year’s girls 60 hurdles return to challenge for this year’s national title: Destiny Coleman (Woodlawn Elite MD) and Dallas Guy (Dacula GA).
Coleman finished second to last year’s champion, Madeline Cooper, by nine hundredths of a second in 8.24, which was a personal best at the time. This season, Coleman is US#2 in 8.20 seconds from a second-place finish at the Millrose Games.
Guy rounded out the top eight finishers in the final in 8.65 but hasn’t had a ton of opportunities this season to match that effort. She’s only raced the 60 hurdles twice but has come close to running her lifetime best on both occasions.
This year’s field will also include US#6 Nia Armstrong (Sickles FL), US#7 Naomi Booker (Tomball TX) and Kristian Coleman (Duncanville TX). Booker beat Coleman for the Texas 6A 100 hurdles state title last spring and Armstrong was the Florida 4A runner-up in both the 100 and 300 hurdles.
Distance
In what’s already been a remarkable junior campaign, Blair Bartlett (Lawrenceville NJ) will look to add her first national title, and perhaps a second, to her resume when she races both the mile and 5,000.
Bartlett, who ran 16:16.8 for a cross country 5,000 in the fall, will race her first indoor 5,000 on Thursday, aiming to become the eighth girl in high school history to run under 16 minutes.
And she will have plenty of help to do so with US#1 Averi Lowen (Bowdon GA) in the field, who ran 15:53.35 this indoor season, the sixth-fastest indoor 5,000 by a high schooler, in the race. Sophia Rodriguez (Mercer Island WA) and Katie Berkshire (Gaylord MI) bring in sub-16:40 credentials. Wingard and Berkshire were fourth and sixth, respectively, last year.
The 2-mile, scheduled for Friday, will see Lowen, fifth last year, and Rodriguez, seventh last year doubling back from the 5,000, along with defending champion Addy Ritzenhein (REAL Training TC/Niwot CO), Emily Cohen (Cherry Creek CO), Gabbie Bishop (Providence Classical Christian AR), Kendra Williamson (Episcopal Academy PA) and Peyton VanDeest (Spearfish SD).
US#2 Ellie Barada leads the girls 800 field on Saturday with her 2:03.02 from The CIRCUIT New York City on Feb. 14. The Nike Outdoor Nationals champion will face the New Balance Nationals Outdoor champion Natalie Dumas (Eastern Senior NJ), who’s already ran a US#7 2:07.73 this indoor season, but owns a lifetime best 2:00.11.
Dumas and Barada met at the Millrose Games in the 600, with Dumas beating Barada 1:28.10 to 1:28.35. Barada was the runner-up and Dumas was fifth in last year’s final.
Kieran Murray (Georgetown Visitation Prep DC), Melia Kupchanko (Williamsville East NY), Grace Smith (Carlsbad CA) are among other top names listed in the field.
Bartlett will return for the mile on Sunday with her US#1 time of 4:34.55 from The CIRCUIT Philly on Feb. 28, which she won by over 34 seconds. The field also includes US#1 outdoor performer Ellery Lincoln (Lincoln OR), who recently ran an Oregon all-time best of 4:35.55, good for No. 11 all-time, US#4 Braelyn Combe (Santiago (Corona) CA) and Chiara Dailey (La Jolla CA).
Ritzenhein (Niwot CO), fourth last year, Bishop (Providence Classical Christian AR) and Barada (Bloomington South IN) are scheduled to be in the mile field.
Jumps
There are two US#1’s in the four jump contests: Addison Kleinke (Churchill OR) in the pole vault and Parker Coes (Katy Morton Ranch TX) in the long jump.
Kleinke, the Nike Outdoor Nationals runner-up, is the only competitor in the girls field to have cleared 14 feet. Kleinke cleared her US#1 height of 14-1.25 at the UCS Spirit National Pole Vault Summit on Jan. 17 but hasn’t come close to reaching that height since.
US#7 Renata Bergstrom recently cleared a personal best 13-4.50 at the STCU West Coast Indoor Championships on Feb. 22, beating Kleinke by 15 centimeters.
US#9 Danica McCarron (Cary Academy NC) and US#10 Izzy Robbins (Grand Haven MI) are the only other pair of vaulters in the field to clear 13-3 this season.
Coes is the only girl this indoor season to have gone over 21 feet in long jump, jumping 21-0.75 at The VA Showcase, holding almost an eight-inch lead on the next best indoor performer in the field.
Janessa Brown (Buford GA) recently jumped a US#1 outdoor mark of 20-7.50 at the Buford High Elite Relays Invitational, narrowing the gap on Coes’ US#1 indoor mark.
The only other top 10 nationally ranked jumper in the field is US#4 Eguonome Akpobassa (Bridgeland TX), who jumped 20-5 at the Texas High School Indoor Championships. There are a couple of other state champions, Caityln Cavitt (Arlington Martin TX) and Laine McKenzie (Cedarcrest WA), who have jumped 20 feet outdoors but are looking to get in that range at indoor nationals.
McKenzie does lead the triple jump field with her US#5 41-11.50 from the Millrose Games, ahead of US#6 Akpobassa and US#9 Lauren Carrothers (Walnut Grove TX). Charve Gibson (Jefferson County MS) has the overall lifetime best of 42-1.25 from last outdoor season.
Bailey Hensgens (Incarnate Word Academy MO), most recently cleared a personal best US#2 5 feet, 10.75 inches at the Tallawah Winter Series Ozark Indoor Championships on Feb. 21, but it’s the only time she’s gone over 5-9 this indoor season.
US#3 Kate Voelker (Manhasset NY) and US#4 Egypt Bolan (Lindenwold NJ) have both gone 5-10 this season but have jumped those heights twice this season, showing a bit more consistency.
US#6 Nia Harrison (Greenhill TX) and US#10 Milena Sciullo (Grove City Senior PA) have both cleared 5-9 and are looking to go a bit higher to close out the season.
Throws
When it comes to depth of events, no fields are as deep than the girls shot put and weight throw competitions.
Seven of the top 10 nationally ranked shot putters and weight throwers will enter The Armory’s throwing cage, including defending weight throw champion Vanessa Jones (Toll Gate RI).
Jones won last year’s title by 26 centimeters, throwing 58-1.75. Jones is US#3 this season with her best mark coming at the Millrose Games, where she achieved 57-1 for the win. Jones will have a Millrose Games rematch with US#1 Ainsley Cuthbertson (Lexington MA) and US#4 Taylor McGinness (Smithfield RI). McGinness finished second to Jones and Cuthbertson was fifth.
Another rematch for Jones will be with US#6 Julia Smith (Prout RI), who beat Jones by 2.5 inches to win the Rhode Island state title.
Aside from defending champion Jones, the only other returning finalists from last year’s NIN competition in this year’s field are US#2 Kim Beard (King’s WA), US#4 Chloe Barber (Lewisville Hebron TX), and Marissa Johnson (Tigard OR).
Johnson, who hasn’t competed this year, finished third in 2025. Beard, who threw a personal best 57-6.25 at the STCU West Coast Indoor Championships, finished fifth, and Barber, who last threw the weight throw in January, finished sixth.
US#9 Corynn Smith (Desert Christian (Lancaster) CA) and Joi Story (Edwardsville IL) figured to be in All-American contention.
US#1 Addyson Stiverson (Montrose MI), third in last year’s shot put final, is the only returning finalist in this year’s competition. The junior threw a lifetime best 53-7.50 back in December and almost matched that effort at the MITS Indoor State Championships on March 1 with a winning throw of 53-1.75.
Stiverson is one of three girls who has thrown over 50 feet this indoor season, which also includes US#2 Adelyn Anderson (Lander Valley WY) and US#3 Briana Davis (Red Oak TX). All three will meet for the first time this year.
Podium spots in fourth, fifth and sixth will be hard to come by given season’s best performances and how close they are to each other. US#5 Lorelai Zielinksi (TC Central MI), US#6 Hannah Nuhfer (Delsea Regional NJ), US#8 Nesta Oji (Livington NJ) and US#9 Alivia Noecker (Wilson PA) are all separated by a little over a foot.
Relays
The South Lakes VA girls will have three opportunities to win a relay crown, and possibly more, in the 4x800, sprint medley and distance medley.
South Lakes is US#3 in the 4x800 with their 9:04.67 from the VSHL Class 6 State Indoor Championships but does not have anchor Caroline Elliott in the line-up for NIN. They’ll take on the defending champions Bucks County PA, US#6 at 9:08.70 this season.
Elliott is scheduled to appear in the SMR and DMR for South Lakes. The senior owns lifetime bests of 2:08.61 in the 800 and 4:42.88 in the 1,600.
The SMR field also includes another defending champion, Koala NY, which will feature Jane Hickey, who ran No. 4 all-time 1:27.14 in the 600 at the New York state meet over the weekend.
The DMR field will showcase REAL Training CO, featuring Ritzenhein, and The Lawrenceville NJ, featuring Bartlett.
Ridgewood NJ lead the girls 4xMile field, which has run a US#1 22:07.11 in the 4x1600 relay back in January. Haddonfield Memorial NJ and REAL Training Colorado also have teams entered.
Woodlawn Elite MD will look to defend its 4x200 title but can expect a tough challenge from US#4 Indy Elite NC and US#8 McNamara Mustangs. Those same McNamara Mustangs will also be a favorite in the 4x400 with the nation’s third-fastest time of 3:44.36.
Spartanburg TC of South Carolina has the top seed time in the mixed 4x400 relay. |
