Who’s Coming - Distance

Highlighting the top New Balance Nationals Indoor commitments leading up to the championships on March 8-10

By Steve Underwood of the NSAF | Watch #NBNationals LIVE March 8 - 10

Athing Mu – Suddenly reaching the “best-ever” level

The development of long sprinter/middle-distance runner Athing Mu can be viewed through the lens of New Balance Nationals Indoor and how she had progressed before and during the past three editions of the meet. As a freshman at 2017 NBNI, Mu was becoming well-known in the NY/NJ area and had already done great things as an AAU Junior Olympian with her Trenton Track Club (800 national titles in 2015 and ’16). But many who saw her win the NBNI freshman mile that year or watched her in the 400 were seeing and meeting her for the first time – noting her great developing talent and friendly, vivacious personality.

Then by 2018 NBNI, Mu had already scored a runner-up finish in the previous spring’s NBNO 800 and would step up that weekend to win the 4-lapper with a new 2:06.59 PR. That completed the first half of an unbeaten (vs. US preps) ’18 as she would make it an NBN 800 sweep outdoors, run under 2:05 (as well as 52.45 for 400) and make the Youth Olympic final. The versatile Mu (200 through the mile) was halfway through a great prep career and already moving high on the all-time lists. Flash forward to this winter and as of mid-February, Mu was leading the nation’s preps in four events from 400 through 1000 meters – top 5 all-time in each – and on a trajectory to defend her NBNI 800 title and possibly soon challenge some national records.

Then USATF Indoors happened. In an event which may be her true sweet spot – the 600 – Mu blasted through her qualifying round at Ocean Breeze in a national HS record 1:26.23, succeeding the great Sammy Watson (whose standard she’d already challenged back in January). But no one was prepared for what happened in the 600 final. Mu unbelievably chopped three more seconds of her prelim time and kicked past outstanding pro Raven Rogers for a 1:23.57 victory – beating the American women’s record and nearly surpassing the world record.

Suddenly the 16-year-old Mu is entering Sydney McLaughlin/Mondo Duplantis territory. Suddenly NBNI is not just about Mu defending her title and getting closer to 2:00. It’s about beating another Watson record and possibly destroying that barrier – and perhaps Mary Cain’s 1:59.71 outdoor standard along with it. And the rest of the Trenton Central, NJ junior’s 2019 is not just about prep racing, but possibly challenging pros like 800 U.S. record-holder and Olympic medalist Ajee Wilson and other top Americans to make the Team USA for the 2019 IAAF World Champs in Doha, Qatar. Like McLaughlin and Duplantis, Mu seems to have unlimited potential and Sunday’s NBNI 800 and a sub-2:00 chase is the next step that has become the most eagerly anticipated race of the meet.

Katelyn Tuohy – Adding to her legacy

That it takes an historic sub-2:00 800m chase to rival Katelyn Tuohy for headlines at a national championship says a lot about the legacy that the North Rockland, NJ junior has created – in terms of setting and chasing records of her own and, most significantly, winning championships. With potentially four more NBN meets to contest, through the halfway point of her championship career, Tuohy has won SEVEN NBN titles – three individual (2017-18 outdoor mile and ’18 indoor 2M) and four relay (three straight indoor DMR titles and one outdoor in ’16). The indoor DMR threepeat started when Tuohy was an 8th-grader in ’16 as she anchored her school’s winning 11:34.85 national record – still #2 all-time. Then her first individual NBN race came when she ruled the ’17 outdoor mile, but it was last June’s victory – in a national record 4:33.87 – that really electrified the T&F world.

Of course Tuohy’s resume has been about much more than just her NBN triumphs. There have been national XC titles, and then the jaw-dropping national prep records at 5,000m, 3000m (both indoor) and 3,200m (outdoors). Right now she’s registered for four events at NBNI – the mile and 2-mile, plus the DMR and the sprint medley relays (North Rock was 2nd in the latter last year). No girl has ever won the same-day 1M/2M double at NBNI (and few have tried) and only Lukas Verzbicas has done so for the boys. If Tuohy’s energy is good by Sunday’s deuce, Mary Cain’s 9:38.58 HSR could be in play. In any case, there’s little doubt that the New Yorker will continue building what could become NBN’s greatest championship resume.

Nick Foster – Ready for another title shot

Two races during his junior year last spring at Ann Arbor (Mich.) Pioneer HS established that Nick Foster is not just among the very upper echelon prep distance runners of his class, but also has national champion chops and could become one of the all-timers. The former was made clear when he took the NBNO 2-mile last June, using a super kick (57.2 last 400) to cross the line in 8:59.46. Having previously run 8:54 for 3,200, Foster established consistency at the sub-9 level. A week earlier, in the Brooks mile, he ran a big PR 4:05.50 for 2nd – fast enough for a junior to allow for dreams of sub-4:00 as a senior. Having also run 1:53 for 800, Foster showed great range and talent as an 11th-grader.

As a senior (and a U. of Michigan recruit), Foster was unbeaten during the Michigan XC season, but then had relatively sub-standard performances at the regional and national level. Indoors, so far, he’s been stellar – unbeaten and ripping bests of 1:53.73 800, 4:07.16 1,600 and 8:57.56 3,200. In Sunday’s NBNI mile, he’s at the top of a group of preps who have generally run in the 4:08-10 mile range this winter – but he’ll also be facing Canadian (Ontario) Foster Malleck, with a 3:51.97 1,500m best. Foster ran two great relay legs for All-American Ann Arbor TC performances at NBNI last winter – and has run the mile at NBNO three times – but this will be his first individual indoor nationals final. Adding another gold to his NBNO 2M medal would be sweet.

Taylor Ewert – A prep distance unicorn

If Taylor Ewert’s prep racing career to date consisted solely of her high school nationals racewalking, she would have had a wonderful journey so far with multiple national championships and HS records, making a great case for the best-ever in the discipline. That the Beavercreek (Ohio) HS junior has done so much more – even in just the 12 months since her 2018 NBNI title – elevates her resume to a dizzying level and her inclusion in another “Who’s Coming” a must. No American athlete has ever combined high-level racewalking and distance running like Ewert has, and no one will forget a pair of weekends last June and this January. The first of those started with Ewert racing to an electrifying 6:38.79 NBNO 2k steeplechase victory Saturday in Greensboro. The next morning in Bloomington, IN, she walked a blistering American Junior record 49:07.52 10k to earn a Team USA berth to the World U20 Champs.

Ewert would go on to destroy that record (45:57.81) while finishing 10th at those championships in Finland (highest finish ever by a U.S. athlete in the event), then defy all expectations during her XC season last fall with top-4 finishes in both nationals. But the second “big weekend” – or really just a huge day – came at the Millrose Games last month, as she crushed her prep mile walk record and beat a field of pros with a 6:28.21, then hours later ran a mile PR of 4:51.97 for 6th in the elite prep race. The junior will try and win her 3rd straight NBNI mile walk Saturday, then run in the 2M championship Sunday – where she has PR’d this winter at 10:28.43. If Ewert’s career could be defined in two words, it would be “no limits.”

Matthew Payamps – Great range and a special sweet spot

It’s rather uncommon to see someone with an 8:56 3,200-meter PR (and current US#1 8:31.01 3k) also hover near the national lead in the 600 meters (US#12 1:20.45 compared to US#1 1:19.14 clocking). But such is the range and combination of speed and endurance possessed by Matthew Payamps. The St. Anthony’s School (South Huntington, N.Y.) senior – like the above-mentioned Athing Mu – may have discovered his best distance is one contested only indoors and in certain states. Payamps in January won the loaded VA Showcase 1,000m with what was then a PR and US#1 2:25.09. Then when he boldly endeavored to challenge the elites in the USATF Indoor 1k last week, he lowered that best to 2:23.46 – #2 all time to Robby Andrews’ HSR.

The kilometer isn’t the only distance, however, where Payamps has been very successful this winter, both on the watch and competitively. The 8:31.01 3k came in winning the deep Yale Track Classic race, while he also kicked hard to take the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix mile in Boston with 4:12.39. This past weekend at the NY state indoor, he lowered his 1,600m PR to 4:10.51 in another win. The NBNI mile next Sunday will be his first-ever individual race at an NBN meet – but he’s done some great relay work. He led off St. Anthony’s runner-up sub-10:00 DMR last March, among other successes, and also anchored the school’s 2019 Penn Relays 2nd-place finish. His meet will begin with Friday’s DMR and by Sunday he’ll hope to have racked up two high-podium finishes.

Katelynne Hart – A champion’s challenge

There are few challenges for an elite track and field athlete that can compare to coming into an event as a previous national champion – and knowing you’ve gotten even better – yet still suddenly being a significant underdog. The national champion is Katelynne Hart, the Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) junior whose wonderful kick propelled her to the NBNI mile crown last March in 4:45.47. This time around she’s running the 2M, where she’s arguably even better (9:56.40 outdoor PR), but she’s an underdog because defending champ Katelyn Tuohy is in the race – the 7-time NBN champ who hasn’t lost to a prep at 3k or longer in more than two years. Hart could go back to the mile, but Tuohy’s entered there, too – probably not planning to run both, but undecided at this point.

Hart has been nearly unbeatable in Illinois since her frosh year, sweeping XC, 1600 and 3200 3A state titles each of her first two years. Her bests in ’17 were 4:46.54 mile and 10:11.51 for 3,200. She was even better as a soph, with a pair of top-4 national XC finishes and a Team USA XC berth to Great Edinburgh in Scotland as a reward. Following her NBNI mile triumph, Hart lowered her outdoor PRs and finished 3rd in the USATF Junior 3,000. After another great XC season, she started indoor with a 10:02.46 nation-leading 3,200 to beat a deep field in Michigan. Hart is in super shape and if anyone can challenge Tuohy at 2-miles, maybe it’s her.

Carter Cheeseman – Building a strong resume in two states

With a memorable name and a diverse racing resume – fashioned, in part, due to a certain level of freedom competing in the TAPPS private school association in Texas – Carter Cheeseman has become one of the nation’s best all-around distance runners and arguably the favorite for Friday night’s NBNI 5,000m. He actually started out at Brentwood Academy in TN, where he had tremendous middle school success – including a 9:32 3,200 as an 8th-grader in 2015. By his sophomore year, Cheeseman had improved to 9:07.84 for 3,200 and 4:16.33 for a mile. Then in the fall of his junior year, his family moved to Texas and he made both XC national finals.

Last spring, Cheeseman showed he could race a 5,000 on the track, winning the Texas Distance Festival with an elite 14:36.60. He later lowered his mile and 2M times to 4:12.20 and 8:57.33. This past fall, he came to compete at the Great American XC Festival for the second time and sprinted to victory in the final stretch with a 14:50. This winter, Cheeseman worked on the shorter distances – running another 4:12 (5th) when he was invited to the Millrose Games Mile – then expanded his range to 8k while taking 6th in the USATF Junior XC 8k – making Team USA for World Cross in Denmark (March 30). With such variety of preparation, he should be well-suited to battle for the NBNI 5k title this weekend.

Sydney Thorvaldson – Wowing distance fans from Wyoming

If Sydney Thorvaldson was able to pull off the big upset and win the NBNI 2-mile this coming Sunday, she wouldn’t be the first schoolgirl from Wyoming to win a national title. That trailblazer from the Equality State was Alicia Craig of Campbell County (Gillette) HS, who raced an NSAF outdoor nationals mile title as a junior back in 2000 (sponsored by Foot Locker back then) and was a consistent All-American during her career. But 19 years later Thorvaldson – still just a sophomore at Rawlins HS, a small town off of I-80 in southern Wyoming – is putting her state on the prep distance map again. After great middle-school success (including 35-minute 10ks on the road), she was 7th in the NBNO 5,000 (17:11.97) as a frosh while also running bests of 5:03 and 10:47 in the 1600/3200.

After again earning All-American honors in XC, Thorvaldson has started running indoors in Wyoming for the first time this winter, getting down to the 10:30s in the 3,200 and 4:55 for 1,600. Then on the big stage of the Simplot Games three weeks ago, she crushed a 10:19.05 to move high among the nation’s elite. Amazingly, according to DyeStat’s Eric Boal, she missed the 3,200 qualifying due to bad weather while driving to Pocatello, then was granted an opportunity to time-trial for the final (which she did easily). It’s still US#1 on regulation tracks this winter  and, of course, it was at altitude. It’s not hard to imagine that Thorvaldson can improve significantly on that when she runs the 2M Sunday in New York – perhaps sub-10:10 or better – and get a nice spot on the podium.