Exciting 3,000 Meters Finals Highlight First Day Of Action At USATF Indoor Championships

By Oliver Hinson for DyeStat

John Nepolitan photos

INTERVIEWS

NEW YORK - Hobbs Kessler won his first national title in dramatic fashion Saturday, out-leaning Dylan Jacobs in the men’s 3,000 meters to win by two hundredths of a second.

Kessler ran 7:38.00, a meet record, after spending much of the race in third place behind Jacobs and Matthew Wilkinson. He made his move with 400 meters left, which he admitted was risky, but he felt it was necessary to put himself in position to win.

“Ninety percent of the time, whoever's leading going into the bell wins the race,” Kessler said. “I burned a really big match trying to get that, but (Jacobs) was really savvy and knew it was coming. I was like, ‘Alright, let's try to recompose and really give a good effort, really spin the legs in the last 40.”

Kessler said earlier this week that he wants the sport of track as a whole to emphasize racing instead of fast times, and this race was a chance to prove his point.

“It was pretty sweet,” Kessler said. “Everyone loves racing, man. It’s the best. I’m hoping as fans, and myself included as a fan of the sport, I hope we’re moving away from times because the talent distribution is so dense… an infinite number of people can run sub-3:50, only one person can win a race.”

However, Kessler will not run at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China. Jacobs will, as he achieved the qualifying standard with a 7:30.45 performance two weeks ago at the Millrose Games. He led Kessler throughout most of Saturday’s race and made a decisive move at the bell, putting himself in a great position coming around the last bend, but he didn’t have enough to cover Kessler’s kick.

Sam Gilman, meanwhile, will face a few roadblocks in his qualifying process. He took third in 7:38.64, but he does not have the standard, so he will have to qualify through world rankings. He is also a full-time employee in the Air Force, and given the relationship between the United States and China, he may not be allowed to travel to the event.

“If I had the opportunity to go, I’d take it in a heartbeat,” Gilman said. “I checked all the boxes I needed to check to get there, so we’ll see.”

Wilkinson took fourth overall in 7:40.26 after dropping off in the last three laps. He didn’t slow down — he clicked off a 30, a 29 and a 28 in those last laps — but all of the top three runners recorded 27-second last laps, leaving him in the dust.

Anthony Camerieri, meanwhile, had the opposite race. He hovered around 10th for most of the race and then closed in 27.35 to go from ninth to fifth. 

Hiltz, Houlihan battle in women’s 3000

Nikki Hiltz pounced in the last lap of a tactical women’s 3,000 meter final, breaking the tape in 8:48.28.

Hiltz beat a loaded field including Shelby Houlihan, Whittni Morgan and Katelyn Tuohy. They, as well as the rest of the field, recorded massive negative splits throughout the race. Houlihan led through the 1,000 and 2,000 mark in 3:07 and 6:07, and then Hiltz blazed through the last kilometer in 2:40 and closed in 29.22 for the last 200.

“I wanted to get outside my comfort zone,” said Hiltz, who primarily runs the 1500. “Honestly, I think I might be in better 3k shape than mile shape right now. It’s just hard to be that sharp this time of year with the way I train.”

Like Kessler, Hiltz will not be running the 3,000 at the World Indoor Championships. They are a part of the 800/1500 group in the Grand Slam Track league, and they said the time between Worlds, which runs from March 21-23, and the Kingston Slam from April 4-6 is too narrow.

Houlihan took second in 8:48.43 and she said will run at Worlds. She is doubling back in the 1,500 tomorrow, and if she qualifies in that event as well, she will run both.

She said she wasn’t planning to lead the race, but after running the start of the race in the second lane, she realized she would end up running a lot more distance if she didn’t lead. After running four years of solo workouts due to a doping ban, though, she said she is much more comfortable leading races.

“I prefer leading, honestly,” Houlihan said, “and I’ve had a lot of good practice doing that the last four years, so that’s where I’m comfortable. I still feel like I can race in any way. I probably could have saved it for the last 200, and maybe that would have played in my favor today, but I felt good. I felt really strong, I felt like I had gears, so it’s all good.”

Morgan finished third in 8:48.56. She met the World Championships qualifying standard with an 8:28 performance at the Millrose Games, and she will run in China alongside Houlihan.

Behind her, Emily Mackay took fourth in 8:48.68, making the top four within 0.4 seconds of each other. Mackay steadily moved up through the latter stages of the race, coming through the 2400 meter mark in seventh and gaining spots in each of the next two laps. 

Nike athletes Ella Donaghu and Bailey Hertenstein took fifth and sixth in 8:49.70 and 8:50.13, respectively, followed by Olivia Markezich and Tuohy.

Tuohy was in second place as late as 2400 meters in, but she fell off the lead pack in the last three laps.