2025 USATF Indoor Championships: Observations on Day One

This Ocean Breeze Athletics Complex will host the 2025 USATF Indoor Championships on February 22-23, 2025. The facility is one of the finest in the world. As someone who has attended indoor meetings from Goteborg, Sweden, to Doha, Qatar, I know that reasonable, accessible indoor facilities are hard to come by.

The crowd was okay on Saturday, with staunch fans, Track Moms, athletes, coaches, and sports enthusiasts. The problem is that USATF does not promote its national championships except in the most rudimentary ways. In 2019, RunBlogRun worked with USATF to build interest in the Ocean Breeze AC event that year, but USATF did not even respond to offers to create interest in the 2025 event.

USATF has some challenging issues as they manage financial losses, which are from the 2022 World Champs and pandemic costs. USATF changed its streaming relationship, charging $9.99 for the first day (kids and master’s events were free at USATF.TV), but Grant Holloway went to social media, suggesting fans wait until it is on YouTube for free. Grant believes, as many do that the Championships should be covered on TV for free, not on paid cable or paid streaming. We share that belief with Grant Holloway. 

Here are my observations on day 1:

The inclusion of the youth events was critical. On day one, most of the fans for the first half of the day were Track Moms and Dads and families. In chatting with a Parks and Recs guard, we agreed on how great it is to see families using the Ocean Breeze AC.Congrats to Chase Jackson, who won the Women’s shot put in 19.65m, with Maggie Ewen in second in 18.86m and Jackie Ramsey in 18.51m. What frustrates me is that with no big screen, fans did not see the shot put at all, and due to USATF budget issues, there was no large screen to show off our throwing prowess. Chase Jackson has thrown 20.24m AR recently. She is the American throws goddess!

The men and women had their 3,000m race walks on Saturday. Emmanuel Corvera won the Men’s in 11:57.89. The women’s was won by Lauren Harris in 13:23.86. The racewalks are one of the oldest traditions in Olympic sports and athletics.On his last leap, James Carter won the Triple Jump with a personal best of 16.68m! He surpassed Richard Robinson, who had a PB of 16.67m, and Donald Scott, who had a PB of 16.62m.Monae Nichols won on her last jump in the long jump, taking the title in 6.73m. Claire Bryant was second in 6.72m, and Olympic medalist in the LJ and TJ, Jasmine Jones, took third in 6.66m, a distance she equaled twice in her series.Daniel Haugh won the weight throw in 25.11m, a big throw and world leader. The only problem is that no other country competes in the weight throw.The women’s 3,000 meters was a great race. Shelby Houlihan, just back from a 4-year drug ban, which she fought every day, was competing, having just run 4:20 for the mile and 8:31 for 3,000m. Shelby took the lead and pushed the pace: 3:07 for 1k, 6:07 for 2k, and 2:41 for final k. Nikki Hiltz rose from the 1,500m and ran a 29.17 to win, with Shelby Houlihan in second and Whittni Morgan in bronze.

In the men’s 3,000 meters, Hobbs Kessler and Dylan Jacobs fought to the end, with Hobbs taking his first US title. In the last 200m, Hobbs, who just ran 3:46.90 for the mile, ran 27.19 for the last 200m to run 7:38.00 to Dylan Jacob’s 7:38.02! Hobbs Kessler will be doubling in 1,500m on Sunday.

Katie Moon, Olympic and World Champion, won the women’s pole vault with a jump of 4.80m. She will not be going to China.

Chris Nilson won the men’s PV in 5.70m, Jacob Wooten in 5.70m, Austin Miller in 5.70m, and with a big surprise, Sam Kendricks in 4th. Sam slipped out of the pit on his first attempt at 5.70m, losing control of his pole. Just a tough day.We are glad that Sam Kendricks, one of the finest vaulters and most articulate sports ambassadors in our sport is not injured, just shaken up.

In the women’s 60 meters, Masai Russell, Olympic champion at the 100m hurdles, showed her focus, remaining undefeated in the 2025 indoor season!As the session ended, Grant Holloway moved on to Nanjing with wins of 81 and 82 in the 60-meter hurdles. Grant made it clear at the US presser that he intended to race in Nanjing. He won World Outdoor titles in 2019, 2022, and 2023. He has also won Olympic gold (2024), silver (2021), and two World Indoor titles. Grant also holds the WR at 60-meter hurdles (7.27, set in Madrid, Spain, on 27 February 2021). Grant Holloway has not lost an indoor 60m hurdle race since 2011.See you tomorrow at the Ocean Breeze!

Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America’s first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: “I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself.” Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, ” I’m no Angel.”

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