Washington alums Nathan Green & Luke Houser go 1-2 at USATF indoor 1500...

STATEN ISLAND, New York--Washington alum Nathan Green (UW Athletics photo) continued his winning ways with his victory in the men's 1500 at the USATF Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex outside New York City Sunday afternoon.

Green, a 2025 grad, who competes for adidas and continues to train with Husky head coach Andy Powell, showed his usual blend of tactical smarts, speed and pure determination to put himself in the mix right from the beginning, holding his position and then making a finishing kick at just the right moment to get over the line first in a time of 3:37.65.

The man Green nosed out for the win was none other than his Husky teammate and 2024 grad Luke Houser, who finished 2/100th of a second behind.

Houser had the lead for the entire final lap until Green caught him on the outside just at the line.

The men who Green and Houser beat were Olympic gold and bronze medalists Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse, who finished fourth and fifth. Nuguse was fourth in 3:38.06, and Hocker fifth in 3:38.08.

Seattle resident Sam Prakel was eleventh in 3:40.38.

The only problem for both Green and Houser is that neither has the World Indoor standard of 3:36.00. They have one week to hit it, or at least come close (3:37.32 was the last time in on World Athletics’ Road to Kujawy Pomorze tool as of Sunday morning). In the meantime, both third place finisher Vince Ciattei and Nuguse have the standard in the 1500.

Green told reporters in the mixed zone after the race that he will consult with Andy Powell on whether or not to chase the indoor standard within the next week.

Valery Tobias of the Brooks Beasts locked up her spot on the world indoor championships team with a second place finish in the 800, running 1:59.77, as Addy Wiley won in 1:59.43. Tobias already had possession of the world indoor championships standard.

In the men's 800, Isaiah Harris of the Brooks Beasts finished third in 1:47.22, as teen sensation Cooper Lutkenhaus won in 1:46.68.

Harris could still go to the world championships in Poland, as he holds the qualifying standard of 1:45.90, with his mark of 1:45.62 set two weeks ago. Second place finisher Sean Dolan has to get under the standard to run at the world championships.

Beasts teammate Brannon Kidder was fifth in 1:47.58, while UW alum Joe Waskom was sixth in 1:48.48.

In the men's 60 finals, Washington State alum Emmanuel Wells finished eighth in 6.61, as Jordan Anthony won in 6.45.

In the qualifying round, Wells ran a season best 6.58 to advance to the finals. Central Washington freshman Colton Magruder finished the qualifying round in 6.75.

Central Washington alum and current assistant coach E'Lexis Hollis ran a personal best 7.23 to finish sixth in the finals of the women's 60 dash, as Jacious Sears won in 7.04.

Hollis had set a personal best in the qualifying by running 7.26 to get the final time qualifier into the finals.

In the women's pole vault finals, Washington alum Nastassja Campbell finished in a tie for eighth with a clearance of 13-11.25 (4.25m).

Chloe Timberg, who graduated from Rutgers in 2025 won her first national title with a clearance of 15-5 (4.70m).

Complete results of the USATF Indoor Championships are available here.

KIPCHOGE WINS MPSF 5000 OVER TEAMMATE EVANS KURUI...

In Reno, Washington State's Solomon Kipchoge (number 1) won a spirited battle over 5000 meters over teammate Evans Kurui (#2/Paul Merca photo), as the Cougars went 1-5 at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.

Competing at 4500 feet of altitude, Kipchoge finished with a time of 13:46.43, while Kurui was second at 13:47.61. Josphat Meli made the podium with a third place finish in 14:15.70

For both Kipchoge and Kurui, this was a last chance to get into the NCAA championships in the 5000, as they were ranked 19th and 20th on the descending order list.

With the altitude adjustment formula that the NCAA uses, Kipchoge's winning time of 13:46.43 was only worth 13:28.05. 

Both would have had to run in the neighborhood of sub 13:40 to get inside the top 16. Currently, the 16th fastest time in the men's 5000 belongs to Washington's Evan Jenkins, who ran 13:22.28 at the Husky Classic, a race that Kurui was in.

Washington State's women's distance medley relay team of Mercy Biwott, Lashanna Graham, Daphne Evenson, and Rosemary Longisa took the victory, running 11:31.83.

Longisa brought the Cougars all the way back from seventh to give her squad the win.

The Cougar men's distance medley relay team of brothers Ferran and Ricard Verges, Kade Brownell and Kutoven Stevens finished third in 10:05.69, with Portland winning in 9:56.23.

In the men's team competition, Washington State stands third with 39 points, while the Cougars are in a tie for sixth in the women's race with 19 points.

Day 1 results of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships are available here.

NOTE: USA Track & Field, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the University of Washington  contributed to this report.

paulmerca.blogspot.com may receive a commission for any purchases made from links clicked. Please support this site and our sponsors by clicking on the links. You can also support the site by clicking the yellow "Buy Me A Coffee" link below.