Hiltz lifts crowd with 1500 four-peat on day 3 of Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships

NEW YORK CITY — All Nikki Hiltz knows how to do lately is win. Mirroring the finish they used to score an upset win in the mile at the Prefontaine Classic earlier this month, Hiltz claimed a fourth straight outdoor women's 1500 title Saturday in front of a vocal crowd at Icahn Stadium on day three of the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships.
 
Hiltz, the second fastest American woman ever at the distance with a 3:55.33 PB and a top-eight finisher at the Olympics and World Championships, was at the front of a slow-moving pack through 800 in 2:20.79 and was second to Addy Wiley at the bell in 3:08.13. Those two fought it out over the closing lap and were almost caught by Emily Mackay as all three strained to cross the line first.
 
Hiltz was just a bit faster in the end and won in 4:06.92, with Wiley second in 4:06.96 and Mackay taking bronze in 4:06.98 after a 58.69 last 400.
 
All five of Chase Jackson's legal throws in the women's shot put would have been good enough to capture her fifth career USATF outdoor title and third in a row, and she bookended her series with a 20.49 opener and a 20.55 in round six to polish off another superb set of throws. Jackson, the American record holder and two-time world champion, had three throws beyond 20 meters and won by more than a meter over Abria Smith, who set a lifetime best of 19.31 for silver. Adelaide Aquilla took bronze at 18.74.
 
Firmly ensconced as the favorite in the women's 400 based on a stellar 48.84 earlier this month at Monaco's Diamond League meet, Aaliyah Butler took off like a jet through the first 200, passing that mark in 23.21, and she had a lead that proved unassailable. Butler, who earned 2024 Olympic and 2025 World Championships 4x400 gold as well as the NCAA title in 2025, was more than a half-second in front at 300 in 35.85 and finished well to stop the clock at 49.93. Alexis Holmes made a late challenge down the final stretch to take silver in 50.47, and Sanaria Butler was third in 50.89.
 
Up until the final round of the men's javelin the distances had been relatively unimpressive, but that changed dramatically as the throwers faced a do-or-die scenario in round six. Jordan Davis of Georgia exploded to 82.36 to take the lead, eliciting an emotional celebration, and then three-time defending champ Curtis Thompson responded with a huge 87.59 that brought the crowd to their feet and earned him his fourth straight and sixth career USATF gold. It was the longest throw by an American in 2026.
 
Davis had the lead after a first round toss of 74.46 as Thompson fouled his opener, but Thompson hit 76.19 in the second stanza to take the lead and improved to 77.45 on his next attempt. Marc Anthony Minichello went in front of Davis after his 75.98 in round two but was relegated to bronze after the long throws by Davis and Thompson.
 
Holder of the American outdoor record and pursuing a sixth USATF outdoor title, Sandi Morris was indomitable in the women's pole vault, going over a season best 4.90 to win easily before making three attempts at 5.01 to break her own AR. Morris cleared 4.50 and 4.60 without trouble, and then needed two tries each at 4.70 and 4.80 before her winning height. Emily Grove made 4.70 for silver and Tori Thomas set a PB of 4.60 for bronze.
 
NCAA bronze medalist Texas Tanner of Air Force won his first USATF title in the men's discus with a 65.46 in round four, turning back a pair of two-time champs in Sam Mattis and Reggie Jagers. Mattis, who earlier this year set an American record of 72.45 at Ramona, Oklahoma, took the lead on his opening throw at 62.29, and extended his lead to 63.83 on his next try.
 
Nothing changed in the third stanza, and then in the fourth round Tanner had his best throw of the day, while Jagers also let fly with a 64.00 for his best to push Mattis down to third. In the sixth round, Mitchell Weber passed Mattis for bronze by one centimeter, hitting 63.84 to make the podium.
 
USATF Indoor 60 hurdles winner Alia Armstrong completed a sweep of national titles with a season best 12.38 in the 100H to cap off the penultimate day of competition. Armstrong got out of the blocks well and was pushed to the line by Alaysha Johnson, who earned silver in 12.42. Olympic and World Championship long jump gold medalist Tara Davis-Woodhall again demonstrated her versatility with a 12.57 for bronze.
 
Nathan Mountain almost went down at the final barrier in the men's 3000 steeplechase but recovered well enough to win his first U.S. title in 8:13.81. Mountain was being challenged by Duncan Hamilton and Carson Williams down the final straight and struggled at the only remaining hurdle, where Williams started to catch Hamilton and ultimately passed him to earn silver in a PB of 8:13.88. Hamilton took bronze in 8:14.05.
 
Hamilton paced the pack through the first kilometer in 2:42.91 with Oregon's Benjamin Balazs right on his shoulder and BYU Olympian James Corrigan also sliding into position in the top three. A 2:48 second kilo kept Hamilton in front of Balazs by a half-stride, with Williams moving up. Into the final lap Hamilton held a very small lead over Mountain and Williams, and Dan Michalski had advanced a place into fourth but could make a dent in the lead trio.
 
A Saturday afternoon jog turned into a fevered and frantic sprint to the finish in the men's 1500, and Nathan Green completed a sweep of the USATF golds this year with a 51.65 final lap to stop the clock at 3:50.27 to edge Vincent Ciattei by .05. It was one of the slowest winning times in the past 50 years, with only 2010's 3:50.83 slower, but the excitement level around the final bend was off the charts.
 
Eric Holt was at the front of a very tight pack through 400 in 67.67, and Nick Plant went by 800 in 2:15.03 as the pace slowed even more. Green hit the bell in 2:58.63 after the first sub-60 circuit, just ahead of Gary Martin and Ciattei, and the race was on. Over the final half lap Green was .02 faster than Ciattei to seal the victory, and Rheinhardt Harrison closed very quickly to snag bronze in 3:50.65.
 
Consistent headwinds in the men's triple jump limited distances throughout the competition, but that didn't stop Olympians Salif Mane and Russell Robinson from rising to the top again. Robinson, the U.S. leader at 17.54 coming in, bounded 16.66 on his first attempt, but didn't improve with a 16.02 on his second try and then fouled three and passed on one of his remaining attempts.
 
Mane, a native New Yorker who was sixth at the Paris Olympics, had three subdued performances with a best of 16.11 in round three, but came good on his last jump to match Robinson with a 16.66. That gave him the title based on a better secondary jump, 16.11-16.02. James Carter earned bronze with a best of 16.16 and those three were the only men to surpass 16 meters.
 
An exciting charge to the finish by Justin Robinson that apparently gave him the gold in a PB of 44.31 in the men's 400 turned into sheer disappointment as he was subsequently disqualified for multiple lane infractions near the 200 mark. Last year's USATF Indoor champ Chris Bailey, who was a gold medalist on the Team USATF 4x400 at Paris in 2024, was elevated to gold with his 44.39, with newly-minted world indoor record holder Khaleb McRae earning silver in 44.41. Demarius Smith used a season best of 44.54 to take the bronze.
 
Defending the title she won last year in Eugene, Lexy Halladay pulled away from the pack in the final stages of the women's 3000 steeplechase to win in 9:12.54. Halladay was content to let Gabbi Jennings lead through the first kilometer in 3:08.93 and through 2K in 6:11.65 and then pushed the pace with a 3:00.69 final kilometer for the victory. Jennings staved off a challenge from Madie Boreman in the closing meters to earn silver in 9:17.42, with Boreman notching a PB of 9:17.68 for bronze. Angelina Ellis also set a lifetime best of 9:18.84 for fourth.
 
Prelims in the men's 400 hurdles saw convincing wins for 2025 World Championships team members Caleb Dean and Christopher Robinson. Dean, who was seventh at Tokyo last year and won the 2024 NCAA title, cruised to a 48.47 to take the second heat, while Robinson ran 48.99 for the win in heat one. James Smith II was the only other man to go sub-49 with a 48.90 behind Dean.
 
Local favorite and former world record holder Dalilah Muhammad came one step closer to her dream of a hometown win with a 54.80 to dominate the first heat of the women's 400 hurdles. Muhammad, the defending champion and Olympic gold medalist in Rio, is in search of her sixth national title and will face a formidable opponent in Paris Olympic silver medalist Anna Cockrell, who was the fastest qualifier with a 53.65 in heat two.
 
Shamier Little, a World Championships silver medalist in 2015 and 2023, was the second fastest overall with a 54.69 behind Cockrell, and Bianca Stubler was one of three qualifiers for the final who set PBs. Stubler ran 55.11 for second in heat one, with Deonca Bookman (55.16) and Riley Knebes (55.46)  going 3-4 in the second heat.
 
None of the major names in the 200 had any trouble advancing to Sunday's final. World champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden was the fastest of the women's qualifiers with a 22.50 to win the third heat, and Brandon Hicklin was the quickest of the men at 20.43. Noah Lyles, the American record holder and winner of the 100 last night, powered to a 20.51 in heat two with a stiff 1.9 wind in his face.