EUGENE, Oregon — A near American record in one of the marquee events and a hard-to-believe comeback in the steeplechase were among the highlights that gave a noisy and appreciative Hayward Field crowd plenty to cheer about on an energetic third day of the 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships as 14 national champions were crowned. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone returned to the site of her stunning world record in the 400m hurdles at last year's World Championships and almost wrote another piece of American history in the 400m, setting a meet record and moving to No. 10 on the all-time world performer list with a 48.74 that missed Sanya Richards-Ross's American record by only .04. McLaughlin-Levrone pushed the pace through the first half of the race but didn't empty her tank, saving enough to pull away down the final stretch ahead of Britton Wilson and defending champion Talitha Diggs. Wilson, the NCAA silver medalist, earned silver in 49.79, and Diggs set a PB of 49.93 in third. A remarkable recovery from a mid-race fall carried BYU's Kenneth Rooks to an amazing win in the men's 3,000m steeplechase in 8:16.78, a lifetime best. Rooks, the NCAA champion, fell at a barrier on the backstretch with six to go and then worked his way back into contention, going from 14th to 12th to ninth to sixth and then into third as the field started to round the final curve and water jump. Clearing the water well, Rooks dug deep and passed Benard Keter coming down the stretch and flying over the final hurdle to set up his victory. Keter, who was 11th at Tokyo, snagged the silver in 8:17.19 and Isaac Updike earned bronze in 8:17.69. Eight women who would have legitimate claims to medal contender status at a world championship meet lined up in the women's 100m hurdles. In the end it was the most experienced of them all, 34-year-old mother of three Nia Ali, who came away with gold in 12.37. Ali, the 2019 world champion, won her first USATF outdoor title with the second-fastest time of her career. Former world record holder Keni Harrison was solid in silver medal position in 12.42, but the bronze medal came down to thousandths of a second as Kentucky's Masai Russell had a razor-thin .002 margin over Alaysha Johnson, with both women timed in 12.46. A 4x400m relay gold medalist at Tokyo and Oregon22, Bryce Deadmon had never qualified individually for a major global championship meet. He ended that streak with a 44.22 PB in a convincing win over Vernon Norwood and Quincy Hall, who took silver and bronze in 44.39 and 44.41, respectively. Deadmon was leading at 200m and couldn't be caught as he sliced .22 off his previous lifetime best. Norwood just missed his PB of 44.35, but Hall chopped .12 off his lifetime best and Justin Robinson also set a PB in fourth at 44.47. Outsprinting an outstanding field in the women's 1,500m final, Nikki Hiltz won their first outdoor USATF gold with a picture-perfect 4:03.10 to beat 800m world and Olympic champion and American record holder Athing Mu, who led with one lap to go before taking silver in a huge PB of 4:03.44. Cory McGee, who recently moved to No. 3 on the all-time U.S. performer list in the mile, was third in 4:03.48, .01 in front of Sinclaire Johnson. Laurie Barton made the early pace and went past 400m in 63.8 and 800m in 2:12.3 before being passed by Mu and a host of others. Mu was at the front at the bell in 3:04.09, but Hiltz's 58.81 final lap was enough to carry them to victory. American indoor record holder Yared Nuguse had too much speed for the rest of the field over the final 50m in the men's 1,500m, winning in 3:34.90 for his first USATF outdoor gold. Nuguse led through 800m in 1:58.96 and came by the bell in 2:41.58. On the backstretch, Washington's NCAA silver medalist, Joe Waskom, surged to the front but Nuguse responded coming into the stretch to retake the lead and secure the win with a 53.33 final circuit. Cole Hocker, sixth at the Tokyo Games, also had a speedy finish to claim the bronze in 3:35.46. Courtney Wayment led a three-woman group through the middle laps of the 3,000m steeplechase, with 10-time champion Emma Coburn and Marisa Howard in tow. Coburn moved to the lead coming into the last lap, two strides up on Wayment, with Krissy Gear turning on the jets off the final bend to win in 9:12.81, a big lifetime best that elevated her to No. 6 on the all-time U.S. performer list. Coburn secured her trip to Budapest with a runner-up 9:13.60, and Wayment was a clear third in 9:14.63. NCAA champion Olivia Markezich of Notre Dame knocked a big chunk off her PB in fourth at 9:17.93, taking over the No. 8 all-time U.S. performer slot. World leader Maggie Ewen solidified her status as the woman to beat in the shot put, putting together a stellar series that had six throws better than the nearest challenger. Ewen saved her best for last, hitting 19.92m/65-4.25 to win by almost three feet over NCAA indoor champion Adelaide Aquilla, who earned silver at 19.02m/62-5, and Mississippi's Jalani Davis, who took bronze at 18.62m/61-1.25, the same mark as reigning world champion Chase Ealey. Davis got the nod for third on the basis of a longer second throw, but Ealey has a bye to Budapest. Eight years after winning his first USATF outdoor long jump gold, Marquis Dendy used a first round 8.14m/26-8.5 to pick up his second, winning by one centimeter over 2017 champion Jarrion Lawson. 2021 Olympian JuVaughn Harrison edged out Steffin McCarter by one centimeter for the bronze with a wind-aided 8.08m/26-6.25. 2021 Olympic Trials champion Curtis Thompson came through with a clutch sixth-round season best throw of 80.92m/265-6 to win the men's javelin from Capers Williamson, who had held the lead through five rounds with his 78.91m/258-10. Marc Anthony Minichello of Georgia took the bronze with a best of 78.07m/256-1, and last year's champion, Ethan Dabbs of Virginia, was 14th. Two of the most decorated athletes in recent U.S. race walk history added to their glittering resumés with wins in the 20,000m on the track. Maria Michta-Coffey picked up her ninth career outdoor 20K crown in 1:38:37.5, and Nick Christie won his fifth men's title in a row in 1:25:30.4. Winning for the first time since 2018, Michta-Coffey led from start to finish. She was eight seconds ahead of last year's winner, Miranda Melville, at the 8km mark and extended that lead to more than 25 seconds through 8km. Over the next 4km, Michta-Coffey added two minutes to her lead, and she tacked on two more minutes over the following 4km segment. With less than a kilometer to go, Melville was passed by Stephanie Casey, but she fought back and briefly retook the second spot. Casey finished well to take silver in 1:40:48.8, just .2 ahead of Melville. Christie established a big lead early in the men's race and was almost a minute ahead of Dan Nehnevaj by the 2km mark. He increased that margin to almost two minutes by 4km and kept on moving away over the next 2km. At 10km, Christie came by at 41:20, with Nehnevaj at 45:44 and being caught by 2017 champion Emmanuel Corvera. Corvera settled into second as Christie continued his metronomic pace in the lead, but Nehnevaj started to drop back and was passed by first Jordan Crawford and then Samuel Allen. Corvera held off Allen to nab silver in 1:31:31.6, with Allen crossing the line in 1:31:58.8. Flying over 10 barriers around the track like the woman who won Olympic and World Championships gold and set world records, Dalilah Muhammad looked fresh as a daisy as she won the first semifinal of the women's 400m hurdles by more than a second in a season best 54.17. Cassandra Tate and Shani'a Bellamy of LSU grabbed the other two automatic advancement places. Shamier Little overtook a very fast starting Anna Cockrell to win the second semi in 54.84, with Cockrell second in 55.44. Lauren Hoffman was third to also qualify automatically for the final. The best beard in the barrier business traversed the first semifinal in the men's 400m hurdles with no problems as U.S. leader CJ Allen won in 48.51 over World Championships bronze medalist Trevor Bassitt, who was the runner-up in 48.82, with David Kendziera third in 49.14. American record holder Rai Benjamin again strolled to a win, taking the second semi in 48.26 with none of his challengers in sight. Khallifah Rosser, fifth at the World Championships, was second in 49.12 and James Smith of Texas A&M passed Taylor McLaughlin right at the line to grab third in 49.26, .04 up on McLaughlin. Three World Championships sprint medalists from last year easily advanced from the first round in the men's 200m, but it was NCAA fourth-place finisher Robert Gregory of Florida who had the fastest time of the day. Gregory rode a maximally-legal 2.0 wind to a 20.00 in the final heat, relegating heat three winner Christian Coleman to second overall at 20.06. World 100m champion Fred Kerley eased through the line to win the second heat in 20.23, and world 200m bronze medalist Erriyon Knighton was victorious in the first heat at 20.33. Kenny Bednarek, who earned silver in the 200m at Oregon22, moved on with a 20.45 in second behind Knighton. Cameron Miller of Louisville set a PB of 20.13 and NCAA silver medalist Courtney Lindsey ran 20.18 to advance. The only noteworthy casualty was Josephus Lyles, who was sixth in heat two at 20.94. After an opening heat win by Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Gabby Thomas in 22.28, last night's 100m champion Sha'Carri Richardson scorched the curve in heat two and romped to a wind-aided 21.61 (w+2.6), equaling Thomas for the third-fastest performance ever by an American woman in any conditions. They trail only world record holder Florence Griffith-Joyner, who ran 21.34 and 21.56 at the Seoul Olympics. Tamara Clark outsprinted defending champion Abby Steiner in heat three, 22.05-22.31, and TeeTee Terry took the final section in 22.38. NCAA silver medalist McKenzie Long was second behind Terry in 22.75 to advance. From cell phone salesman to semifinalist in less than a year, world-leading Cordell Tinch of Pittsburg State blasted through the first heat of the men's 110m hurdles in 13.07. The NCAA Division II star ran past NACAC champion and 13.00 man Freddie Crittenden, who took second in 13.32 to advance, and promptly jogged over to the long jump runway for his next event. Two-time world champion Grant Holloway responded with his own 13.07 in heat two, with Eric Edwards second in 13.25. Defending champion Daniel Roberts took heat three in 13.12 over Jamal Britt in 13.20 and world silver medalist Trey Cunningham in 13.30. In the final heat, 2021 NCAA champion Robert Dunning came through late to win in 13.33 and Devon Allen advanced as a time qualifier in fourth place at 13.51. The 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships and USATF U20 Championships will be broadcast live from Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, Thursday through Sunday, July 6-9 via a mix of USATF.TV+, CNBC, and Peacock. CNBC and Peacock coverage will air from 10:00 p.m. - midnight ET on July 7 and 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET July 8-9. For the first time ever, USATF.TV+ will air every jump, every throw, and every race (outside the TV window) for the 2023 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships and 2023 USATF U20 Outdoor Championships, including the multi-events. The entire USATF U20 Outdoor Championships will be shown on USATF.TV+. Follow along and join the conversation on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtags #USATFOutdoors and #JourneyToGold. Photo Credit: Jason Suarez