EUGENE — On the opening day of the 2025 Toyota USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, Emily Infeld and Nico Young won the women’s and men’s 10,000m, respectively, each earning their first national track titles.
Infeld, 35, who nearly ten years ago won the bronze medal in the same discipline at the World Athletics Championships in Beijing, prevailed in a last lap, four-way battle over Elise Cranny, Taylor Roe and Weini Kelati.
Young, 23, beat defending champion Grant Fisher in a two-up sprint in the homestretch, edging the double Olympic bronze medalist by just 25/100ths of a second.
EMILY INFELD BIDES HER TIME
Infeld came into tonight’s race feeling strong and confident. After spending 12 years as a Nike-sponsored, she picked up an unexpected sponsorship with Brooks in January, and felt a new motivation to train.
“I think especially after my last two years, a lot of people are probably like, she’s on the downhill,” Infeld admitted. She continued: “They (Brooks) believed in me and didn’t want me to move up to the roads.”
Thursday night she patiently followed Cranny, a two-time Olympian and 2023 national 10,000m champion, who set the early pace. Cranny ran the first half of the race gently, splitting 5000m in 16:21.52. That left eight women still in contention: Cranny, Infeld, Taylor Roe, Weini Kelati, Jessica McClain, Karissa Schweizer, Keira D’Amato, and Amanda Vestri. Infeld was ready for whatever might happen.
“I knew I was in good shape, and I was just biding my time,” Infeld told reporters. She continued: “I was like, I’m just going to try to be there, I’m going to try to follow any moves.”
It wasn’t until the eighth kilometer that the race broke up. Cranny dropped a 71.4-second lap, and the race quickly came down to four: Cranny, Infeld, Roe and Kelati. Roe made the next move, taking the lead through 8 km, but the pace remained stable and the four women remained together.
On the final lap, Cranny surged on the backstretch, dropping Roe and Kelati, but Infeld was able to hang on. The two women rounded the final bend together and Infeld pulled away down the homestretch on the strength of a 65.6-second final lap. Cranny came in second and Roe beat Kelati in the final sprint to take third.
“I can’t believe it!” Infeld said. “I’m so happy!”
Infeld (31:43.56), Cranny (31:44.24) and Roe (31:45.41) earned provisional spots on the United States team for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in September. But since none of them have achieved the entry standard of 30:20.00, they have to hope they can gain entry via their world rankings positions (or, less likely, run the entry standard by August 24).
As it stands now they are well outside of the quota in the official World Athletics Road To Tokyo listing, while Kelati and Karissa Schweizer, who finished sixth, are inside the quota.
Back in seventh place, the 40 year-old D’Amato set a new national masters record of 32:19.40. She used tonight’s race as part of her build-up for a fall marathon.
NICO YOUNG GETS THE BEST OF FISHER
In the men’s race the early pace was painfully slow. The athletes ran laps as pokey as 75.4 seconds, and the halfway split was reached in a tepid 14:54.58. The key contenders –Young, Fisher, Graham Blanks and Woody Kincaid– were fine with that as all of them have strong kicks and all possessed the World Championships entry standard of 27:00.00. Kincaid, who would finish eighth, expected the slow pace.
“That’s how he races,” Kincaid said of Fisher, the defending champion. “That was kind of his rehearsal in Grand Slam this year (where he won in sprint finishes). So, I thought he might do that.”
Fisher waited until four laps to go before dropping the hammer. He ran a 60.2-second lap through 8800m, then 59.4 through 9200m. That gave Fisher, Young and Blanks a two-second gap over their nearest chaser, Ahmed Muhumed.
On the final lap Young went ahead of Fisher on the backstretch. Blanks tried to pass him too, but Fisher and Young pulled away, leaving Blanks to finish third. Down the homestretch, Young was able to out-leg Fisher, running 56.6 seconds for the final lap to Fisher’s 57.4. The top three clocked 29:02.12, 29:02.37 and 29:03.66, respectively. Young’s winning time was the slowest at these championships since 1998.
“Once the pace started speeding up I knew I had to match the move as long as I could,” Young explained. “That’s honestly all I was thinking for those last four laps until I moved.”
Fisher said that he didn’t quite feel the snap he expected in his legs during the final sprint.
“I wanted that win pretty bad,” Fisher said. “Didn’t quite have the legs in the last 100 meters. That’s the way it goes sometimes. Bounce back again for the 5-K.”
PLENTY OF QUALIFYING ACTION IN THE 800M, 1500M AND 3000M STEEPLECHASE
The first of three rounds of the 800m for both men and women were also held today. On the men’s side, seven-time national champion Bryce Hoppel led all qualifiers with a mark of 1:45.69 achieved in the first of four heats. Hoppel, 27, said that he was a little surprised that he needed to run that fast.
“It was great,” Hoppel told a group of reporters. “It definitely got out a little faster than I prefer but, you know, we’re ready for whatever.”
Also advancing to the semi-finals was reigning world indoor champion Josh Hoey. The 25 year-old won the third heat unpressed in 1:47.14 (his brother Jonah finished fifth and also advanced).
“What a long journey to get here,” said Hoey, who has a season’s and personal best of 1:42.01. “It’s had some ups and downs, but this season’s been good and we’re just trying to continue to build up, try to get a PB, try to make the team.”
Donavan Brazier, the 2019 world 800m champion who spent most of the last three years sidelined with injuries, advanced easily, literally jogging over the finish line in the fourth and final heat in 1:48.23. He was clearly grateful to be running again at a high level.
“I’m just trying to really enjoy it,” said the smiling Brazier. “When you lose something and get it back you really appreciate it.”
On the women’s side, Sage Hurta-Klecker recorded the only sub-2:00 mark, winning the third of four heats in 1:59.28. Hurta-Klecker, who finished fifth here in the Olympic Trials last year and fell and broke her wrist in the 2021 Trials, was relieved to get through to the next round with no drama.
“After what happened last year I feel like nothing can faze me,” said Hurta-Klecker, who added that her training was going well. “I’ve had three good low-volume weeks and that’s what my body responds to.”
Athing Mu-Nikolayev –the Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion who failed to make the 2024 Paris Olympics after falling at the Trials– won the second heat with relative ease in 2:00.06.
“It was a pretty good heat,” said Mu-Nikolayev who has slowly been regaining her form. “I think we got out like I kind of anticipated. I’m glad it was a little bit faster rather than it being slower. I think it just felt really good.”
HOCKER, NUGUSE AND HILTZ ADVANCE IN THE 1500M
In the first of two rounds in the 1500m both 2024 Olympic medalists, Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse, advanced with fast times. Hocker won the second of three heats in 3:32.57, while Nuguse ran a similar time of 3:32.66 to win the third heat. Ethan Strand won the first heat in 3:34.12, easing past 2024 Olympian Hobbs Kessler just before the line.
“I have too much experience to let anything come to chance, and I’m the Olympic champion so there’s no reason for me to sit around out there,” Hocker told reporters. “Just run my tempo today; that’s what I did. Making this team does not get any easier.”
The women’s heats went more slowly, with Emily Mackay running the fastest time of 4:04.23. All of the athletes with the World Athletics Championships entry standard of 4:01.50 –Mackay, Nikki Hiltz, Heather MacLean, Sinclaire Johnson, and Helen Schlachtenhaufen– advanced to the final. Hiltz, 30, is the event’s defending champion.
“It’s always nice to shake the legs out, get round one over with,” Hiltz said. “Yeah, it was heat one, which is nice. “You kind of get it done. All good things; happy with my last 300 and happy to make another U.S. final.”
FAVORITES ADVANCE IN THE STEEPLECHASE
In the first rounds of the steeplechase for both men and women all of the favorites advanced. On the women’s side, Lexy Halladay-Lowry won the first heat in 9:37.53, followed by Olympian Val Constien in 9:37.56 and Kaylee Mitchell in 9:37.74. In the second heat North Carolina State’s Angelina Napoleon edged Gabbi Jennings, 9:30.44 to 9:30.48. Olivia Markezich (9:30.49) and Olympian Courtney Wayment (9:30.70) finished third and fourth, respectively and also advanced to the final.
Jennings, who has lowered her personal best to 9:06.61 this season, hopes to improve on her fourth place finish at the Olympic Trials last year. She is coached by Joe Bosshard and trains with ten-time national champion Emma Coburn, Bosshard’s wife. Coburn, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury, sat in the stands today to support Jennings.
“I think just dialing-in on the small things in training,” said Jennings when asked about how she had improved so much this year. “I think that this gives me a lot of confidence and belief in myself. I do think I surround myself with incredible people who believe in you. It’s important to believe in yourself, but it’s certainly helpful when there’s a large, very professional group of people who also believe in you.”
Olympic silver medalist Kenneth Rooks led all qualifiers in the men’s steeplechase, winning the second of two heats in 8:21.35. The other five athletes with the World Championships entry standard of 8:15.00 –Duncan Hamilton, Matthew Wilkinson, Isaac Updike, Nathan Mountain and James Corrigan– also advanced.
“It felt like a solid day; it felt like a good prelim,” Rooks told Race Results Weekly. “I’ve got some more left in the legs. It was a steady, constant effort, squeeze, and it ended the way I wanted it to.” He added: “Being silver medalist adds to the pressure a little bit, but that’s not an accomplishment I want to avoid. I want to embrace it.”
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The Toyota USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships continue here tomorrow. The only middle or long distance events on tap are the men’s and women’s 800m semi-finals.