New Balance Nationals Indoor Sunday Snap Recap

* Tinoda Matsatsa celebrates after winning the 800m on Saturday.

NEW BALANCE NATIONALS INDOOR

ON-SITE COVERAGE

Meet Page - Results Photos - Videos - Articles

BOSTON, Mass. -- We've reached the final day of action of the 2023 installment of New Balance Nationals Indoor.

And we've got an exciting slate on tap to close out competition on Sunday.

Finals in some of the most highly-anticipated championship events, including the 60m, 60mH, 200m, mile and concluding relays, along with field event championships in the long jump, pole vault and shot put.

Scroll below to follow our live event-by-event recap of Sunday's competitions and NBNI. Be sure to also visit the meet page for all of our on-site coverage from the event, including results, photos, videos, articles and more.

Girls 1-Mile Racewalk: Madison Morgan put a gap on the field early and never looked back as she took the NBNI racewalk title in 7:17.28. But in the pack behind her, it was a tight race to determine second through fifth, as Ashlyn Poulin grabbed the silver in 7:27.96 and the following three finisher were separated by less than half a second -- Desilets Dubois in third (7:33.56), Abby Callinan for fourth (7:33.65) and Alexa Governor in fifth place (7:33.85).

Boys 1-Mile Racewalk: AAU Junior Olympic champion from last summer Rowan McDonald cruised to a 7:12.96 win. The junior from Maine Race Walkers grabs the win a month after competing in an elite men's field at the Millrose Games and taking eighth. Kodi Quimby and Carter Butterfield battled for the second and third positions, but it was Quimby who earned the advantage in 7:50.03 to Butterfield's 7:54.48. All three athletes are teammates representing Maine Race Walkers.

Boys 60m Semis: Like expected, the top qualifiers out of the preliminary rounds yesterday looked smooth in their semifinal races to qualify for Sunday afternoon's final. Micah Larry clocked the fastest advancing time in 6.69 to win heat two, followed by Monteverde Academy (FL) teammate Issam Asinga and Brody Buffington, who each ran 6.70 en route to heat three and heat one wins. Jerrae Hawkins, Antwan Hughes Jr, Christian Anderson, Jasiah Rogers and Braxton Brann rounded out the eight finals qualifiers, all sprinting at or under 6.80.

Girls 60m Semis: Brianna Selby of Indian River (VA) led all qualifiers with her 7.27 mark to win heat one, and many of the other favorites for the finals cruised into the line for qualifying spots right behind her. National record-holder Shawnti Jackson clocked 7.38 to grab the fourth-fastest qualifying spot and win heat two, and McKenzie Travis and Avery Lewis ran fast heat one times of 7.37 and 7.38 to also advance. The remaining four competitors for the finals will be Aleesa Samuel, Laila Campbell, Nia Wilson and Cynteria James.

Boys 60mH Semis: Abdoul Sy-Savane of Parkland (GA) ran away with the fastest qualifying time of 7.76 to set himself up well for the finals later on Sunday. Winning heat three and clocking the second-best time of the semis was Connecticut state record holder Joshua Mooney in 7.80, and junior Yashahya Brown and senior Braxton Brann also grabbed heat wins and top advancing marks of 7.82 and 7.85. Justin Horne, Jayden Douglas, Xavier Branker and Bradley Franklin will also take to the blocks for the finals later in the day.

Girls 60mH Semis: Just minutes after qualifying for the 60m final, Aleesa Samuel returned to the blocks and hurdled to the top time in the semis of 8.29, good for a PR by over a tenth of a second. Samuel's quick run in the second heat also pulled three additional athletes with her into the finals, including Emmi Scales in second overall in 8.36, Camden Bentley for fourth overall in 8.45 and Nonah Waldron in the final eighth spot in 8.53. Skyye Lee and Makeriah Harris also won their heats in quick times to advance to the finals, and Lakeland Incredibles' (FL) Chelsi Williams and Union Catholic's (NJ) Taylor Cox rounded out the final qualifiers.

Boys Wheelchair Mile: Delmace Mayo of Brighton (MA) clocked a new personal best of 4:30.90 to win the wheelchair mile. That just surpassed his previous PR of 4:33.23 set a couple weeks ago at the MIAA Meet of Champions.

* Issam Asinga breaks down his 20.48 national record in the boys 200m.

Boys 200m: Issam Asinga of Montverde Academy (FL) clocked yet another national record at New Balance Nationals, this time in the 200m with a winning mark of 20.48. Asinga now owns records in both the 200m and 60m following his 6.57 record-tying performance in the prelims on Saturday. Also registering an all-time mark was Brody Buffington of Catoctin with a 20.71 mark for US. No. 6 in the history books, and Tyler Floyd took third following a 21.05 win in the first heat.

Girls 200m: She set the national record at 22.77 yesterday, but Adaejah Hodge did the unthinkable and lowered her own new record by nearly half a second to win the event in 22.33. That joined teammate Issam Asinga from the boys race to make it a sweep of both the 200m and national records by Montverde Academy (FL). Madison Whyte of Newport New Heritage (VA) grabbed the silver medal in a PR of 23.08, followed by sophomore Elise Cooper in 23.42.

Boys 1-Mile: Miguel Pantojas did the rabbit duties and led the field out in 4-minute, pace, and over the final 400m it came down to a sprint to the finish between Dowling Catholic's (IA) Jackson Heidesch  and St. Raphael Academy's (RI) Devan Kipyego. A dip at the line helped Heidesch to a New Balance Nationals Indoor meet record in 4:02.25, just hundredths of a second ahead of Kipyego for silver in 4:02.30. That mark from Heidesch now ranks him at No.13 in the indoor mile in U.S. high school history. Newbury Park's (CA) Aaron Sahlman split 59 seconds over the final quarter-mile to surge into third in 4:05.70.

* Sadie Engelhardt and Tatum David charge to the finish in the girls mile.

Photo Credit: Shawn Conlon/MileSplit

Girls 1-Mile: Tatum David of Richland County Olney (IL) did the work through 1,400 meters, but coming off the curve down the final stretch was Sadie Engelhardt, taking the win in 4:38.65. Engelhardt sat just off David's shoulder for nearly the entire race, but surged in the last meters to grab the win ahead of David in second in 4:38.80. That gives Engelhardt a sophomore indoor class record as she now owns both the freshman and sophomore all-time marks. Ellie Shea, who won both the 2-mile and 5,000m, also had a strong close as she finished her third and final event of NBNI with a bronze medal in 4:40.76. A total of seven girls dipped under 4:45 to make for a very quick field.

Boys 60mH: Abdoul Sy-Savane of Parkview (GA) clocked a time of 7.59 to win and tie for US No. 4 all-time in 60mH high school history. Jayden Douglas of Ohio Heat and Joshua Mooney from Stonington (CT) also equaled or ran under 7.80, with the two going 2-3 in 7.72 and 7.80, respectively.

Girls 60mH: In a race almost too close to call, Aleesa Samuel of Somerset Academy Pembroke Pines took the win in 8.26, followed right behind by Skyye Lee of Parkway Central (MO) in 8.29. Only a few hundredths behind Lee was Emmi Scales, who clocked 8.32 for third place. All three of those times rank among the top 31 performances in the high school record books. 

Boys 60m: After tying the national record of 6.57 in the prelims yesterday and running a 200m record of 20.48 earlier on Sunday, Issam Asinga of Montverde Academy (FL) grabbed yet another NBNI title in 6.59 and continued his streak of dominance in Boston. 200m runner-up Brody Buffington earned yet another silver medal behind Asinga in 6.64, and Jerrae Hawkins clocked another sub-6.70 effort of 6.69 for bronze. 

Girls 60m: She was the fastest qualifier out of the semis, and Indian River (VA) junior Brianna Selby came out on top again when it mattered most with a 7.30 winning time in the finals. Rounding out the top three in a tight finish was junior McKenzie Travis with a 7.38 mark and Avery Lewis of Friends' Central (PA) in 7.39. 

Boys 4x800m: Hinsdale Central (IL) took a narrow lead early on and a smooth 1:53 anchor leg from 800m bronze medalist Dan Watcke helped the squad improve upon their US No. 1 mark and win in 7:43.82. That moves the program to US No. 18 all-time in 4x800m indoor history. In a battle for second just behind Hinsdale Central was Episcopal Academy (PA) and Cinco Ranch (TX), and a big final kick from Episcopal helped them to silver in 7:45.61 ahead of Cinco Ranch in 7:45.89.

Girls 4x800m: It was a back-and-forth battle between Cuthbertson (NC) and Union Catholic (NJ) all the way to the final leg, but a monster 2:08 anchor leg from Charlotte Bell led Cuthbertson to a huge national record of 8:48.02. Union Catholic also put together an impressive effort that surpassed the previous all-time best of 8:51.93, clocking 8:48.86 for third. They're now the only two girls teams to ever go under 8:50 indoors, and two of only two relay squads to go under that mark in all conditions -- indoors and outdoors.

Boys 4x400m: It was a wild unfolding of events in the final two heats of the 4x400m to end boys competition. Montverde Academy (FL) led through halfway of the final, but a wild third leg saw the powerhouse from Florida take a tumble and Seton Hall Prep surged into the lead. Though Seton Hall Prep would take the win, an eventual DQ would move Cuthbertson (NC), who won the second-to-last heat, into the winning spot for a moment thanks to a 3:16.27 season best. An eventual appeal, though gave the title back to Seton Hall Prep after race review.

Girls 4x400m: It seemed only fitting that Montverde Academy (FL), the most dominant team of the weekend, grabbed the title in the final event of the day with a US No. 2 all-time 3:45.69 that included a sensational 53-second split from Michelle Smith on the second leg. A total of six teams went under 3:50 in the finals, including Bullis' 'A' team in 3:47.75 for second and NAGLOC in 3:49.25 for third overall out of the second-to-last section.

Girls Pole Vault: The competition came down to sophomore Veronica Vacca and junior Madelyn Kelley with the bar at 13-7.25, but it was Vacca who was able to clear the height and take home the NBNI crown. Kelley would finish second with a clearance at 13-3.5, and Iliana Downing of La Costa Canyon (CA) would near the 13-foot mark with a bronze-medal height of 12-11.5.

Boys Long Jump: Robert Handelsman's third-round jump of 23-8.25 proved title-worthy as he would take the win by just a quarter-inch over Scotlandville's (LA) Broderick Davis. The silver would go to Davis as he leaped 23-8, and Archbishop Carroll (DC) junior Drew Dillard also had a strong third attempt of 23-3.5 to take third in the competition.

Girls Long Jump: She finished third in the 60m earlier in the day, but Friends' Central (PA) junior Avery Lewis came home a winner in the long jump with a leap of 20-5 on her third attempt. Also with a strong third jump was Saturday's triple jump champion Juliette Laracuente-Huebner, marking 20-2.25 for second place. Grabbing the third spot on the podium with a 19-7 distance was Lena Gooden, a senior out of Osbourn Park (VA).

Boys Shot Put: In a tight competition going into the final throw, Hayden Dixon of Schuyler County (MO) solidified a win on his final attempt, throwing 64-2.5 to take the championship in Boston. That improves upon his current US No. 5 shot put ranking in 2023. Also closing with a big last attempt was Luke Himes, airing the shot out 63-9.5 to slide into second place. Rounding out the top medalists on the podium, Jacob Cookinham threw 63-6.25 on his fourth throw to solidify third place.