2016 Olympians and mostly heavy favorites dominated on the final day of the 2017 USATF Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In the marquee distance races, favorites Ajee Wilson (600m), Charlene Lipsey (1000m), Clayton Murphy (1000m), Shelby Houlihan (two mile), and Ben Blankenship (mile) took home U.S. titles and $6,000 each. Lipsey wasn't an Olympian, but was the clear favorite based on her indoor season; Blankenship had had a mediocre indoor season and was coming off a loss in the two mile, but had by far the best career credentials in the field. (Excepting Leo Manzano, who finished last in 4:21.)

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Sammy Watson broke the 1K high school record in 2:40.72, lowering the record by nearly three seconds in two days. We recapped that race here. (Your record may vary, as Mary Cain ran 2:35.80 her senior year of high school; she had turned pro already, though.)

The script was similar in the sprints, where 100m hurdles world record holder Keni Harrison survived a brutal start to win the womens' 60mH and favored Ronnie Baker got out to his signature strong start to win the men's flat 60. After a 7.74 in the semis, it looked like Harrison could threaten the American (7.72) and world (7.68) records, but the same poor start that doomed her at world indoors and the Olympic Trials last year eliminated any hopes of a fast time today. She still recovered quickly enough for the win.

Baker, meanwhile, lowered his PB by a hundredth of a second to join a seven-way tie for sixth on the world all-time list. His 6.45 is the fastest time by an American in five years and the fastest time in the world this year.

The biggest upset of the day on the track was probably Erik Sowinski's win over world record holder Cas Loxsom in the 600. Perhaps Sowinski deserved better pre-race billing, though: he held the 600m American record from 2013 to 2015 and has always been a strong indoor runner, taking bronze at the 2016 world indoor championships.

After the race, Sowinski said that he could have broken Loxsom's world record if he didn't get tangled up with Donavan Brazier on the last lap. Sowinski ran 1:15.07; the WR is 1:14.91.



The world record nearly went down in the women's 600 as well. Ajee Wilson controlled the race from the gun, and even though Courtney Okolo was hot on her tail the whole time (0.09 back at 200, 0.2 back at 400, .16 back at the finish), it was Wilson's win all the way. Her 1:23.84 is No. 3 in world history, just 0.4 seconds off the world record and a quarter second behind Alysia Montano's American record. After the race, Wilson called 2017 her best indoor season ever.



Lipsey and Murphy were clearly the classes of the 1Ks. Only Lauren Johnson even dared to go with Lipsey--who had run 1:58 earlier this indoor season--while the men's race was a battle up front between Murphy, Andrew Wheating, and Brannon Kidder before Murphy dusted Kidder and Wheating on the last lap. Lipsey ran 2:37.97 while Murphy won in 2:18.60. Lipsey partially credited her breakout 2017 to her new training partner Wilson--who is almost three years younger than her--"taking me under her wing."
 
The winning times for Sowinski, Wilson, Murphy, and Lipsey were all meet records, though the 600 and 1K are only contested at U.S. indoors in non-world championship years. Except for a clearly out-of-his-comfort-zone 3K at the beginning of the season, Murphy has been incredibly hard to beat since turning professional last summer. His bronze at the Olympics and seventh-place finish at the Brussels Diamond League are his only professional losses in races shorter than a mile.



In the men's mile, altitude-based Cristian Soratos nearly pulled off the upset over a much better-pedigreed field. Adam Godwin clicked off 30s and 31s early, ensuring a relatively (at altitude) honest pace. When the real racing began at halfway, Soratos went hard, covering the 600 meters from 809m to 1209m in 1:27.50. Garrett Heath kept jockeying for a spot in the top two, and U.S. leader Kyle Merber made a late bid. But in the last 100 meters, Ben Blankenship reminded everyone why it was his kick and not theirs that clinched an Olympic 1500m slot last summer. The one surprising element to Blankenship's win is that it came a day after he received a thorough ass-kicking in the two mile, where he ran 8:40 and was just sixth. 

Post-race, Blankenship explained that he likes the grind of rounds, physically and mentally:


The revelation of the race (and maybe of the indoor season) was Soratos, though. His 2016 included eight 1500s north of 3:40, including a 3:47, 3:48, and 3:54. He didn't even qualify for the Olympic Trials. But the transition from Big Bear TC back to his college coach at Montana State has served him well, as today showed that his 3:54 mile in the B heat at Millrose was no joke. He pointed out after that he's been second in a lot of big races--dating all the way back to the 2012 California junior college state championships. This second place had to be the most satisfying.

Shelby Houlihan won a jogfest of a two-mile the day after winning a jogfest of a mile. Her 4:45 mile yesterday and 10:19 two mile today earned her $12,000 in prize money. Even though she just bought a house, Houlihan said that she doesn't run for the money. (Well, that's literally what she does for money, but it's not the purpose of it to her.)



In hot field event action. Olympians Sandi Morris (pole vault), Michelle Carter (shot put), and Vashti Cunningham (high jump) took home U.S. titles, and Cunningham said that she wants to jump 6-8 (2.03m) this outdoor season. That would be the best jump by an American in five years and break the 31-year-old world record.

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