Day 1 USA Prelims: Cooper Teare Goes Home Devastated, Athing Mu PRs & More

EUGENE, Ore. — There were nearly five hours of mid-d and distance qualifying on Day 1 of the 2023 USATF Track and Field Championships and not much of consequence came until we got to the fourth hour and the men’s 1,500. The biggest surprise was that 2022 USATF 1,500m champion Cooper Teare did not make the final as he was passed near the finish line by Drew Hunter and finished 4th in heat 3 in 3:39.08, .04 behind the third and final auto qualifying spot.

Other qualifying highlights saw Athing Mu make the 1,500m final by running a 4:10.33 PR, 19-year-old freshman Addy Wiley winning her heat in the 1,500, Will Sumner cruising to the 800 semis, Nia Akins leading the 800m qualifiers, 2016 Olympic 1,500m champion Matthew Centrowitz making the final despite only finishing sixth in his heat, and 2021 Olympic steeplechase silver medalist Courtney Frerichs only making the steeple final on time.

We recap the qualifying action below starting with the men’s 1,500m. Please note: We did a ton of post-race interviews in Eugene but didn’t have time to type them all up, so please check out our YouTube channel for more insight.

Men’s 1,500: Cooper Teare Is Eliminated

Heat 1: Nuguse Impresses

Kevin Morris photo

Heat 1 was loaded with 2023 US leader Yared Nuguse, the last two NCAA champions Joe Waskom and Nathan Green, plus 2022 World Championships team members John Gregorek and Josh Thompson, and Matthew Centrowitz.

After a slow opening 200m,  Nuguse did what an alpha should do if he wants to avoid not making the final on a kick; he seized the lead and controlled the race the rest of the way. Nuguse ran 57.11 from 300m to 700m to make this pace more than honest and never gave up the lead as he cruised to the 3:35.37 win. 3:35.37 looked easy for Nuguse (the US championship record is 3:34.09) and he had the 2nd-fastest final 300 of the night (40.77) even though the other two heats were much slower (3:42 and 3:39).

Waskom was the only guy able to stay with him onto the homestretch and cruised home in a clear second and behind him it was a battle for the final qualifying spot. Matthew Centrowitz faded the final 100m to 6th as John Gregorek moved up well to get the auto qualifying spot. But Centro, Thompson, and Green would all end up making the final on time thanks to Nuguse pushing the pace. 

Heat 2: Prakel Wins, Kessler stays composed, Engels goes home and Birnbaum holds his own

After a slow opening 800 (2:06), the time qualifying spots were out the window and it was a battle for the top 3. High schooler Simeon Birnbaum showed his bona fides by seizing the lead on the third lap, picking up the pace, and leading at the bell (2:48.42 thanks to a 57.07 3rd lap). But coming onto the homestretch seven guys were in contention. Sam Prakel, the indoor mile champ, moved up best on the outside to get the win as Hobbs Kessler found himself boxed at the start of the straight but showed composure to let space open up on the inside and get the 2nd spot as Eric Holt held off Craig Engels for the final qualifying spot. Birnbaum finished a respectable sixth.

Heat 3: Cooper Teare goes home devastated as Drew Hunter makes final

1,500m runners generally love their kicks and heat 3 showed it.

Knowing that if they ran under 3:37, six guys could make the final, heat #3 let it come down to a kick on the final lap and it cost Cooper Teare a spot in the final.

At the bell (2:44.09), Henry Wynne led and was pushing the pace and he would be rewarded with a spot in the final. On the back stretch 8 guys were still in contention as Cole Hocker and Teare went to the outside of lane 2 to try to get into position. Coming off the final turn, four guys (Wynne, Teare, Hunter, and Hocker) were clear of everyone else for the final spots. Hocker was best and was looking around and got the win. Hunter was pumping his fists furiously and kept battling to the line and got ahead of Teare just before the line by staying on the inside as Teare drifted out a little bit.

Teare, who used his kick last year (51 final lap in a 3:45 race) to win the US title, will not be in this year’s final.

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Women’s 1,500 1st Round: Favorites + Mu and Wiley make final

The women’s 1,500 very much went according to form as the six women who had broken 4:04 this year all had no problem advancing. In heat 1, it was interesting as even though Addy Wiley (4:09.53), Cory McGee (4:09.62) and Athing Mu (4:10.33) had the three auto spots clearly locked up with 150 to go, Wiley and McGee decided to race each other all the way home with the college freshman getting the win. Wiley closed in 42.32 for her final 300. Behind them, Mu looked pretty good running a big 1,500 PR of 4:10.33 (previous PR of 4:16.06), though she would not commit to running Saturday’s final. In heat 2, Sinclaire Johnson put up the fastest time of the night (4:07.84) and got the win while Nikki Hiltz once again closed great to win heat three in 4:11.55.

Men’s 800 1st Round

To say the first round of the men’s 800 was uneventful would be an understatement. The nine men entered in the race who had broken 1:46.00 on the year all advanced to Friday’s semifinals.

Advancing is one thing, but looking good is another. The five people that most people expect the three-man US team to come from and the five fastest Americans of 2023 — Will Sumner, Bryce Hoppel, Clayton Murphy, Isaiah Jewett and Isaiah Harris – all looked fantastic. Sumner and Hoppel went wire to wire to win the first two heats in 1:46.49 and 1:47.87 respectively while Harris closely tracked Hoppel. Murphy ran in third for the first 800 of heat 3 but then powered home to fastest time of the day (1:46.36) while Jewett won heat #4 in 1:46.55.

The only person who didn’t look good was 2022 team member Brandon Miller, formerly of Texas A&M but now running for Nike and Bobby Kersee. He had the fastest first lap of anyone on the day (52.16) but faded on lap two but got in as the final time qualifier to the semis at 1:47.06.

Quick Take: Clayton Murphy says not to read too much into his 1:49 in France and that he is “150%” ready to go

Murphy has run 1:44 twice this year but there was a little concern from the outside when he ran 1:49 at a meet in France on June 18 and then appeared to scratch from his last race before USAs, the NYC Grand Prix on June 24. But Murphy clarified that he had not 100% confirmed for the NYC meet and that his subpar run in France was because he backed off after feeling something in his hamstring early on. Murphy, who won US outdoor titles in 2016, 2018, and 2021, said he is feeling great now.

“It was one of those thought processes where 100 meters into an 800, I’ve gotta decide whether to push through in Nancy, France, for a silver label or make sure I’m 110% for trials,” Murphy said. “I shut it down probably more than I should have and now I’m probably 150% for trials because I’ve gotten over it.”

Murphy’s five races before USAs this season have come in five different countries across four continents. He said that in order to get into the best races, he needs to raise his world ranking, and chasing highly-rated meets across the world is the best way to do it.

“These meet directors are really using meet rankings versus credentials,” Murphy said. “I was in a tough spot because I fell all the way to 22 [in the world rankings] last year so I’ve been grinding my way back into the top 10 where I feel I should deserve to be.”

Quick Take: Isaiah Harris said he’s had his longest, healthiest stretch of training for a while

Harris made the team in 2017 as a 20-year-old sophomore at Penn State. Since then, he’s consistently been among the best in the country but has yet to make another team (2nd 2018, 4th 2019, 4th 2021, 6th 2022). Last year, Harris entered USAs coming off a torn hamstring, an injury he suffered during a heroic leg in the prelims of the 4 x 400 at World Indoors. He wound up 6th, his worst finish at USAs since 2016. 

Harris knows he’s facing strong opponents, but he’s a strong runner too and said he has had a long, healthy, uninterrupted block of training heading into USAs. The fact that he is healthy this time around after a few years of managing bumps and bruises (or more) brings him confidence.

“It’s hard to do because we’re training so hard, we’re always riding the line of being super fit and being injured,” Harris said. “Unfortunately I’ve crossed over that line into the injured state a few times.”

Women’s 800 1st Round

The women’s 800 also very much went according to form as the 10 fastest US women on the year all advanced to the semifinals. The person who looked the best of anyone was the Brooks Beasts’ Nia Akins, who blasted the final 100 of heat #3 for no reason and ran the fastest time of the day in 1:59.09. Akins is undefeated at 800 on the year.

Quick Take: Stanford freshmen Roisin Willis and Juliette Whittaker looked strong and well-rested after rough endings to their NCAA seasons

Indoors, the teenagers Willis and Whittaker looked sensational in going 1-2 ahead of Rose at NCAAs and teaming up to win the DMR for Stanford. The outdoor season did not go as smoothly as Whittaker failed to make NCAAs in the 1,500 while Willis was 4th in the 800, admitting that she has been dealing with depression and insomnia. But both looked good in today’s prelims as Willis was right with veterans Ajee’ Wilson and Raevyn Rogers in heat 1 while Whittaker held on to advance automatically in heat 3.

Willis said that the one-month break from NCAAs has been great for her and that while her sleep issues have not disappeared, they have improved from NCAAs (where she said she pulled two all-nighters).

Whittaker, meanwhile, said she did not regret the decision to run the 1,500 at NCAA regionals as she thinks it helped prepare her endurance for USAs, which requires three races in four days. Whittaker added that while it was tough to stomach missing NCAAs at the time, she now views it as a blessing in disguise as the plan was always for her to focus on USAs this year and not making NCAAs allowed her to get in a long, uninterrupted block of training.

Whittaker also said that she has an NIL deal in the works (Willis already has one with New Balance and ran in a New Balance kit today whereas Whittaker ran in her Stanford kit) but was not ready to announce it yet.

Quick Take: Charlene Lipsey feeling healthy and rejuvenated with Under Armour’s Baltimore 800m team

By 800m standards, early-30s qualifies as old, which is why it has been surprising to see Charlene Lipsey, who turns 32 next week, turn things around this year and run 1:59.26, her fastest time since 2018. Six years ago, Lipsey finished 2nd at USAs and 7th at Worlds but since then has dealt with a number of injuries that she feels has limited her potential.

“2020 was COVID, 2021 was my hamstring, 2022 I had a breakout year but just didn’t get enough races and now I’m here,” Lipsey said. “I’m excited about my progress. I’m staying healthy, that’s my main thing this year.”

Lipsey had long been coached by Derek Thompson but switched this year to the Under Armour Baltimore 800m team (formerly District Track Club) coached by Tom Brumlik. Under Thompson, Lipsey said, her workouts would change frequently from year to year, and while she enjoyed that, she has realized this year she does best with mile-paced repeats, something she has done a lot of under Brumlik.

Women’s Steeple: Quigley DNSs as Frerichs Struggles

In terms of who advanced to the finals, the women’s steeplechase prelims were without drama as the six fastest women in 2023 all had no problem advancing. The news of the day was that 2016 Olympian Colleen Quigley was a DNS with a hip injury and American record holder Courtney Frerichs did not look good in her first steeple of the year. Frerichs fell mid-race and ended up taking the final time qualifying spot for the final at 9:47.36, but she told us she knew what time she needed to run to get in.

Men’s Steeple

The fastest casualty in the men’s steeple prelim was the #7 seed, Brian Barraza (8:25.21 SB), who did not advance after falling mid-race. Everyone who had run under 8:25 on the year made the final.

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