2025 USA Indoors Men’s Recap: Josh Hoey Rips 1:43.24 AR to Move to #2 All-Time, Hobbs Kessler Doubles Up

Want the LetsRun Day 2 recap podcast? Join the LetsRun Supporters Club here and get LetsRun podcasts of all the big track meets. Cancel any time. Money back guarantee. Hoey’s coach Justin Rinaldi joined in via chat.

NEW YORK — If you want proof of America’s prowess in the men’s middle distances right now — and if you do, you really have not been paying attention over the last 12 months — it was on display at the 2025 USATF Indoor Championships in Staten Island this weekend. Even with Olympic medalists Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse, Grant Fisher and World Indoor champion Bryce Hoppel skipping out, two more young American stars put on a show. Hobbs Kessler, 21, won his first US title in Saturday’s 3,000 meters and doubled up by adding the 1500m on Sunday. And Josh Hoey, 25, produced a performance that will echo around the world by running 1:43.24 to earn a commanding wire-to-wire win in the men’s 800m — the second-fast time ever run indoors, behind only Wilson Kipketer‘s 1:42.67 world record from 1997.

In addition to Kessler and Hoey, there were victories by Chris Bailey (45.21) in the men’s 400m and a resurgent Ronnie Baker (6.52) in the 60m as high school star Quincy Wilson (46.13) finished 5th in the 400m. Below, six thoughts on the men’s action in Staten Island.

If you want women’s analysis, we have a separate article here: LRC 2025 USA Indoors Women’s Recap: Nikki Hiltz Completes 1500/3000 Sweep, Resurgent Nia Akins Wins 800

*Full results *All LRC post-race interviews from Staten Island

Men’s 800: Josh Hoey’s 2025 season is entering historic territory

This time last year, Hoey ran 1:47.04 in the prelims at USA Indoors in Albuquerque to finish 2nd in his heat. The time was his first personal best in over four years, a .22 improvement on his previous best of 1:47.26 from 2020 — which in turn was only a hair faster than the 1:47.67 US high school indoor record from 2018. Hoey went on to finish 3rd in the final, an early indication that he was trending in the right direction after switching coaches to Australian Justin Rinaldi. It was his best finish in a national champioship in his six years as a professional athlete (he had never even made it to the semifinal round at USA outdoors).

Kevin Morris photo

But 12 months ago in Albuquerque, no one could have predicted just how high Hoey would climb — and how quickly he would get there. During the 2024 outdoor season, Hoey chopped another 3+ seconds off his pb to get down to 1:43.80. On Sunday, he went faster still, clocking 1:43.24 in a dominant display of front-running to crush his own American indoor record of 1:43.90 set two weeks ago at Millrose and move to #2 on the world all-time list. He’s now almost a second faster than the #2 American indoors ever in Bryce Hoppel (1:44.19).

Hoey’s rapid improvement has been a hot topic of discussion on the pro circuit this winter, so LetsRun.com asked Hoey whether it bothered him that some might assume it is too good to be true.

“No it doesn’t,” Hoey said. “The people who have been around me for a long time know what’s going on. My coaches know a lot about track, I know a lot about myself. People can speculate on that, and that’s fine. But they don’t know as much as we do.”

Just as at Millrose, Hoey got to the lead early on Sunday, but this time, sans rabbit, he went out even harder, passing 400 in 50.36. As at Millrose, where he defeated Hoppel, Hoey had competition in the form of a US Olympian, with Brandon Miller following right behind Hoey through three laps. And while Miller ran a terrific race in his own right — his 1:44.26 ranks #9 (a pb by 0.98) on the world all-time list — he was completely outmatched over the final lap. Even at such a fast pace, Hoey still had plenty in the tank, powering away for the win and putting a full second on Miller in the final 150m.

Race Video

Hoey improved to 5-0 in an indoor season that is quickly turning into one of the most impressive ever by an American middle-distance runner and now includes three American records as well as two of the four fastest indoor 800s ever. He will get a chance to add to his accolades at the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, from March 21-23, where Americans have a very strong recent track record in the men’s 800, with wins from Boris Berian in 2016 and Hoppel last year as well as a silver from Drew Windle in 2018.

Josh Hoey’s 2024-25 indoor results

Hoey’s 2024 breakthrough marked him as a man to watch this year, and he has already reached a new level just two months into 2025. Most top 800 runners are able to run a fair amount faster outdoors than indoors, which means Hoey could be looking at 1:42 or even 1:41 this summer. Of the 10 fastest 800m runners ever indoors, Hoey and Elliot Giles are the only ones whose indoor pbs are faster than their outdoor pbs. On average, the top 10’s outdoor pbs are 1.22 seconds faster than their indoor pbs, which would put Hoey at 1:42.02 outdoors this year.

All-time indoor top 10, men’s 800m

MB Josh Hoey running 1:43.24, the #2 time ever deserves its own thread
MB Josh MF Hoey is going to set the indoor WORLD RECORD at Worlds
MB What is Josh Hoey’s ceiling in 2025?

Post-Race Interview with Hoey

Results

Place Athlete Result
1 Josh Hoey 1:43.24 NRWL adidas WCS
200m: 24.73
400m: 50.36
600m: 1:16.70
800m: 1:43.24

2 Brandon Miller 1:44.26 PB BROOKS Beasts TC WCS
200m: 24.83
400m: 50.47
600m: 1:16.84
800m: 1:44.26

3 Wes Ferguson 1:44.92 PB Unattached WCS
200m: 25.45
400m: 51.72
600m: 1:18.82
800m: 1:44.92

4 Isaiah Harris 1:45.64 PB BROOKS Beasts TC
200m: 25.15
400m: 51.16
600m: 1:18.31
800m: 1:45.64

5 Jonah Koech 1:45.82 Under Armour WCS
200m: 24.85
400m: 50.74
600m: 1:17.52
800m: 1:45.82

6 Shane Cohen 1:46.73 NIKE
200m: 26.06
400m: 52.12
600m: 1:19.17
800m: 1:46.73

Wes Ferguson missed out on the World Indoor team but definitely made himself some money this weekend

Going purely by time, this was the most competitive US indoor 800m final ever. It took 1:44.26 to make the team — for reference, the American record was 1:44.21 a month ago — and three men broke 1:45. Isaiah Harris, who has made the last two World Indoor teams, tied his indoor pb of 1:45.64, and that was only good for a distant fourth.

2024 Olympian Brandon Miller has been running great ever since joining the Brooks Beasts at the end of 2023, and that continued on Sunday with his runner-up showing in 1:44.26. But the surprise package of the weekend was Wes Ferguson, the 2024 NCAA DII champ for Nebraska-Kearney, who followed up his 1:45.34 indoor pb in Saturday’s prelims with an even more impressive outright pb of 1:44.92 to finish 3rd. Just as in the prelims, Ferguson had the fastest last lap, closing in 26.10, but Hoey and Miller ran so fast that Ferguson was not able to erase much of the gap.

Ferguson said that he might look back on the race and wish he had been a little closer to the lead early on, but overall was deservedly proud of a 3rd-place performance in his first US final.

“You can say the US is the best it’s ever been, so I don’t think I should hang my head on that,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson, who does not have a shoe contract, said he has had interest from some professional groups but would prefer to stay in Nebraska, where his girlfriend is going to dental school and where he can stay with his college coach Brady Bonsall. It is harder to get a deal as an individual as many brands like to funnel athletes to their professional groups. But the 23-year-old Ferguson likely ran well enough this weekend to secure an individual pro deal.

“I’ve been fighting after a solo deal from someone,” Ferguson said. “Hopefully today was enough.”

Men’s 1500: Hobbs Kessler took care of business this weekend

With no Hocker, Nuguse, or Fisher, Kessler entered this weekend with the spotlight on him, particularly in today’s 1500 meters, where he was the heavy favorite. It was a good test for Kessler, and he passed with flying colors, edging Dylan Jacobs to win the 3000 on Saturday and coming back less than 24 hours later to complete the sweep in the 1500.

Kessler ran a poor tactical race in the 1500 at USA Indoors last year and was dominated by Cole Hocker, with Kessler almost getting caught for second. But Kessler has made himself into a strong tactical runner over the last 12 months, and he was brilliant today. Kessler likes to stick on the rail when possible and he made that easy by getting to the front at the gun and never relinquishing the lead.

Trying to go wire-to-wire can be a risky strategy outdoors as you leave yourself vulnerable to setting the pace for the rest of the field and getting outkicked late. But because passing is so difficult indoors, leading offers an extra benefit and can be an appealing strategy, especially if you are the best guy in the field like Kessler was. Kessler’s strategy was quite simple today — get to the front and repel all attempts to pass — and he made it look easy in winning in 3:38.82 with a 53.75 final 400 (26.26 last lap).

If Kessler is to challenge the likes of Hocker, Nuguse, Josh Kerr, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen outdoors (the four men who beat him in the 2024 Olympic 1500 final), he has to reach a new level in 2025. That means winning races you are expected to win and taking care of business at a meet like USA Indoors. Kessler did just that in Staten Island, and while he will need to keep working to close the 1.60-second gap between himself and the podium in Paris, he was proud of his accomplishments this weekend.

“I’m over the moon,” Kessler said. “This has been a really big weekend in my career.”

Race Video

Results
1. Hobbs Kessler 3:38.82 adidas WCS
2. Sam Prakel 3:39.14 adidas
3. Luke Houser 3:39.27 Atlanta Track Club
4. Vincent Ciattei 3:39.62 Under Armour
5. Benjamin Allen 3:40.20 EMPIRE ELITE TC
6. Henry Wynne 3:41.25 BROOKS Beasts TC
7. Aidan Ryan 3:41.26 Atlanta Track Club
8. Derek Johnson 3:42.52 New Balance
9. Yasin Sado 3:43.43 ASICS PB
10. Damien Dilcher 3:43.81 Under Armour
11. Joseph Waskom 3:44.60 adidas
12. Eric Holt 3:48.59 Puma/Empire Elite

Indoor expert Luke Houser strikes again, addresses exit from Brooks Beasts

During his NCAA career at the University of Washington, Luke Houser experienced far more success indoors (back-to-back NCAA mile titles in 2023 and 2024) than outdoors (10th and 12th in 2023 and 2024 NCAA 1500 finals). His indoor success continued on Sunday as he finished 3rd in 3:39.27 behind Kessler and Sam Prakel (3:39.14) in his first US final (indoors or out). Houser was only 10th with two laps to go but had the best final 400 in the field (52.91) to move up seven places by the finish.

Houser signed with the Brooks Beasts when he turned pro out of Washington last summer but was released from the team due to what Brooks termed a “code of conduct violation,” with neither Brooks nor Houser offering further specifics.

“Looking back, I’m definitely happy about making the change in situations because I can see it wasn’t going to fit,” Houser said.

The Atlanta Track Club announced that Houser had joined the team in January, and while he started slow — he ran 4:03 for 12th in his season opener at the Dr. Sander Scorcher on January 25 — Houser has improved with every race. He said that without a cross country season last fall, it took him longer than usual to get back into racing mode.

“It had been a long time,” Houser said. “Normally I’m racing all fall with cross country. I went from [July] to January with a single race, so just re-learning how to race and how to hurt in a race.”

The US men’s 1500 team for World Indoors could get messy

Of the 12 men in Sunday’s 1500 final, Kessler was the only one with the World Indoor standard of 3:33.00 (or 3:50.50 in the mile), and he will be turning down his spot for Nanjing. World Athletics will send invitations to fill the field to the target size of 30, but right now only one American would be in line to receive an invitation: Joe Waskom (3:36.23 sb), who was 11th today.

But USATF is allowing athletes to chase the qualifying standard until March 9, which means there will be something of a free-for-all among today’s finalists to secure their spot. Most likely, this means Prakel, Houser, and potentially a few others lining up at Boston University next weekend to chase the standard or come close enough that they will get an invitation from World Athletics based on their position on the global descending order list. USATF has said it will honor the order of finish at USAs, so if Prakel and Houser are in position to get an invite from WA, they will both go to Nanjing. Another question is whether next week’s race at BU is run as a 1500 or mile (it’s currently listed as a mile, but that is subject to change).

Men’s 60m: Ronnie Baker wins first US title since 2017, makes first team since 2021

Baker has always been a strong 60m runner. He won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2015 and 2016 while at TCU, and as a pro in 2018, he ran a personal best of 6.40 (#3 all-time) and earned bronze at World Indoors. For a long time, he was known as an indoor specialist, but Baker showed he was more than that in 2021 when he made the US Olympic team in the 100 meters. Baker then won his last two Diamond Leagues before the Olympics, and after running a personal best of 9.83 in the Olympic semis in Tokyo, he was looking like a genuine gold-medal threat.

But Baker finished off the podium in the final (5th) and missed almost all of the 2022 season due to a hamstring injury. When he did return in 2023, Baker failed to break 10 seconds (wind-legal) and didn’t make it out of the first round at USAs. Last year, his sb was 9.95 and went out in the semis at the Olympic Trials. Baker said that he was healthy in both years, but struggled mightily mentally. He couldn’t shake the idea that he had missed his best chance to do something on the sport’s biggest stage.

“Mentally, because it didn’t happen to me, I was really questioning, Am I ever going to get it done?” Baker said.

Considering Baker is now 31 years old, it is likely that Tokyo was indeed his best chance to earn a global medal. But he said he is done feeling sorry for himself and feels refocused in 2025.

“A lot of people, they would ask me, why haven’t you switched coaches? You haven’t won any medals,” said Baker, who still trains under his former college coach Darryl Anderson in Lexington, Kentucky. “At the end of the day, sometimes you’ve gotta look in the mirror and realize that it’s not your coach, it’s you.”

Baker has enjoyed a resurgent indoor season, winning all four of his races this year in four different countries (Serbia, Czech Republic, Poland, USA), most recently his 6.52 victory today. Tied for the world indoor lead this year at 6.50, he’ll get the chance in Nanjing to add even more steam to his comeback.

Results

Place Athlete Result Ln/Pos
1 Ronnie Baker 6.52 5 adidas WCS
2 Coby Hilton 6.58 3 Tracksmith 6.573
3 Emmanuel Wells 6.58 4 Unattached WCS 6.577
4 Marcellus Moore 6.59 1 Unattached
5 Malachi Adams 6.60 7 Unattached =PB
6 Ajani Dwyer 6.61 6 Penn State WCS
7 Deron Dudley 6.62 8 Tennessee =PB
8 Quentin Woodall 6.68 2 Unattached

Discuss the 2025 USATF Indoor Championships on the LetsRun.com messageboard

• Official 2025 USATF Indoor Championships Day 2 Discussion Thread (+ Live Instant Reaction Show at 3:15 pm ET)
• Josh Hoey running 1:43.24, the #2 time ever deserves it’s own thread
• Josh MF Hoey is going to set the indoor WORLD RECORD at Worlds
• What is Josh Hoey’s ceiling in 2025?
• How soon until bicarb is banned?
• HOEY IS STILL NOT CLEAN

Want the LetsRun Day 2 recap podcast? Join the LetsRun Supporters Club here and get LetsRun podcasts of all the big track meets. Cancel any time. Money back guarantee. Video of the show free for everyone below. Hoey’s coach Justin Rinaldi joined in the chat: