9 Takeaways from 2025 NBIGP: Quincy Wilson Is a Superstar, Noah Lyles & Grant Holloway Begin Their Post-Olympic Eras, & More

BOSTON – The 2025 North American professional track season is officially up and running. In front of a sold-out crowd of 4,053 at The Track at New Balance, Sunday’s New Balance Indoor Grand Prix featured five reigning Olympic champions from Paris and all five earned victories, with the world’s fastest man Noah Lyles closing out the meet by winning the men’s 60 meters for the fourth consecutive year in 6.52 seconds.

Josh Hoey’s fine 2025 campaign continued as he held off Grant Fisher to win the men’s 1500, 3:33.66 to 3:33.99, and there were also wins for Americans Bryce Hoppel (1:46.04 in the 800) and Heather MacLean (4:23.32 in the mile). A pair of Europeans stole the show in the 3,000 meters as Ireland’s Andrew Coscoran (7:30.75) and Great Britain’s Melissa Courtney-Bryant (8:28.69) both pulled off upset victories. American Grant Holloway also extended one of the most impressive streaks in track & field history by improving to a perfect 65-0 in the 60m hurdles (42-inch barriers), winning his season opener in 7.42.

Below, nine takeaways from Sunday’s action in Boston.

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Quincy Wilson showed once again why he is a superstar

Quincy Wilson may have only run one relay leg in the Olympic prelims last summer, but he is already one of the biggest track stars in the United States. America loves its phenoms, and you won’t get many bigger phenoms than a guy who can make the most competitive Olympic team in the world as a 16-year-old. In a star-studded meet, Wilson earned one of the biggest cheers of the day when he was introduced ahead of the men’s 400 meters.

Then he went ahead and took down a trio of pros, including 2024 Olympic 4th placer Jereem Richards, to win the race and break his own high school indoor record of 45.76 by running 45.66. The indoor 400 is a tricky event – you have to get out fast to be in position at the break but not too fast that you submarine your finish – and Wilson was in a tough spot, third place at 200m. Yet despite running extra distance on both turns on the last lap, Wilson was able to move from first to third in the last 100 in one of the most exciting finishes of the day.

You could be forgiven for lowering expectations for Wilson after he was beaten by fellow high schooler Andrew Salvodon two weeks ago in the 500m. Instead, he bounced back in the best way possible and showed exactly why everyone is so excited to watch him race.

Will Sumner is finally healthy again and will stick in the 400 for now

This time last year, Will Sumner was looking like a serious contender to make the US Olympic team in the 800 meters. Just 20 years old, he was coming off a 2023 season that saw him run a negative-split 1:44 to win the NCAA title as a true freshman at Georgia and stamp himself as the best US 800m prospect since Donavan Brazier.

Then Sumner developed a case of Achilles tendinopathy – a tear on the inside of the tendon – that left him unable to race in 2024. Sumner spent months trying to treat it. Nothing worked.

“Last year I expected to be my year,” Sumner said. “I didn’t expect to be injured all year and not run a race. It was an injury that I really didn’t know I’d ever really come back from it. There were times where I didn’t think I’d run again.”

Sumner eventually found a solution by switching coaches from Justin Rinaldi to Terrence Mahon, who made a series of tweaks to his mechanics in an attempt to cure the underlying issue. Sumner is still in the early stages of his comeback – he said he didn’t wear spikes in a workout until the end of December – but is making progress. He opened up with a 47.11 400 at Clemson on January 11, then ran 46.75 on January 24 and now 46.27 on Sunday – an indoor pb.

Sumner’s best event remains the 800, but he said he is not sure when he will return to his specialty distance. He will be happy as long as he continues to improve in the shorter event.

“They go hand in hand, especially for me,” Sumner said. “If I can get my 400 down, then I’ll feel confident to run an 800.”

Josh Hoey keeps rolling

The 25-year-old Hoey, who ran 2:14.48 to smash the American indoor record in the 1000m two weeks ago, stayed red hot by defeating a solid field to win the men’s 1500 tonight in a pb of 3:33.66 (though 2022 world champ Jake Wightman withdrew before the race due to a knee injury).

Hoey ran fearlessly on Saturday, taking the lead with 800 to go and opening a gap with 400 to go, closing in 28.46-27.37 for his last two laps to hold off Grant Fisher for the win. Hoey said he will make a call on what event to run at USAs after he races Millrose next week (where he will face Bryce Hoppel in the 800) but he plans on running World Indoors if he makes it.

“I missed both teams by one spot last year, so any team I can make, I realize it ain’t easy to come by,” Hoey said.

As for Fisher, he was very pleased to run an overall pb of 3:33.99 for 2nd. He believes he is in a good spot ahead of a marquee showdown with Olympic champ Cole Hocker in the 3,000 at Millrose next week.

“I wish I could have taken Josh to the line, but he just had some extra gears I didn’t have,” Fisher said. “First one of the season? I’m pretty happy with that.”

Europeans steal the show in 3,000s

Irishman Andrew Coscoran and Brit Melissa Courtney-Bryant garnered a combined zero mentions in the LRC meet preview article. Congrats to the two UK-based athletes for showing up and using big kicks (26.71 last lap for Corcoran, 31.62 for Courtney-Bryant) to win the men’s and women’s 3,000s this evening.

Courtney-Bryant, the world 1500 finalist from 2023 who earned Euro bronze in the 3k in 2019 and 2023, looks a real threat to upgrade that medal in 2025 at the age of 31 as she PRd by 9+ seconds and ran 8:28.69 (previous pb of 8:37.74) to move to #2 on the all-time UK list.

As Coscoran closed in on the win tonight, PA announcer Geoff Wightman described it as the biggest victory of his life. Coscoran disagreed – as an Irish miler, winning the Morton Games in 2022 carried more weight for him – but this was a fantastic run for the 3:30.42 1500 man and a 10-second improvement on his pb from this race last year.

Coscoran, 28, who formerly trained under coach Feidhlim Kelly as part of the Dublin Track Club, recently joined the New Balance Manchester group coached by Helen Clitheroe and gave credit to both coaches for his breakthrough tonight.

“I’ve had a good couple of coaches over the last couple years who have been unbelievable as well,” Coscoran said. “This is a couple years’ worth of work on the track.”

Hobbs Kessler: “I don’t think anything over 7:30 is fast”

One year ago at this meet, Hobbs Kessler took down Jake Wightman to win the 1500 and set the stage for a breakout year in which he made the Olympic team in two events, finishing 5th in the 1500 in Paris. This year, Kessler finished a well-beaten 4th in the 3,000 and was out of gas by the end, running his last lap in just 30.72. Kessler’s time of 7:35.06 was a four-second improvement on his personal best, but he was disappointed with the performance and did not mince words after the race.

“I don’t think anything over 7:30 is fast,” Kessler said. “[7:35] is not world-class, not where I want to be.”

It’s harsh, but Kessler is not necessarily wrong. Kessler was beaten by more than four seconds today by Andrew Coscoran, a guy who failed to make it out of the repechage round of the Olympic 1500 last year. Another guy who didn’t make the Olympic final, Brit George Mills, ran 7:27 earlier in the day in France. Kessler’s time of 7:35.06 would only rank #4 in the NCAA right now. 

Kessler is just being realistic about how strong his event is right now and how supershoes are changing the definition of what is considered fast. Though it is worth noting that Kessler is coming up to the event from an 800/1500 background and that Wightman, another 800/1500 guy, was 4th in this same meet in 2022 in 7:37 and went on to win 1500 gold at Worlds that summer.

But the men’s 1500 has continued to get faster since 2022 — both globally and in the US — and you can understand how Kessler would view 7:35 as just not good enough when he finished 5th in the Olympic final last year and wants to improve on that. Especially with younger talents like Niels Laros and Cameron Myers breathing down his neck (Myers beat Kessler today by running an Aussie record of 7:33.12, more on that below).

The good news for Kessler is that the World Championships in Tokyo are still more than seven months away.

“I’m not shook, but I’m definitely very disappointed,” Kessler said.

Cameron Myers continues to impress

We may have to amend Kessler’s statement above. Because 7:33 is very fast if you are only 18 years old like Cameron Myers. One week after setting a world indoor U20 record of 3:53.12 in the mile in New York, Myers almost broke the 3k record in Boston, his 7:33.12 coming just shy of Hagos Gerbrhiwet’s 7:32.87. Myers did break the Australian senior indoor record of 7:34.50 – a big deal for Myers as it was set by Aussie legend Craig Mottram back at this meet in 2008 (when Myers was all of one year old).

“Buster was the man, so it’s pretty cool,” Myers said. “Any record that Craig holds is one that’s pretty damn good.”

Granted, Australians don’t run many indoor 3,000m races, but to be a senior national record holder at the age of 18 is very impressive stuff. Myers made the decision to fly to the US from Australia in search of better competition this winter, and so far he is making the most of it. He will have one more major test in the Wanamaker Mile at Millrose next week, where he will face Olympic medalists Josh Kerr and Yared Nuguse. Myers said his main aim there will be Ollie Hoare’s Australian indoor record of 3:50.83 and the outdoor Worlds standard of 3:50.00.

Myers has a healthy perspective on his place in the sport. He aims high but also appreciates some of the special things he has been able to accomplish at such a young age. His biggest takeaway from his US trip so far? He is better than he thought.

“In the last six months since not making Paris, I’ve made huge steps,” Myers said.

Parker Valby’s pro debut was a success

Valby said before the race on Saturday that her goal tonight was just to finish in her pro debut. Turns out, she was playing coy. Her real goal was top three, and she accomplished that by running a 6+ second pb of 8:34.95 for 3rd. Valby was ultimately outclassed by older, stronger athletes as Elise Cranny (2nd in 8:29.87, replacing former teammate Shelby Houlihan as the 2025 US leader) and eventual winner Melissa Courtney-Bryant gapped her with 800m to run, but Valby ran like she belonged and it’s hard to be disappointed with a personal best.

“You know how people step down to the mile for speed? That was me stepping down to the mile,” Valby said. “…I’m not in my ideal shape [but] I think I am in better shape than I have been [in previous years]. 7-second PR, which is awesome. I’m happy.” 

I bumped into Valby’s coach Mark Coogan after the race, and he was also very pleased with Valby’s opener. He also hinted at Valby’s future plans, suggesting that she may run a 5k before the indoor season is over before focusing on The Ten at the end of March.

Noah Lyles & Grant Holloway begin their post-Olympic eras

When you are a generational talent like Noah Lyles or Grant Holloway, your career is not complete until you win an Olympic gold medal. For most of their professional careers, that was the goal motivating them every day when they woke up.

Kevin Morris photo

In Paris last summer, both of them accomplished that goal. As the two stars began the 2025 season, they found themselves facing the question every Olympic champion faces: what next? There is not always an easy answer.

For the fourth year in a row, Lyles and Holloway both showed up and won at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. Neither was quite as sharp as usual – Holloway’s 7.42 winning time was the slowest of his four victories, while Lyles’ 6.52 winning time was his slowest since 2022 – but they both did their job as champions and icons of the sport.

Holloway admitted that, since Paris, it has been harder to find motivation. What drives him now?

“Just continuing to build the legacy, man,” Holloway said. “I’ve been leaning a lot on my team to motivate me. I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to do in this sport.”

Assessing his legacy is something Holloway prefers to leave to the media, so I’ll do it for him. Right now, Allen Johnson, who retired with five global titles and 11 sub-13s, probably holds the title as the GOAT of the 110 hurdles.

Holloway has already surpassed Johnson with 12 sub-13s. If he can break the world record this summer (his 12.81 pb is .01 short) and/or win his fifth global title this year in Tokyo, Holloway will have a strong case for surpassing Johnson as the GOAT (though Holloway may already have that title if you include his indoor exploits).

As for Lyles, his goal moving forward is to transcend the sport. For Lyles, that means doing everything he can to take himself – and the sport – mainstream. He suggested including a championship belt for winners of the 60m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix so that there is a tangible prize – one that winners would have to come back and defend each year.

I suggested to Lyles that there is one meet that already has such a prize: the gold medal for the winner of the World Indoor title.

Lyles disagreed. Why?

“Because nobody watches it,” Lyles said.

Increasingly, that is what Lyles cares about when he runs. He will run the outdoor World Championships because it is the most prestigious meet of the year (and also the most-watched). But he has not committed to Grand Slam Track because it has still yet to announce a TV contract. And he says he will not run World Indoors this year to clear space for other ventures. Perhaps that match race with NFL star Tyreek Hill, which he teased by ripping off his bib after his win today to reveal the words “Tyreek could never” written on the inside.

“World Championships is in September and to be honest, I think there’s a lot of things that I can fill my schedule up with later in the middle of the season,” Lyles said. “By not going to indoor, which is all the way in China – which I’m not trying to take that long of a trip for – it saves me a lot of time to prepare for outdoor.”

The meet needs to go back to eight lanes for sprint finals

Since relocating to The Track at New Balance in 2023, the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix has been one of the sport’s success stories. It sold out in 2023, almost sold out in 2024 (organizers told LetsRun.com maybe 50 seats were still available), and sold out again in 2025. In fact, demand was so great this year that areas previously used for athlete/agent/sponsor operations were sold as tickets. Some partially-obstructed-view seats that had not been used in previous years were also sold in 2025 and quickly snapped up as well. The facility is great, the track is fast, and there were plenty of star athletes on hand.

That said, the decision to go with 5-person sprint finals was a bad one and almost derailed the showdown of Olympic 100m champions Noah Lyles and Marcell Jacobs when Jacobs failed to qualify for the final (he eventually made it after Udodi Onwuzurike scratched). The straightaway at the NB track has eight lanes but organizers blocked off the outer three to set up temporary lights for pre-race introductions ahead of the sprint finals.

This was the view for the “light show” as Grant Holloway was introduced for the 60m hurdles final

This was a mistake. If you have eight lanes for a professional meet, you might as well use them.

Furthermore, the “light show” was not worth it. The meet was held in the late afternoon and some of the ceiling lights in the building stayed on for the introductions, leading to an underwhelming pre-race spectacle. Respect to the organizers for trying something new, but this was a swing and a miss and should not return in 2026 unless the light show is vastly improved (and doesn’t require blocking off three lanes).

Talk about the 2025 NBIGP on the world-famous LetsRun.com messageboard:

• Official 2025 NB Indoor Grand Prix Discussion Thread
• Parker Valby’s Professional Debut @ New Balance Indoor Grand Prix  Valby broke her and Katelyn Tuohy‘s pb and ran 8:34.
• Parker’s lack of a kick means she will never win on the track
• Josh Hoey: Is it time to call a spade a spade? If it walks like a duck, runs 2:14 and 3:33 like a duck….
• Cameron Myers 7’33”12 3000m – how fast can he run this summer ? The teenager took down Hobbs Kessler.
• Hobbs Kessler 7:35! Amazing for a 800/1500m specialist
• Emma Coburn Last Place.
• Hobbs Kessler: “I don’t think anything over 7:30 (for 3k) is fast”
• Jess Hull? Where was she?