From the throws to the track, several records fell this weekend at the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
DeAnna Price broke the women’s world record in the indoor hammer-style 25-pound weight throw. Price, the former Southern Illinois University athlete, threw the weight 85-4¼, breaking the previous record of 83-11½ set by Gwen Berry in 2017, also set at altitude in Albuquerque. Daniel Haugh won the men’s 35-pound weight throw with a toss of 83-5½.
With Ryan Crouser skipping the USATF meet to instead compete in Pocatello, Idaho — where Crouser broke his own shot put world record on Saturday — Olympian Joe Kovacs was left as the event favorite in Albuquerque.
Kovacs, the longtime friendly rival of Crouser, easily won the men’s shot put in the mile-high altitude of Albuquerque with his throw of 70 feet, 8½ inches. Chase Ealey won the women’s shot put with a throw of 65-2¼.
While throwers were breaking world records, new American records were set on the track in New Mexico.
Aleia Hobbs crosses the finish line to win the Women’s 60m Dash during the 2023 USATF Indoor Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Feb. 18, 2023, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hobbs set the American record with a time of 6.94 seconds. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)Getty Images
Aleia Hobbs won the 60-meter dash in a new American record time of 6.94 seconds. The former LSU standout broke the previous three-decades-old indoor record of 6.95 shared by Gail Devers and Marion Jones.
Anna Hall, the former University of Florida star, set a new American record in the women’s pentathlon with a score of 5,004 points. The event includes the shot put, 60-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump and 800 meters. Her score is the second highest in history behind the world record of 5,013 points set by Natalia Dobrynska of Ukraine in 2013.
Former Oregon Ducks runner and Adidas-sponsored Sam Prakel enjoyed the weekend by winning two national titles, in the men’s 1,500 and 3,000.
Prakel won the 1,500 in a time of 3:42.62. David Ribich, the former Western Oregon University star and recent addition to Nike-sponsored Union Athletics Club, finished fifth in 3:45.36. Former UO and current Oregon Track Club runners Jack Yearian and Reed Brown finished seventh in 3:46.55 and eighth in 3:47.75, respectively.
On Friday, Prakel also won the 3,000, crossing in 8:12.46. Ribich finished fifth in 8:14.47, and Yearian was sixth in 8:15.54.
Former UO runner and Lululemon-sponsored Nikki Hiltz won the women’s 1,500 in 4:17.10. Former Portland State University standout and current Vikings track coach Katie Camarena took ninth in 4:25.72.
Valerie Constien, a former Colorado Buffaloes runner and Olympic steeplechaser, won the women’s 3,000 in 8:48.29. Camarena placed 10th in 9:28.56.
The NCAA indoor national championships will begin March 10 in Albuquerque. The professional track and field athletes will now focus on the upcoming outdoor season and target the World Athletics Championships in August in Budapest, Hungary.
— Will Lee for The Oregonian/OregonLive