It was a night of fast times and thrilling finishes at Occidental College. 

Once the home of the 'Oxy' high-performance meet, the 2025 Sound Running Track Fest played host to several top Olympians, NCAA stars, and even high schoolers pitted against the best in the world.

Check out our recap of each race below.

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Women's 800m

2024 Olympian Allie Wilson headlined this field, along with staple of the international circuit Sage Hurta-Klecker and rising star Valery Tobias who made the U.S. World Indoors team.

Hurta-Klecker was the only one to take the rabbit's pace, creating a gap that seemed insurmountable by 600m in 1:28. Tobias made a late surge for 2nd, but Klecker's win was never in doubt with a final time of 1:59.02. 

Tobias' time of 1:59.49 made her the only other athlete to go under 2 minutes, with Wilson last in 2:08.09. Sinta Vissa, the Italian 1500m record-holder and Olympian, struggled in under-distance and finished 7th.

Sammy Watson front-ran the 'B' heat impressively, barely holding on to win in 2:00.90. She took the jump on both the pacing lights and the pacers and it paid off. Simone Plourde of the Swoosh TC came up just short in 2nd.

In the 'C' heat, Rutgers athlete Kassidy Johnson out-kicked Ellie Leather, running 2:01.36. It was a big PB for Leather -- she's the grand-niece of Diane Leather, the first ever woman to run under 5 minutes for the mile back in 1954.

Men's 800m

With a quick 1:44 high pace set for the 'A' final, fireworks were all but assured for the likes of Irish Olympian Mark English in the field, joined by Trials 1500m 4th-placer Craig Engels and U.S. Olympian Isaiah Harris. It was Moad Zahafi and veteran Penn State alum Brannon Kidder who went with the early pace, but the Moroccan Zahafi was running ahead of the lights with 100m to go. When that 800m wall started to hit, Mark English took advantage and darted from the back to the front when it mattered most. It was a 1:44.75 time for English, with Zahafi 2nd and Engels 4th.  

Camden Marshall made a late move in the 'B' heat, and once he did he never looked back. He made up an impressive margin and held on well enough on the home stretch to win in 1:45.79.

USC grad Bobby Poynter ran 1:47 in his first pro 800m of 2025 to win the 'C' heat.

Women's 1500m

Shelby Houlihan was having her comeback moment after returning from a four-year doping suspension due to what her team claimed was a contaminated burrito. After an impressive indoor season, she faced one of her toughest outdoor challenges yet as Polish 4:00 runner Klaudia Kazimierska would challenge.

Kazimierska took the early gap. Houlihan ran way wide in the middle of lane 2, with the leader Kazimierska splitting 2:10 through 800m. Kazimierska was still in control at the bell in 2:59, with Houlihan alone in 5th. Katie Snowden took a surprise lead on the backstraight. Could Houlihan take it back?

With 150m to go, it became clear she couldn't as the leaders got away from her. It was a battle to the line between Kazimierska storming back and Emily Mackay. Kazimierska won in 4:03.6 with Mackay at 4:03.33 in 2nd. Houlihan was 5th in 4:04.76.

High school sensation Sadie Engelhardt's 'B' heat was seen by some as a chance to get a big PB racing against pros, but it wasn't to be. Bailey Hertenstein ran 4:06.39 to win the heat ahead of Grace Boone. Engelhardt was 8th of 9 finishers in 4:18.10. 2024 steeplechase Olympian Courtney Wayment was last in 4:19.98.

All eyes were on Athing Mu's 'C' heat. She hung back early on and attempted a winning kick late, but it wasn't quite enough as she was out-kicked by Sadie Sargent. Read more here: Athing Mu Places 2nd In Track Fest 1500m 'C' Heat In First Pro Race Of 2025

Men's 1500m

The 1500m was stacked with pro talent, featuring On Athletics Club's Mario Garcia Romo and 2022 World champion Jake Wightman who has struggled with injury since. Luke Houser made a 10-meter gap on the heels of the pacer, splitting inside of 1:40 with 2 laps to go. 

It was 2:38 at the bell and the question was whether the field could catch up to Houser. Wightman briefly led the chase pack, but Sam Ellis passed Houser as he was engulfed  by the pack of kickers with 150m to go. 

Just after, Wightman showed why he's a world champion with an unrivaled kick, running a somewhat conservative 3:35.26 to win. Ellis was 2nd in 3:35.77 and Prakel ran 3rd in 3:36.03. Houser's frontrunning was rewarded with a 4th-place finish. Romo was 9th in 3:38.65.

The BAA's Isaac Basten took advantage of a conservative early pace, going through 300m in 45 seconds. He had the best kick in the end to win the 'B' heat in 3:38.58. NCAA D2 star Christian Noble of New Balance was 4th in 3:39.18.

USC Bruin Andreas Dybdahl scored a 3:42 PR to win the 'C' heat with a 56.9 last lap.

Women's 5000m

The World Championship standard of 14:50.00 was on the line for the 'A' heat runners in what looked to be a wide-open race for the win. Melissa Courtney-Bryant led a closely-strung field behind the rabbits, which split 800m in 2:23 right on the pacing lights.

They ticked off 71-second laps, and were are 7:46 with 6 laps to go. The athletes started to push up on the pacers after this point, and with 5 laps to go it was clear that six women were on the scorching 14:50 pace. Courtney-Bryant still led, but Australian Linden Hall looked ready to strike in 2nd.

Hall sat on Courtney-Bryant's shoulder with Lea Meyer hanging in 3rd. Courtney-Bryant responded to what she sensed was Hall's challenge behind, and with 1200m to go it looked like a duel was about to go down. 

Hall finally took the lead and didn't let that moment go to waste, putting up a gap to run away from Courtney-Bryant. At 12:29.7 with 800m to go, it was clear that Hall's 14:58 PB was in jeopardy. She extended her lead to win in 14:43/.61, just missing the 14:40.8 Australian outdoor record.

Courtney-Bryant was the only other athlete to notch the world standard, running 14:48. Hannah Nuttall just missed the mark with a 14:50.42 time. 1500m specialist Heather MacLean made her pro debut over the 5000m distance, and while she wasn't in the mix for the win she did finish an impressive 6th. 

Kayley DeLay performed her pacing duties expertly in the 'B' heat as the field strung out behind her. Lucy Jenks emerged as the woman in charge, leading from then on out and making a gap with 5 laps to go. After a 9:06 3K split, she continued to grow her gap. But with 400m to go, Amaris Tyynismaa stormed back into the picture and briefly passed Jenks. Tyynismaa's 68 flat closing lap almost did it, but Jenks responded brilliantly to win in 15:14.86.

Men's 5000m

The World Championship standard of 13:01.00 was on all the top runners' minds in the 'A' heat. Former U.S. indoor record-holder Woody Kincaid was the top seed, but he had a lot to prove in 2025 against up-and-comers like Miami Slam 3K winner Andrew Coscoran. And to throw a wrench into the mix, 1500m World Indoor champ Geordie Beamish was a late add into the race and would be a threat if the race got slow.

Niel Gourley brought the field through 3K in 7:53, close to the prescribed 7:52 pace but slingshotting back and forth. Tom Ratcliffe was the first racer behind, with Kai Robinson and Dylan Jacobs moving up behind. 

Ratcliffe ran impressively to hold the lead, and soon it was clear a gap had formed from Ratcliffe and Aussie NCAA champ Robinson to the rest of the field. 10 minutes into the race with the lights fading away, Robinson took to the lead for one last desperate push.

Eduardo Herrera made a huge surge to take the lead from the chase pack, and as soon as he passed it looked like he could run away with it with 400m to go. He passed the bell in 12:00, making it clear he was the only one in this race with a realistic shot at the standard. 

He passed the lights with ease, and smiled as he ran down the home stretch to win in 12:58.57. A fist pump across the line was well-earned for the former U of Colorado athlete who runs for Mexico. His time crushed his indoor PB of 13:06, and broke the Mexican national record of 13:07.79 by Arturo Barrios. Even the announcers regretted not mentioning him in the first 10 minutes of the race. Robinson was 2nd in 13:05.23, and Beamish was 6th in 13:09.

Asked how it felt to go sub-13 after the race, Herrera said succinctly, "f***ing awesome".

Steeplechaser Brian Barraza of Roots Running ran away from the 'B' heat field, but he wasn't alone as Henry Mcluckie was right on his heels. Mcluckie courteously shared the lead after Barraza slowed, and the two worked together 50m ahead of the chase pack 8 minutes in. With 800m to go, Barraza had made his move and won by a solid margin in 13:22. Eric Van der Els ran 58.9 for his last 400m to surge into 2nd. Former Nike Oregon Project member Suguru Osako, the top seed, was outside the top 6.

Women's 3000m Steeplechase

With a 9:18.00 standard to chase, it was smooth running for the women on 9:20 pace in a field that included '23 U.S. champion and Emma Coburn slayer Krissy Gear. But Gear was well back 5 minutes in, making the race between Sophie Novak and Janette Schraft.

Schraft took it upon herself to get the field back on the lights. Elise Thorner strung it out again, powering through as the race to the lights became just as compelling as the race for the win. 

With 2 laps to go, it looked like the race for the win became more compelling as the pack bunched up again with Thorner and Kaylee Mitchell  leading. With 400m to go, Thorner finally opened up a solid gap and in fact the lights seemed back in play. 

With a wild kick, Thorner ran 9:17.5 to just nab the standard. Gear was 4th in 9:24.36.

Men's 3000m Steeplechase

Billed as a top race of the night, the men's steeple was brimming with U.S. talent and headlined by shock Olympic silver medalist Kenneth Rooks of BYU. On paper, fellow NCAA champ Anthony Rotich would probably pose the biggest challenge to Rooks, with the World standard of 8:15.00 in the back of everyone's mind.

Trials 4th-placer Dan Michalski led the race early with Rooks in tow. They stayed on the lights for the first few minutes, but Rooks took up the lead with 5 laps to go once he senses the lights were running away from him.

It was a masterclass in frontrunning since then, with Virginia alum Derek Johnson 2nd and Michalski 3rd. Rooks and Johnson began to separate, and Rooks only extended his lead with 3 laps to go in 5:02.9.

With 2 laps left, Rooks' win looked all but certain. He caught right up to the middle of the lights and as the gap behind him grew, he seemed the only racer under the important 8:15.00 mark. 

With a 62-second split from 2400m to 2800m, Rooks powered down the stretch to win in 8:14.25. Duncan Hamilton was 2nd in 8:20.28 with Johnson 3rd and Michalski 5th.

In the 'B' heat, a late stumble by Casey Comber gave the win to Canadian Aaron Ahl in 8:31.50.

Don’t Miss A Second Of The 2025 Diamond League

This year, the Diamond League is streaming live on FloTrack and the FloSports app, and FloTrack is giving fans more Diamond League access than ever before.

For the first time ever, the Diamond League is streaming every feed to fans, not just the traditional world feed.

Fans will have uninterrupted coverage for every throw, leap and run during the meets, as well as the traditional broadcast.

FloTrack Is The Streaming Home For Many Track And Field Meets Each Year

Don’t miss all the track and field season action streaming on FloTrack. Check out the FloTrack schedule for more events.

FloTrack Archived Footage

Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.

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