A thrilling showdown awaits in both the men’s and women’s 3K races at the USATF National Championships on Saturday, February 28.
2026 USATF Indoor ChampionshipsFeb 26, 2026 by Ava Curry
World Team Dreams on the line in the 2026 USATF Indoor Championship 3K
World Team Dreams on the line in the 2026 USATF Indoor Championship 3K
From 4x National Champions to Olympic Gold Medalists, the 2026 USATF Indoor Championship 3k is stacked, but it's anyone's race.
Mid-distance runners and distance runners will meet in the middle, ready to showcase their range in a fight for the Gold and a spot at the 2026 World Indoor Championships in Poland.
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The women's race will hit the track first at 1:44pm ET, contested as a straight final. As the longest distance event on the championship schedule, the 3K is set to deliver a grueling and compelling battle from start to finish. With a scratch from the 2025 USATF Indoor 3000m Champion, Nikki Hiltz, the field is now 19 athletes deep. Hiltz will focus her attentions on the 1500m this Championship season.
With Hiltz scratched, Elle St. Pierre steps in as the top seed with an 8:26.54 entry mark. Her season’s best sits just six seconds shy of her personal best, which she clocked at the 2024 World Indoor Championships. That performance not only secured the world title but also established a new American record. That record still stands two years later.
Following St. Pierre in the lineup is two-time Olympian, Elise Cranny. Though she’s known as a true distance runner, Cranny certainly has the leg speed to handle a fast 3K. With four national titles to her name, she enters the field as a strong contender to make the US team in this event.
No barriers this time, but the former BYU duo of Lexy Halladay-Lowry and Courtney Wayment is just as dangerous. After going 1-2 in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships, the pair now turns their strength and endurance to a flat 3K, where they’ll look to challenge a loaded field.
Several athletes are slated to double back in Sunday’s 1500m, but for now, everyone enters the 3K on fresh legs.
Full List of Women's 3k Entries:
- Elle St. Pierre
- Elise Cranny
- Emily Mackay
- Lexy Halladay-Lowry
- Kayley DeLay
- Margot Appleton
- Katelyn Touhy
- Elise Stearns
- Kaylee Mitchell
- Annika Reiss
- Courtney Frerichs
- Carlee Hansen
- Courtney Wayment
- Sadie Sargent
- Christina Aragon
- Angelina Ellis
- Katherine Wasserman
- Chloe Scrimgeour
- Kaylee Beyer
Looking At The Men's 3000m
With the women’s field set, now it’s the men’s turn to take center stage in what promises to be an equally compelling 3,000 meters.
Twenty athletes will toe the line on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST, but only two will qualify for Worlds.
Just two and a half seconds separate the top four men in the field, setting the stage for a tightly contested race. The separation came earlier this month at the Sound Running Invite, where Nico Young narrowly edged out Yared Nuguse to claim the top qualifying mark in the 3K. Ethan Strand and Matthew Wilkinson followed closely behind Nuguse in North Carolina, rounding out a competitive quartet.
Now the four meet again for a high-stakes rematch, with two coveted World Championship spots hanging in the balance.
Among the other notable names are training partners, and close friends, Cole Hocker and Cooper Teare, who turn into fierce rivals once the gun goes off. The 2024 Olympic gold medalist will line up alongside Teare after both notched season bests at the Millrose Games, where Hocker edged out Teare by just half a second. In that same race, the duo also finished ahead of current No. 3 seed Ethan Strand, adding another layer of intrigue to this matchup.
Full List of Men's 3k Entries:
- Nicolas Young
- Yared Nuguse
- Ethan Strand
- Matthew Wilkinson
- Samuel Prakel
- Cole Hocker
- Cooper Teare
- Ryan Schoppe
- Morgan Beadlescomb
- Carson Williams
- Kasey Knevelbaard
- Craig Engels
- Drew Bosley
- Waleed Suliman
- Austen Dalquist
- Cooper Cawthra
- Matt Strangio
- Damien Dilcher
- Parker Stokes
- Sam Gilman
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