2018 USATF Indoor Championships

Coleman Breaks WR, Chelimo/Houlihan Double: USATF Day 3 Play-By-Play

Coleman Breaks WR, Chelimo/Houlihan Double: USATF Day 3 Play-By-Play

The final day of the USATF Indoor Championships featured a World record, American record, some upsets and two impressive doubles.

Feb 18, 2018 by Kevin Sully
Coleman Breaks WR, Chelimo/Houlihan Double: USATF Day 3 Play-By-Play

The final day of the 2018 second day of the 2018 USATF Indoor Championships featured a world record by Christian Coleman, an American record by Sharika Nelvis, distance doubles from Paul Chelimo and Shelby Houlihan, dramatic results in the 400m races and several close battles for qualification spots to the World Indoor Championships. 

Below is a recap of Sunday's action. 

Women’s 60m Hurdles Semifinal | 1:30 PM CT

Top 3 + next 2 fastest to final

Heat 1

Christina Manning bursts out of the blocks in the lead. Nobody challenges her as she takes this heat in 7.80, a slight improvement on her opening heat yesterday. Queen Harrison takes second in 7.98 ahead of Bridgette Owens in 7.99. Kristi Castlin took fourth in 8.01 and will have to wait to she if she can advance on time. 

Heat 2

Harrison and Nelvis are even through the first three hurdles. Harrison eventually gains some separation and takes the win in 7.77. Nelvis takes second in 7.83. Kristi Castlin will advance to the final, while Kori Carter does not. As expected it will take something very fast to win the final. 

Men’s 60m Hurdles Semifinals | 1:45 PM CT

Top 3 + next 2 fastest to final

Heat 1

Jarret Eaton and Joshua Thompson both get out to strong starts. Eaton moves away smoothly from the field and takes the win in 7.56. Mallett gets past Thompson to finish second. Aleec Harris places fourth and is on the bubble. 

Heat 2

There's a false start gun and it appears that Devon Allen twitched before the gun. There is no disqualification and all six men will start this semifinal heat. On the restart, Allen gets a tremendous start and leads wire-to-wire and wins in 7.52. Merritt hangs on for second place in 7.62 just ahead of Brendan Ames in 7.63.

Women’s 60m Semifinals | 2:00 PM CT

Top 3 + next 2 fastest to final

Heat 1

Oliver powers out of the blocks and takes command of the race. Her margin grows as the race progresses. At the finish line Oliver has a comfortable margin and an easy victory. Jasmine Todd hops over from the long jump runway to take second place. 

Heat 2

The big news is that Tori Bowie is a scratch so this race will be contested without the gold medalist. In her absence Carter and Daniels jump out to a lead on this field and remain 1-2 all the way to the line. Brown takes third and Frazier is in fourth.

Men’s 60m Semifinals | 2:15 PM CT

Top 3 + next 2 fastest to final

Heat 1

After the starter called the field back 20 meters into the race (nobody was disqualified), Ronnie Baker got out to a quick start. He is a stride clear of the rest as he eases off the gas pedal in the final meters, winning in 6.45. Baker looks like he is capable of something in the low 6.40s in the final. Mike Rodgers and Jeff Demps take the other two automatic qualifying spots.

Heat 2

Coleman takes an early lead, but it isn't his best start. He eases away from the field during the middle of the race and runs an extremely fluid 6.42. Behind him Robinson and Wilson grab the other two automatic spots. Noah Lyles takes fifth and will not advance. The race between Coleman and Baker in the final will be must-see.

Men’s 400m | 4:05 PM CT

Two heat final

Heat 1

Aldrich Bailey runs a personal best of 45.59 to take the first section of the men's 400m (the sections are ordered slow to fast) and holds off a fast closing Paul Dedewo takes second, also in a personal best. 45.59 is the time to beat for heat 2.

Heat 2

After a call back that didn't yield a disqualification, the field gets out even. Kerley tries to move to the inside at the bell and bumps into Wright. The collision stops Kerley's momentum and he is fourth place with Cherry and Norwood in front. Kerley makes a late bid, but can't get by on the inside. Cherry and Norwood finish 1-2. Aldrich Bailey's time from heat one places him second in the competition so he will earn a spot to the World Championships.

Women’s 800m | 4:24 PM CT

Wilson eases into the front and looks controlled through 200 meters in 28.95. Uncharacteristically, Wilson slows it down the second lap as the entire field is together at 62/63 seconds. In the third lap, Edwards makes a move and tries to position herself for the bell lap. Rogers is in the third at the bell, but looks strong. Rogers continues to move nicely and works her way behind Wilson into second. It's close in the final 50 meters, but Wilson holds on for victory in 2:01.60 with Rogers second in 2:01.75.

Men’s 800m | 4:33 PM CT

Prince heads to the front with Sowinski and Brazier in second and third. Sowinski grabs the lead on the second lap and takes the field through 400 meters. Windle is in the back of the pack as per usual. At the bell, Brazier takes the lead and gaps Sowinski. Brazier cruises down the homestrech and appears to ease up at the finish. He just misses the American record running 1:45.10. That's his third 1:45 this season. Windle makes a late charge for second to grab the second spot on the US team. 

Women’s 1500m | 4:42 PM CT

Schneider leads the pack after two laps with the entire field in tow. Grace, McGee and Quigley sit in second, third and fourth. With four laps to go, everyone still has a chance to win the race. There are 600 meters left and Houlihan looks eager to get to the front of the pack. Schneider still leads with 400 meters remaining as the pack tries to bob and weave around each other for optimal positioning. McGee goes to the front with 300 meters remaining, Vaughn follows her with Quigley close behind. Quigley takes the lead off the final curve and looks poised to win, but Houlihan emerges from the pack to swing wide and take the win with Osika taking third. Houlihan says in the post-race interview that she will only race the 3000m at the World Indoor Championships. 

Women’s 400m | 4:53 PM CT

Two heat final

Heat 1

Stepter grabs the early lead with Francis on her shoulder at the bell. Francis remains in that position until she grabs the lead with 100 meters remaining. She passes Stepter and gets the win in 51.19. Moline makes a nice push in the last 50 meters to get second. 

Heat 2

Wimbley gets off to a fast start and makes up the stagger on Okolo to her outside. Wimbley and Atkins are at the front at the bell with Okolo several meters back. On the backstrech, Okolo begins to make up ground as Wimbley remains in front. Into the straightaway it's Wimbley with Okolo coming up on the outside. The two are neck-and-neck at the line with Okolo getting the win in 51.16 and Wimbley second in 51.17. Both runners are faster than Francis in heat and will go to Birmingham for World Indoors.

Men’s 1500m | 5:11 PM CT

Bor goes to the front and is keeping the pace honest through 300 meters. The pack is single file with five laps remaining and Erassa is at the front. Chelimo is on Blankenship's shoulder in fourth. Engels sits in fifth and the group starts to bunch up. The 3 WCP runners are at the front with two laps to go. Engels moves into second behind Chelimo and Blankenship is in fourth. Chelimo is in front with 200 meters to go, Engels is in second and Kipchirchir is third on the rail. Kipchirchir loses his momentum around the final curve and Engels and Blankenship are in position to take second behind Chelimo. Chelimo takes the win with Blankenship sneaking past Engels for the second place. 

Women’s 60m Hurdles | 5:24 PM CT

Manning and Harrison both react to the gun well and the two have a slight gap on the rest of the field after the first two hurdles. Nelvis makes a late charge to close the gap and then storms past Manning and Harrison at the line. Nelvis runs 7.70 to break the American record! Harrison holds for second running 7.72, which equals the old American record. Manning runs 7.73 in third. All three women will go to the World Indoor Championships because of the bye that is awarded to the winner of the World Indoor Tour. 

Men’s 60m Hurdles | 5:33 PM CT

Eaton gets a great start and puts the rest of the field under pressure. Merritt is in good position in the middle of the race and looks to be in good form. Eaton maintains his lead and runs a personal best of 7.43. Merritt takes second in 7.46 and Devon Allen had a slow start and is left in the unenviable third position. Eaton's mark was .01 off of Grant Holloway's world leading time.  

Women’s 60m | 5:42 PM CT

There are two scratches a field that was already missing Tori Bowie. Oliver runs a carbon copy of her semifinal heat and motors away from the field. Her lead only grows as she moves down the track. Her finishing time of 7.02 is a personal best and is the fastest in the world this year. Carter also sets a personal best of 7.19 to take second. 

Men’s 60m | 5:52 PM CT

After a false start in the first attempt, Coleman rockets out of the blocks. 30 meters into the race he's well clear of the field, with only Baker remotely close. Coleman has no equal in this race as he crosses the line in a world record time of 6.34. This one will surely be ratified as he takes .05 off Maurice Greene's mark and .03 off what he ran in January. Baker runs a lifetime best of 6.40. That mark ties Baker for 5th best of all-time. Only he, Coleman and Greene have run 6.40 or faster.