Jordan Anthony further established himself as a champion sprinter by winning his first national title as a pro at 60 meters, besting a field including Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles on Sunday at the USA Track and Field Indoor Championships in Staten Island, N.Y.
Anthony, 21, finished in 6.45 seconds, just ahead of 2016 world indoor champion Trayvon Bromell (6.47) and Lyles (6.51), winner in the 100 at the 2024 Paris Olympics and a four-time world titlist in the 200.
“The start of my season, I didn’t have two good races,” Anthony said on the NBC Sports broadcast from the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex. “I needed a little bit of humbling to remember who I am, that dog mentality. Those two races did a lot to me. Everybody said I fell off. I was trying to find out where I was.”
Anthony won NCAA titles in the 60 and 100 in 2025. He played wide receiver at Kentucky (2022), Texas A&M (2023) and Arkansas (2024), totaling 11 receptions for 125 yards and one touchdown in 18 games.
Three weeks ago, he recorded the fastest time in the 60 this year in 6.43. With his win on Sunday, he qualified for the World Indoor Championships on March 20-22 in Poland. A country can qualify up to two spots per individual event and possibly a third if the athlete earned a World Indoor Tour wild card.
Joining Anthony is 800-meter champion Cooper Lutkenhaus, who at 17 became the youngest American since 2019 to win a national track and field crown with his time of 1:46.68. Sean Dolan was second (1:47.16) and Isaiah Harris third (1:47.22).
Lutkenhaus, ranked No. 3 in the world and the under-20 indoor record holder, will run at the indoor world championships while on spring break from his Texas high school.
Nikki Hiltz, 31, brought much more experience to the weekend meet and captured her record-extending seventh straight national title in the 1,500, including sweeping indoor and outdoor crowns in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Hiltz won in 4:11.34, ahead of Gracie Morris (4:11.39) and Lindsey Butler (4:11.52).
The men’s 1,500 race on Sunday had a surprise winner as Nathan Green (3:37.65) edged former University of Washington teammate Luke Houser (3:37.67) for his first national title.
Vincent Ciattei (3:37.73) was third. Yared Nuguse, the 2024 Olympic bronze medalist at this distance, was fourth (3:38.06) and Cole Hocker, the gold medalist in Paris, was fifth (3:38.08). Hocker had won the 3,000 on Saturday, and Nuguse was second.
Jacious Sears captured the women’s 60 in 7:04 seconds for her first national title in the event.
Other women’s champions were Rosey Effiong in the 400 (51.53), Addison Wiley in the 800 (1:59.43), Chloe Timberg in the pole vault (4.70 meters), Jalani Davis in the weight throw (24.84 meters) and Jasmine Moore in the triple jump (13.89 meters), adding to her long jump crown on Saturday.
Other men’s champions were Khaleb McRae in the 400 (45.01 seconds), Elijah Kosiba in the high jump (2.24 meters), Steffin McCarter in the long jump (8.10 meters) and Roger Steen in the shot put (21.81 meters).
–Field Level Media
