By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
NEW YORK (26-Jul) — Vince Ciattei and Emily Mackay came to the Toyota USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships here at Icahn Stadium hoping to win national titles. They did that, just not in the event that they expected. The two milers, who missed winning the national 1500m titles yesterday by just fractions of a second, used their superior closing speed to prevail in the 5000m today. Both were pleasantly surprised.
“It was absolutely perfect,” said Mackay, who grew up in Endicott, N.Y., about 150 miles northwest of New York City. She added: “I was surprised with how good I felt today.”
Mackay, 28, the 1500m bronze medalist at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, finished third in yesterday’s 1500m final where she fell hard over the finish line and was only 6/100ths of a second behind winner Nikki Hiltz. When she lined up for today’s race she was delighted that her Paris 2024 Olympic teammate Parker Valby decided to take the pace right from the gun. Valby, who only returned to serious competition this spring after healing from a navicular bone fracture in her left foot last year, locked in at 72 seconds per lap (15:00 pace). That was just right for Mackay.
“As the laps went on, just kept thinking, kind of waiting for it to start hurting,” Mackay told reporters. “I just felt pretty locked-in to the pace. It felt very smooth, kind of just clicking away. It played into my favor a little bit, not being super-fast today.”
Valby, who led Mackay, Shelby Houlihan, Margot Appleton, and Sydney Vaught, remained on the front until there were two laps remaining. Going down the backstretch, Valby dropped the pace just a little and it was enough to shake off both Appleton and Vaught. It was down to three.
“I was just trying to stay patient, calm, and relaxed as long as possible,” Mackay continued. “The excitement was building.”
Houlihan and Mackay dropped Valby going into the final lap (she would finish third in 15:06.25). Houlihan led down the backstretch and going into the final bend Mackay moved out to lane two and passed Houlihan. She kept pressing all the way to the line, completing a 61.9-second final lap to clinch her first outdoor national title in 14:55.82. Houlihan, who has 14 national titles to her credit, got second in 14:57.88.
Mackay said she had recovered well from her two 1500m races, and that was the key to running well today.
“I’m very fortunate that both rounds of the fifteen were pretty tactical,” Mackay explained. “I kind of only had to run a 400 and an 800. So coming into today I was a little worried about how my body would feel after the fall I took in the fifteen yesterday across the finish line, but everything was fine and I had my legs today. I was super thankful for that.”
Ciattei, who finished second to Nathan Green in the 1500m yesterday by 5/100ths of a second, had more rivals to manage than Mackay did. His race was super-slow (through 3000 meters the field was only on pace to run 14:32), and the lead changed hands several times. It wasn’t until there were three laps to go that the pace got serious when Oklahoma State athlete Ryan Schoppe dropped a 63-second lap. Ciattei’s Under Armour Dark Sky Distance teammate Kasey Knevelbaard was the next to surge, running 59.4 seconds for the next lap. Ciattei was back in 12th place and had to react.
“When I saw the gaps forming I was like, OK you know, I’ve got to stay awake, I’ve got to stay engaged,” Ciattei said in his post-race interview. “When my teammate Kasey sort of made a great move there and really opened things up, I was really able to lock-in and see him going. Like OK, I’ve got to stick with him because I know how capable he is.”
Schoppe managed to hold the lead to the bell, and Ciattei moved up to fifth. His key rivals, Cooper Teare and Sam Prakel, were right there and both were capable of kicking hard. Knevelbaard was also in the thick of it, and took the lead with 200 meters to go. Ciattei went for his top gear and hoped it would be enough.
It was. He closed in 54.36 seconds and Teare (54.89) and Prakel (54.79) just couldn’t match Ciattei’s speed. His winning time of 13:46.75 was the slowest for these championships since Ryan Hill won in 13:50.69 in 2015. Ciattei said that losing yesterday’s race was his key to getting motivated for today.
“When you lose by five one hundredths of a second, it was like really close,” Ciattei said. He continued: “So, the best way to fix that is to come and give all I got today. I was happy to be able to do that.”
Teare took second in 13:46.88 and Prakel got third in 13:46.93. Like Ciattei, Prakel had hoped to win the 1500m, but did not get out of the prelims. He got some satisfaction with his bronze medal in the longer event today.
“I felt like I was right at home with 1200 to go,” said Prakel. “It was a 1500m race now.”
Double-Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher chose not to run today after his second place finish in the 10,000m on Thursday.
The 800m finals for men and women were also held this afternoon, and in the men’s race reigning world indoor champion Cooper Lutkenhaus put on a show. The 17 year-old from Justin, Texas, took the lead from Sean Dolan just before the 600 meter mark, then motored alone to the finish line in a snappy 1:43.48. Hobbs Kessler did his best to chase down his younger rival, but ran out of gas midway down the homestretch and was passed by Wes Ferguson who took second in 1:44.55. Kessler, a Paris 2024 Olympian, had to settle for third in 1:45.00.
“My plan was to move at 200 (meters to go),” said Lutkenhaus who just finished the 11th grade and will be headed back to his high school in three weeks. He continued: “So that’s what I did today.”
Today’s race completed a remarkable 12 months of racing for Lutkenhaus. He took second at the 2025 USATF Outdoor Championships, running a world under-18 best of 1:42.27. He competed in the Tokyo World Athletics Championships as the youngest-ever American to make a world team. He won the 2026 Millrose Games 600m, the 2026 USATF Indoor Championships 800m, the World Athletics Indoor Championships 800m, and the Wanda Diamond League 800m races in both Stockholm and Oslo. He doesn’t turn 18 until December 19.
“I just knew with this being my last race (this year), basically six months to my next indoor season, I was like I really want to end it on a bang,” Lutkenhaus said. “You know, when we hit month three or four I’m going to be pretty sad just training all the time. So, I just really wanted to come out here and give it everything I can. I’m not going to have an effort like this for a while.”
Nia Akins, who had already won four national titles, added another one in the women’s 800m. The 28 year-old led four other women under the two-minute barrier, winning with a smooth final 100 meters in 1:59.25. She was only in eighth place with 200 meters to go, and just trusted that she would have the strength to finish well.
“There are so many amazing women who can all kick,” said Akins, who said that she got additional motivation from today’s race after reading a bible verse last night about two Disciples running to Jesus. “Everybody can kick. I didn’t know this was going to happen. It could have gone any way. I’m just shocked. I was like, there’s an opportunity for me to run faster, it’s possible. That’s all I needed to believe to kick.”
Reigning national champion Roisin Willis led the race through 400m in an honest 58.55. She was followed by Addy Wiley, doubling-back from yesterday’s 1500m final, and Meghan Hunter. Willis still had the lead at 600m (1:30.11), but would soon begin to tie up. Remarkably, Akins overtook nearly the entire field to emerge victorious. Wiley got second in 1:59.40, Hunter third in 1:59.67, and Willis fourth in 1:59.68. Sixteen year-old high-schooler Paige Sheppard, who will represent the United States at the World Athletics U20 Championships next month, finished ninth and last in 2:02.78.
Wiley, 22, was the only woman to complete both rounds of the 800m and 1500m, and she managed to finish second in both.
“I am somewhat, mostly satisfied,” Wiley told Race Results Weekly, choosing her words carefully. “I’d say I was satisfied if I had won one gold. I hold my head high with two silvers, but there’s the competitor in me and that competitor always wants to win.”
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The four-day Toyota USATF Outdoor Track & Field Championships concluded today with the largest crowd of the four days on Sunday. Although official attendance figures were not readily available, the stadium was nearly full today based on a visual assessment, and the covered stands hold 5000 people. This is the first time that the national championships have been held in New York City since 1991 when it was held at the since-demolished Downing Stadium which was also on Randall’s Island. The site for the 2027 USATF Championships has not yet been selected.
PHOTO: Cooper Lutkenhaus winning the men’s 800m at the 2026 Toyota Outdoor Track & Field Championships in New York City (Photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
PHOTO: Emily Mackay winning the 5000m at the 2026 Toyota Outdoor Track & Field Championships in New York City (Photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
PHOTO: Nia Akins winning the 800m at the 2026 Toyota Outdoor Track & Field Championships in New York City (Photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
PHOTO: Vince Ciattei winning the 5000m at the 2026 Toyota Outdoor Track & Field Championships in New York City (Photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)
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