The 2026 NIKE Indoor Nationals, Five TakeAways from Day 1

It is early in the morning, one way or the other. After a busy couple of months covering the global athletics season, your favorite editor/blogger/podcaster finds himself in New York City, the Big Apple for the end of the high school indoor track & field season. 

I am at the NIKE Indoor Nationals, one of the most wonderous examples of how amazing sports can be for modern society. This is not hyperbole. It is my belief that sports, in many cases, is the way that cultures come together to unite society, no matter what is going on around them. 

In our current exciting times, the NIKE Indoor Nationals, at least in my estimation celebrates not many of the finest young athletes in North America, but their coaches, their families and their fans. It also recognizes the hard work and dedication of the groups that put on the event, the N.S.A.F. , the staff and volunteers of the NIKE Track & Field Armory, and the sponsors of this four day extravaganza of those who run, jump and throw. Here are my Five TakeAways of Day 1:

1. My last journey to the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation Indoor Champs, now the NIKE Indoor Nationals, was in 1998, at the Reggie Lewis Center. The late Mike Byrnes and the very much alive Jim Spier cajoled, pleaded and reminded me to get to this event, and, as some have noted, my life was changed. Twenty-eight years later, I still recall a very young Andy Powell, who held the sophomore and junior American bests for the mile, winning the 2 mile and the mile at the meet. Andy Powell represented Oliver Ames High School in MA. In 1999, Andy Powell and Franklin Sanchez dueled over two miles at the Massachuesetts State meet, where they broke the state record of one Alberto Salazar. Andy would matriculate to Stanford, where his team won the 2000 NCAA Outdoor title and 2002 NCAA Indoor title. Now, Andy Powell and his wife, Maurica, steer the University of Washington Huskies (since 2018), now known as #MileCity. Andy Powell coached Joe Waskom, Luke Houser and Nate Green, all NCAA Mile and 1,500m champions. Maurica Powell developed , among others, NCAA champ Sophie O’Sullivan the pole vault phenoms, the Moll sisters. The NSAF changes lives, and has given generations of athletes a chance to see what they could do in the global sport.
2. The NIKE Track & Field Armory is the”House That Norb Built.” For those of you who were born under a dome, Dr Norb Sander was the man who cajoled, begged, pleaded and raised millions of dollars to rebuild the sanctuary of sport that is the NIKE Track & Field Armory into the sanctuary of sport that it is today. Norb was the 1974 NYC Marathon champion, known for his prodigious miles (seriously, like 200 miles a week), a Fordham graduate, who we lost way too early in 2016. There is a bust of Norb at the side of the track. I just saw it Friday, and teared up, but, with tears and a smile. Norb would be so damn happy with all of the good this “Castle of track & field”, as Zakia Haywood  (Director of Special Projects at the Armory Foundation) calls it, has accomplished.
3. The NSAF is all about building the sport of track & field. There is Josh Rowe, executive director since 2022, and the wonderful team at N.S.A.F. Josh Rowe and the iconic Jim Spier (co-founder and Director Emeritus) are among the characters that make the event sparkle. Paul Limmer, a curmudgeonly kind coach and denizen of New Jersey/New York athletics is among the NSAF team, who spend more time that you can imagine, to make the NIKE Indoor, NIKE Outdoor the superb events that they are today. Chelo Canino (Chairman of the Board) told me, as we waited for the bus, that she wants to see this organization grow and build opportunities forever. Dr. Liz Wheeler provides medical counsel, and John Blackburn, key official and a track geek (John revels in providing truly esoteric track information).  Kristi Rieger is Director of Events, managing the craziness that is bringing five thousand plus athletes to the Big Apler, and then, Olympic champion, Dawn Harper-Nelson, Program Manager for the NIKE Elite program, which is powered by NSAF. It was the NSAF that gave us Cooper Lutkenhaus and Jane Hendegren. Seeing long time friend Johnny Truax, who championed NIKE track & field spikes from 2004-2012, among other endeavors, helping Josh, had made my weekend. The NSAF has changed the sport of track and field in this country.
4. What did I find at the NIKE Armory, all of these years later? A facility chock-full of athletes, parents, coaches, fans, media and volunteers and officials, celebrating our sport! In a world fractured by partisan politics, global and regional conflicts, sport is supposed ot unite. In many cases, it does. The NIKE Indoor Champs is an example of how, even in modern times, the sport of track & field can be a leader, in helping people enjoy the simple act of celebrating those who can run, jump and throw a bit farther, sometimes a lot faster than their fellow humans. Since the ancient Olympics, athletes have been celebrated, then, as part of their ancient religion and beliefs. Today, NIKE Indoor Nationals gives us four days to celebrate those with the promise, and drive to excel.
5. From the weight throw, a rather esoteric, and at the same time, fascinating throwing event, that is popular in North America, to the tantalizing 5000 meter races that highlighted day 1, and the new high school record in the Boy’s Triple jump, there was truly something for everyone. From the modest confidence of Blair Bartlett, after her victory, who reminded me of how Averi Lowen helped build the race, to the bravado of Marcelo Mantecon, who took the Boy’s 5,000m with a swift kick and thanked his competitors after the race, this writer was reminded that the truly great moments in sports are not planned, but come about in the confluence of the perfect storm that is the NIKE Indoor Nationals. I am looking forward to three more days in the NIKE Armory!