* Kate Putman competed in her first 800m of the indoor season at adidas Track Nationals
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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- After competing at New Balance Nationals Indoor last weekend, a glaring omission remained on Kate Putman's resume.
She hadn't run an 800m all season. In fact, she hadn't run an open race at the distance indoors since 2021.
"I just wanted to see what I could do on a banked open 800m," the Cicero North-Syracuse senior said.
Lucky for her, that opportunity opened up at the adidas Track Nationals.
Putman, who had been consistently splitting 2:09 on 4x800 relays over the indoor season, took the race from the gun and came through the 400m with a 1:03.57 split.
"On a relay, I have the adrenaline that I want to do this for my girls," Putman said. "Out here, it's mostly that I have to do this for myself. I went into it with the mindset of just acting like you're getting a baton and run. It all worked out."
Putman broke the tape in 2:08.92 to set a personal best and move up the national leaderboard with the eighth-fastest performance of the season.
She's looking forward to competing in the 1,500m and the steeplechase outdoors before heading to NC State in the fall.
* Kate Putman after her 800m national title at adidas Track Nationals
