* Brian DiCola becomes the 2023 New Balance Nationals Outdoor 5K champion
Photo Credit: Ryan Comstock / MileSplit
PHILADELPHIA -- Thursday marked the beginning of New Balance Nationals Outdoor, a meet spanning four days at Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.
Don't worry.
MileSplit has you covered on the ground and on-site with live event-by-event coverage. We'll have recaps, photos, interviews and more following each day of action.
Below, check out our roundup from the events that took place on Day 1.
We'll update our notebook throughout the day and will detail results as they happen in Philadelphia.
Be sure to also check out the meet hub page for more information.
Related Links:
New Balance Nationals Outdoor Meet Page
What To Know For Day 1 At New Balance Nationals Outdoor
The conservative start was nothing new for Brian DiCola.
The Hatboro-Horsham (PA) graduate had developed a bit of a habit in recent months, as he liked to open big races with measured paces. On Thursday, that theme continued.
DiCola opened the championship boys 5,000 meters, the first day of action at New Balance Nationals Outdoor, in 15th place.
He stayed there through 600 meters.
But nearing the 1,600m mark, he slowly made his way toward the front, measuring himself in Lane 2 before he began to make his first big surge.
From there, it was the 'DiColinator's' race to win.
The Penn State recruit put down a 68-second lap and then followed with a 67, which developed a five-second gap.
"I was like, 'All right, I'm trying to get a time still,' so I thought if I tried to take it and take it hard, that I would be able to maybe drop most of the field," he said. "And that was my plan. I dropped them pretty quickly. And then I maintained a seven-second gap the rest of the race."
DiCola then steadied, working through the next 1,600m before putting down another hammer with 800m to go. He authored a 2:16 final 800m to surge to the victory in 14:26.72, which was an improvement on his sixth-place finish from a year ago when he ran 14:44.35.
His performance equals U.S. No. 5 on the national leaderboard.
Christopher Sullivan had closing speed as he quickly closed the gap to 14:29.94 with a 59.20 last lap. Samuel Burgess finished third in 14:33.41.
Potomac School's Charlie Ortmans was fourth in 14:35.74.
* Kaitlyn Estep clocked a 5:01.50 to win the middle school girls mile
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Middle School Boys Mile: The top three finishers in the middle school boys mile came from the third and final section as two boys were able to dip under 4:40. Rowan Carr clocked a 4:33.56 to win the title while Jack MacGregor was second in 4:37.68. Coming in third was Cole Kober who ran a 4:42.70.
Middle School Girls Mile: Two girls broke through the 5:10 barrier in the mile. Kaitlyn Estep grabbed the title with a 5:01.50 best and Mackenzie Skelly was the runner up in 5:04.42. Coming in third was Rachel Riley who clocked 5:11.22.
Freshman Boys Mile: There were nine boys who ran sub 4:30 in the mile, including Ryan Tuohy, the brother of three-time collegiate record holder Katelyn Tuohy. Caleb Winders and Michael Gomes finished first and second in the fourth heat in 4:24.36 and 4:25.07 respectively. Benjamin Berman, who won the third section, finished third overall in 4:27.99. Tuohy ran across the finish line as the ninth-fastest freshman with his 4:29.93 performance.
Freshman Girls Mile: Payton Meineke showcased her finishing speed as she ran the fastest time of the day in the mile with a 5:01.14. Molly Barber came up second with a 5:02.20 and Carolina Areheart was third in 5:03.00.
Middle School Boys 400m: 51.71 was Jalele Williams' winning time in the 400m Thursday evening. His performance ties him for US No. 36 amongst the middle school boys. Robert Hobson clocked 52.98 for second and Ethan Gallagher was third with 53.09.
Middle School Girls 400m: From lane nine, Janae Coleman of Motor City TC was the only girl to run faster than 57 seconds in Franklin Field. Coleman, who was the runner up at the AAU Junior Olympics last year in this event, sprinted to a new personal best of 56.42 for the victory. Zion Bullard finished second in 57.45. While she won heat No. 8, Ava Cavanaugh settled for third overall with a 57.57 best.
* Nia Armstrong reacts to winning the middle school girls 100mH title in 14.22
Photo Credit: John Davern / Pennsylvania MileSplit
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Middle School Girls 100mH: From start to finish, seventh grader Nia Armstrong was able to be in full control of the 100mH final. She clocked a 14.22 to grab the title, while Amarah Crabbe was second in 14.58 and in third was Eleanor Kazanjan with a 14.79.
Middle School Boys 100mH: It was a sprint to the finish as James A. Hawkins Jr. closed with astonishing speed late in the race. The seventh grader finished with a winning time of 13.33. Fayden Brown was overtaken the last couple of hurdles and would settle for second with a 13.49. Chase Cobb will finish third overall with a 13.57 best.
Middle School Boys 100m: Izayah Vickers of Florida won the 100m title with a wind-legal time of 11.31 (+0.3). Brodie Hopkins was second in 11.47 and Connor Nealon was third in 11.55. Seven boys in this final broke through the 12 second threshold.
Middle School Girls 100m: Skylar Cunningham dropped 11.97 (+0.5) to win the title and became the only middle school girl to dip under 12 seconds in the final. About two-tenths behind Cunningham was Sacori Gardner who was second in 12.21 and Parker Coes was third in 12.23.
* Monroe-Woodbury (NY) grabbed the 4xmile New Balance Nationals Outdoor title with a 17:29.49
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Boys Championship 4xMile: It was a race to the finish but Monroe-Woodbury (NY) ended up as the national champions with a 17:29.49 to Coe Brown Academy's (NH) 17:30.12. Ohio's Marlington finished as the bronze medalist with a 17:37.10.
GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP 4xMILE
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What's new?
The Cuthbertson dominated during the championship 4xmile on Thursday, lapping the entire field en route to their new meet record of 20:05.91.
The quartet of Justine Preisano, Alyssa Preisano, Stella Kermes, and Charlotte Bell improved on their second-place finish from indoor nationals.
Ann Arbor Pioneer (MI) was 21 seconds behind with a 20:26.23 for second and Kentucky's Dupont Manual was anchored by Jessica Secor who crossed the line in third with a 20:31.31.
Girls Championship 5K: A pack of five ended up being a pack of three. Then there were two as Rose Coats and Hannah Rae Shaffer battled it out Thursday under the lights. In the final 400m, Shaffer made her move and Coats wasn't able to respond. Shaffer, the Cardinal Gibbons (NC) sophomore, broke the tape in 16:37.73 while Coats was third in 16:42.41. Natalie McLean was the third and final girl under 17 minutes as she crossed the finish line in 16:54.75.
Middle School Girls Shot Put: Ava Ruff takes the victory as she was the only girl who threw over 40 feet. Her best throw of the day was 42-1.25. Laila Atkins was second with a throw of 39-0.25 and Elizabeth Watkin earned the bronze with a 36-11.50 toss.
Middle School Girls Long Jump: Amarah Crabbe was able to leap to gold as she won the long jump title in 18-5.25. It was a close battle for second and third as Zion Bullard and Parker Coes put out solid performances. Bullard finished with the silver with a 17-11 leap and Coes with third in 17-10.25.
Middle School Boys Shot Put: It was a competitive competition in the boys shot put. Braeden Dushkin was able to grab the title with a 52-5.25 best, while Ryan Zats threw 52-4.75 for second. Michael James Jr. was the third boy to throw over 40 feet as he earned the bronze with a 45-5.75 toss.
Middle School Boys Long Jump: On Chandler Johnson's final jump, he put together the gold-winning leap of 20-7. Kendall Payne was able to hold onto his second-place finish with a 20-1.75. On his sixth and final jump, Brodie Hopkins jumped 20-1.50 for bronze.