Photo: Ryan Comstock/MileSplit
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What. A. Weekend.
From the 'City of Brotherly Love' to 'Tracktown USA, ' the nation's distance stars were on a mission throughout the 2025 national championship weekend, as longstanding national records were shattered and statements were made.
However, the final edition of the COROS Distance Athlete of the Week sports a pair of stars from New Balance Nationals Outdoor, as Eastern Regional (N.J.) mid-distance standout Natalie Dumas brought out the brooms at Franklin Field, and Bloomington North's (Ind.) Caleb Winders won a national title in the penultimate heat.
*Previous nominees for COROS Distance Athlete of the Week can not be selected a second time.
CLASS OF 2026
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The superstar junior was inevitable in Philadelphia, completing the unprecedented triple, winning gold in the 400m, 400mH, and 800m. Dumas rewrote the record books as well, setting a new state record in the 400m (51.14) and 800m (2:00.11), and moving up to No. 2 in the 400mH (55.99), behind the legendary Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
Dumas is the third-fastest junior in prep history over 400m and the quickest since 2012, as well as the No. 2 junior in the 400mH and the 800m. The multi-faceted track star also moved up to No. 5 in all three events in the national record books, solidifying herself as one of the best of the best with her senior year still ahead of her.
Dumas is set to run at the Toyota U.S. Championships at Hayward Field later next month, where she'll go up against the pros in the 400m and 400mH.
As the junior stepped up to the line at New Balance Nationals, he hadn't broken 1:50 since he ran 1:49.74 at this meet a year ago. After the gun went off in the penultimate section, Winders took it out in 52.91 before closing in 53.95, breaking the tape in 1:46.85. Not only was this over a three-second PB, but it was also a new state record, breaking Center Grove standout Austin Mudd's 14-year-old record of 1:48.09.
Winders also made history at the national level, breaking Pete Richardson's (Berkeley, Calif.) junior class record of 1:47.31 from 1981. He ranks No. 7 all-time and is one of just eight high schoolers to have ever run sub-1:47.