Photo Credit: Laurel Wassner/MileSplit New York
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We're not even a full week into 2026, and the national leaderboards are already constantly being rewritten by the nation's best athletes.
After a relaxing break ahead of what's sure to be an exciting indoor season, these five athletes took advantage of early-season meets and got themselves off to a great start.
The National Performer of the Week poll will close at 5 p.m. CT on Thursday, January 8, and the winner will be announced shortly after.
Check out the first batch of nominees for National Performer of the Week!
National Boys Indoor Performer of the Week (Dec. 29-Jan. 4)
This Week's Nominees:
Maggie McCormick, Bay Shore (N.Y): It was a busy but speedy few days for the future Florida Gator, as she won the mile at The Armory Hispanic Games last Friday and the 600m at the Section XI Girls Crossover D on Sunday. The senior won the former in a new indoor PB of 4:48, her second time breaking 4:50 indoors, and eight seconds faster than her time at this same meet a year ago. In her first 600m since 2024, McCormick clocked 1:40.55, nearly a five-second improvement on her previous best.
Egypt Bolan, Lindenwold (N.J.): In her first meet of the new year, Bolan left Toms River, New Jersey, with a new PB in both the 55m and the high jump. The senior ran 7.57 and cleared 5-10, with the latter being the national lead. After an outdoor campaign where she cleared 5-10.75 to cap off a dominant junior year, Bolan is already two inches higher than her best clearance of the 2025 indoor season. With a little more than two months left before nationals, Bolan is already tied for the fifth-best mark in state history and is two inches shy of matching the 40-year-old record.
Grace Bethel, Male (Ky.): Staying perfect through both rounds of the 60m and 200m at the KYA HS Indoor Classic, Bethel shattered her indoor bests and lowered her 200m outdoor PB by over a third of a second. Bethel ran 7.38 and 23.78 en route to the sweep, sitting No. 2 and No. 3 in both sprints nationwide. The junior also broke both Kentucky indoor state records, becoming the first ever to break 7.4 and the second to break 24 seconds.
Apria Smith, Chantilly (Va.): For the fourth time in a row and fourth time since December 20, Smith was the best triple jumper on the runway, this time picking up the win at the Lake Braddock Indoor Invitational in Fairfax, Virginia. Smith won the event by over six feet, and is one of just 12 girls to clear the 40-0 barrier so far this season, and is one of the 42 girls in Virginia history to accomplish the feat indoors.
Sloan Wasserman, John Jay-Cross River (N.Y.): The Boston College commit got her indoor season started off on the right foot, winning the 1500m and 3000m at the Section 1 League Champs #1. In her first race since the NY Federation Championships in November, the reigning cross country state champion handily took down the field, running 4:50 and 9:47, winning both races by 16 seconds and 59 seconds, respectively. One of the top distance runners New York has to offer, this is just the beginning for Wasserman.