The goal is to get this newsletter out in the beginning of the week so you can start your week off with some fresh D3 knowledge. This week, you’ll have to end your week with some fresh D3 knowledge.

First let’s hear from Emily from her experience at Millrose:

Eagles head coach and Mount Union alum Nick Sirianni wasn’t the only former D3 athlete on national television in a sporting event this past weekend.

Though I can’t hold a candle to something as legendary as a Super Bowl victory, I did get the opportunity to be a small part of something particularly special in the sport of track and field, an event with history that dates back 117 years, twice as long as that of the Super Bowl: the Millrose Games. As the official pacer for athletes who competed in the women’s Wanamaker Mile, I was honored to participate in what has become the world’s best indoor mile race of the year.

Named after Wanamaker department store owner Rodman Wanamaker, the Wanamaker Mile began in 1926, 18 years after the very first Millrose Games (it was previously a 1.5-mile race) and 12 years after the event moved from a crowded local armory to Madison Square Garden. The women’s Wanamaker Mile began in 1982 with the victory of the legendary Mary Decker, who paved the way for the athletes with whom I was escorted up to the track.

Wanamaker, a Philadelphia native who passed away in 1928, would have had one hell of a weekend in the present day between the two world records set at this year’s Millrose Games and a Super Bowl victory for Philadelphia home team the Eagles, who were founded five years after Wanamaker’s passing.

Anyone who has ever been to the Millrose Games, which moved from MSG to the Nike Track and Field Center at the Armory in 2012, knows that it is unlike any track meet that exists. Tickets sell out well before meet day, which makes the venue stuffed to the gills with passionate track fans. VIP sections are equipped with an open bar, deluxe food, and swag bags, which include generous Nike gift cards and more. Plus, you’re guaranteed a front row seat to witnessing the world’s top track and field talent and, if you’re lucky, a world record or two. Even if you’re seated in the balcony, which encircles and overlooks the newly resurfaced banked blue oval, you’re promised a unique and intimate view of all the action the day has to offer.

From a participant perspective, these fans are what make the atmosphere electric. As soon as you walk into the track, people are hanging over the edge of the balcony railings yelling the names of their favorite athletes. Heather MacLean, Georgia Bell, and Nikki Hiltz, who eventually finished top three, were some of the fan’s favorite names to yell their support for. I smiled every time I recognized the influence the athletes around me had on those in the stands physically looking down at them while metaphorically looking up to them.

I smiled even bigger when I heard the cheers from my own home crowd in the stands–Central Park Track club training partners, Atalanta board members, high school athletes and more, not to mention the many cheering through the television at home (including my cat, who apparently watched). It was an honor to represent not only all those who have been a part of my running journey but the D3 community through pacing such a wide-reaching and prestigious event in track and field.

As the last event of the day, the meet paused for the national anthem ahead of both miles and before we were announced to run through a line of sparks flying up from the ground (my first ever spark machine stride was unforgettable!) I lined up in the outside waterfall alongside four Olympians: MacLean, Elise Cranny, Hiltz, and Bell. When the gun went off, I was too focused on hitting the pace to take in how incredibly stacked the field of milers behind me was.

The task of the pacer in races like this one is to string the field out at a record-setting pace that is run as evenly as possible. Sometimes, however, the field has other plans. Winner Bell told Runnerspace in a post-race interview that her goal was to forget about the pace, relax, and run the race. In this case, the win was more important to athletes than the time, which is one of the choices we make every time we compete in professional races. With Gold-level meet prize money and rankings on the line, Bell and the rest of the 2025 field chose tactics. Elle St. Pierre’s 2024 Wanamaker Mile and American indoor mile record of 4:16.41 will live to see another day, but this year’s field produced new indoor PRs for Hiltz and Bell and a new high school national record for Sadie Engelhardt, who ran 4:27.97 to break Mary Cain’s 2013 indoor high school record.

Minutes later, I got to stand trackside and witness the incredible men’s mile world record set by Yared Nuguse. I watched the previous world record get broken in Boston by Yomif Kejelcha in 2019, and it was hard then to believe I’d ever see another runner like him. The way Nuguse put himself in the front position and held it until the race’s very end speaks volume to his ability and grittiness. It was a moment I’ll never forget.

Moments like the ones at Millrose Games remind me how special of a time it is to be breaking barriers in track and field. It’s happening from the high school level to the pros, and it’s paving the way for the future of track and field to elevate toward higher jumps, faster times, and farther leaps and throws. It happened in our own division over the weekend when UW-La Crosse duo Lauren Jarrett and Sam Blaskowski lowered their 60-meter D3 national records to 7.34 and 6.62, respectively.

Winners from this weekend like the Eagles, Nuguse, Jarrett, and Blaskowski now stand in front of a long line of greats before them. The Green Bay Packers won the first Super Bowl so the Philadelphia Eagles could win the 59th. James J. Connolly won the first Wanamaker Mile so Yared Nuguse could win the 99th. What will the dynasty of Jarrett and Blaskowski do for the future of D3?

Just as I got to witness 2025 Millrose Games greatness from my vantage point as a pacer, we as lifelong fans of D3 get to find out as we also become a part of its history in the making.

Results that Caught our Eye

60m Records

The UW-La Crosse indoor track was the place to be for short sprinters last weekend. Sam Blaskowski and Lauren Jarrett lowered their own 60m records on their home track. Jarrett previously set the 60m record two weeks ago running 7.37. She shaved off another 0.03s to run 7.34 and hits the minimum time for USA Indoor Championships. The reigning 60m champion looks to be on a different level this season.

Blaskowski made his season debut in the 60m and immediately broke his own record. Last year he went 6.64, now he ran 6.62. He’s becoming very close to being the first D3 man to break 6.6 in the 60m.

With all this heat coming from UW-La Crosse, could Noah Droddy (2:09 marathoner) get under 7.50 if he went and trained in La Crosse for two months? Let us know what you think.

Alexis Boykin #2 All-Time Weight Throw

This weekend she added to her collection of All-Time best throws with this one landing at 20.66m.

She becomes the 5th woman in D3 to throw it over 20m and just the second woman to have multiple throws over 20m!

She now just sits 1.5 feet from the record.

Since 2023 Outdoors, her worst finish at a national meet has been 4th. She has five national titles in that span and is closing in on the record. She has been utterly dominant in the throws and we expect that to continue the rest of the year.

Flat Track Heroes

First off, nothing against Nazareth College. We’re excited to be heading to your campus for this awesome national meet. BUT, the flat track tax is ravaging this division. Converting times backwards is backwards to me but hey, we’re just gonna enjoy pre converted times. The last few weeks we saw some flat track heroes throw down on those tight turns that make you lay on your foam roller a little extra after the race.

Grant Matthai - UWL - 8:06.92 - Fastest 3k Flat Track time ever
Jules Bleskoski - RPI - 9:38.80 3k
Penelope Greene - SUNY Geneseo - 9:41.73 3k
Kiera Rogan - Hamilton - 9:42.20 3k
Gillian Roeder - MIT - 9:42.26 3k
Isaac vanWestrienen - Cornell - 4:07.52 mile
Cale Schoemann - UWL - 4:08.15 mile
Lance Sobaski - Wartburg - 4:08.79 mile
Jayden Zywicki - 4:09.39 mile
Megan Bell - Rochester - 55.68 400m
Basheer Alramahi - John Carroll - 47.66 400m
Collin Conzemius - UWL - 47.89 400m

Christian Di Nicolantonio soars again

The pole vaulting king from Catholic University increased his national lead to 0.15m after jumping 5.25m or 17 feet, 2.75 inches. It’s a personal best for him and about two inches higher than when he won the outdoor meet. This moves him to 13th All-Time.

Christian finished 3rd last indoor season and seems to be on the right path to claim his first indoor title.

BIG WEEKEND

Massive weekend for track and field. Headlined by BU’s Valentine Meet, there will be great competition across the nation. Here are a few D3 folks to look for at BU:

Friday Men:

60mH: Jamir Brown - Rowan, Kwaku Nkrumah - Rowan, Marquis Young - Rowan

400m: Truman Williams - Bates

800: Julian Aske - NYU, Dawit Dean - Emory, Oscar Roering - Pomona, Tor Hotung-Davidsen - Lynchburg

Mile: Ziyad Hassan - MIT, Gabe Nichols - Carleton, Lance Sobaski - Wartburg, Nicholas Lyndaker - St. Lawrence

3k: Chasen Hunt - Lynchburg, Emmanuel LeBlond - Johns Hopkins, Jack Loughery - RPI

5k: Vince Simonetti - RPI, Chuckie Namiot - Williams, Quinn White - Pomona, Cameron Hatler - Pomona Ryan Tobin - NYU, Grahm Touhy Gaydos - Williams

4x4: Rowan, Tufts

Saturday Women:

60m: Khia Laster - Buffalo State, Aynisha Mcquillar - Ithaca

60mH: Eliza Cardwell - Amherst

200m: Nancy Nyadongo - Goucher, Madison Miles - Mount Union, Abby Collier - Baldwin Wallace, Khia Laster - Buffalo State

400m: Fiona Mejico - Colby, Madison Miles - Mount Union, Abby Collier - Baldwin Wallace, Meghan Frazier - Wittenberg, Brynn Mooney - SUNY G, Kaitlyn Ewald - Colby, Nora Chen - Rochester, Kristina Pizzi - Colby

800m: Megan Bell - Rochester, Tanise Thorton Fillyaw - Goucher, Annie Huang - Johns Hopkins, Kelty Oaster - Elizabethtown, Mary Mason - Mount Union, Zoe Marcus - Amherst

Mile: Haley Schoenegge - Vassar, Erin vanHousen - RPI, Julia Schor - Amherst, Rachel Brennan - Gordon, Flora Biro - Amherst, Addy Parrott - Central, Amalia Dorion - Suffolk, Johns Hopkins crew: Mackenzie Setton, Phoebe White, Harrinee Senthilkumar, Emma Kothari

3k: Janie Cooper. - NYU, Addy Parrott - Central, Gabriella Nye - Widener, Rujuta Sane - MIT, Johns Hopkins Crew: Adriana Catalano, Carter Brotherton, Elena Blodnikar, Emma Puetz

5k: Audrey Maclean - Middlebury, Grace Hadley - Unattached, Penelope Greene - SUNY G, Jules Bleskoski - RPI, Kate Cochran - NYU, Lilly Fowler Conner - SUNY G, Allison Dell - Lynchburg

4x4: MIT, Williams, Rochester, Johns Hopkins, SUNY G

Don’t need BU where we’re going

In Wisconsin, UW-Whitewater is hosting the Midwest Elite Meet. They’re having the 5ks on Friday night and take a look at this heat on the Men’s side. It features 8 men from last year’s 5k indoor 5k final.

Podcast

We sat down with Landen Liu after he ran 6.67. He talks to us about embracing his competition, not letting pressure get to him, and how he made biomechanical changes to his form which led to big breakthrough.

T-shirts

We’re still selling t-shirts but we’re getting close to running out. Candidly, I would like the space back in my house so please buy one. Seriously, they’re everywhere. If you enjoyed the content we’ve put out think of this as a donation and you get a shirt in return. Buy them here.

60m Records + Emily in Millrose