New York, NY (January 25, 2020) – Track & field young stars Justyn Knight, Ajeé Wilson and Wadeline Jonathas continued their winning ways Saturday during the third annual Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge at the Armory New Balance Track & Field Center.
Wilson, the American 800m record holder and two-time world championship medalist from Neptune, N.J., found her fast gear halfway during the Women’s 800m to take the lead and cross the finish line with a winning time of 2:02.33 just ahead of Olivia Baker’s 2:02.98.
“We didn’t have any expectations,” Wilson said, “I just raced. I’m running three races this year: today, Millrose and Nationals. I just take things one race at a time and one day at a time.”
Jonathas, who at age 21 finished 4th in last year’s World Championships in the 400m, ran a 51.71 to hold off Trenton, New Jersey high-school running sensation Athing Mu in the Women’s 400m.
Mu, who recently signed with Texas A&M and the national 500m and 600m national record holder, finished runner-up with a 53.14 time.
Jonathas, whose star continues to shine with each performance, said: “This is all happening so fast and unexpectedly.”
Knight took a break from running his usual longer distances and used a strong finishing kick to win the Men’s Mile. Knight, the 2018 NCAA 5,000m indoor champion and 2017 NCAA Cross Country champion at Syracuse, won with a 3:59.32 time. Rob Napolitano was on his heels with a 3:59.68 time.
Knight crossed the finish line with his arms spread.
“I didn’t feel like I unleashed it fully,” said Knight with a smile about his final lap. “I did just enough to secure the wind. (The arms spread) was just for Instagram and I apologized to Rob.
“I really love the mile because when you’re in high school and college, everyone loves to run the mile.”
Speaking of the mile, 25-year-old World Athletic Championships finalist Nikki Hiltz ran nearly a flawless race to claim the Women’s mile. She led most of the way en route to a 4:29.39 and held off BYU’s Whittni Orton, who finished in 4:29.76.
Hiltz will return to The Armory on February 8th to run in the NYRR Millrose Games’ Women’s NYRR Wanamaker Mile. Joining Hiltz at the Millrose Games will be Wilson (Jack & Lewis Rudin Women’s 800m), Knight (Men’s 3,000m) and Jonathas (Women’s 400m).
“I’m looking forward to being back here for the Millrose Games and this was good practice for sure,” Hiltz said. “It’s an Olympic year and I want to make sure I do everything right and do everything right for the Olympic Trials. This was my first official sub-4:30 on the track and that’s hard to do.”
Hiltz wasn’t done running following her latest triumph. She was the pace runner for one of the day’s most-anticipated races, the Women’s 3,000m that featured 2014 Women’s NYRR Wanamaker Mile winner Mary Cain and three-time Nike Cross Nationals high school champion Katelyn Tuohy, both from the New York area. Cain is making a comeback in track & field, while Tuohy is a senior at North Rockland High School and on her way to North Carolina State next fall.
Cain and Tuohy finished in the back of the pack with times of 9:24.38 and 9:32.88, respectively. Nicole Hutchinson of Canada won the 15-woman field that also included last year’s champion Amanada Eccleston and former NCAA champion Emily Lipari. Hutchinson, a 2019 All-American at Villanova, turned in a personal best 8:48.92 for the win.
“Coming back may take a while,” Cain said afterward. “Don’t get me wrong, I would have liked to have won. This is not what my year is about. My year is about outdoor”.
Cain added, “I know how challenging it is. Today was my first meet and I felt a great camaraderie. The really great thing today was lining up on that line and being back in the race.”
For all results of the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge please click HERE.
Honoring the memory of Dr. Norbert Sander Jr, the beloved founder of The Armory Foundation, the event was the perfect preview for the 113th NYRR Millrose Games, which will take place February 8 at The Armory. To learn more about the NYRR Millrose Games please go to www.nyrrmillrosegames.org.
This week’s three-day meet also spotlighted many of the nation’s premier college programs, including Columbia, Brigham Young, Penn State, Wisconsin, UCLA, Princeton, South Carolina and many more.
For more information on Dr. Sander-Columbia Challenge please go to www.ArmoryTrack.com.
Follow The Armory on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @armorynyc, or go to ArmoryTrack.com or Armory.NYC.
About The Armory Foundation
The Armory Foundation is a New York City non-profit institution, with the mission of "Keeping Kids on Track." Each season The Armory – the proud home of the NYRR Millrose Games – hosts more than 100 track & field meets and welcomes more than 220,000 athlete visits. Among its many youth sports and educational programs, including the acclaimed Armory College Prep program, The Armory runs the leading collegiate indoor track meet with the Dr. Sander Invitational Columbia Challenge, and also hosts the largest high school indoor track meets with this year's 26th U. S. Air Force Hispanic Games, The New Balance Games, the New Balance Nationals Indoors, the Energice Coaches Hall of Fame, Marine Corp Holiday Classic and the Colgate Games. The Armory also runs the Columbia & NewYork-Presbyterian Indoor Marathon presented by New York Road Runners, which is the world’s largest indoor marathon relay. The Armory is also the home to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame and dozens of very large education-focused events. For more: Please visit Armory.NYC and ArmoryTrack.com.
