ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Cole Hocker has been on track and field's world stage for so long that skeptics forget he's only 22 years old.
He urges them to be on guard this Olympic year.
In a masterful performance at the U.S. Indoor Championships, Hocker won in a landslide and set a meet record in the 1,500-meter run Saturday in Albuquerque at an elevation of 4,959 feet.
This was his second victory in the 1,500m indoor championship and his first in three years. The Cathedral High School graduate ran a time of 3:37.51, breaking his own record of 3:39.09 set in 2022 and winning the race by 1.25 seconds.
“It's not often that you finish a race and feel like you executed 100 percent of your plan,” Hocker said. “That was pretty close.”
On a day that featured two of the sport's superstars in Noah Lyles and Ryan Krauser, Hocker was as impressive as anyone. Hocker will be looking to join the other two on the podium at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, March 1-3, and at the Paris Olympics in August.
Hocker will be one of four Indiana players on Team USA.
Others include Notre Dame's Yared Nguse, who won the 3,000 meters Friday night, as well as Indianapolis resident Allie Wilson and Huntington University's Addie Wiley, who went 1-2 in the 800 meters Saturday. There is.
A fifth Hoosier, Indiana State University graduate Erin Reese, won the 20-pound weight throw, ranking second all-time. This event is not included in the world schedule.
Hocker ran the final 800 in 1:52.04 at a modest pace in a crowded field of 12 cars.
20-year-old Hobbs Kessler took second place with a time of 3:38.76 to earn Glasgow's other spot. Henry Wynn was third in 3:38.81 and Hocker's training partner Cooper Teer was fourth in 3:38.99. Defending champion Sam Prakel was fifth in 3:40.04.
Hocker stayed near the front as planned, took off as planned, and probably finished better than planned. He said he felt like he did when he ran 3:53.71 miles to win by 2.2 seconds at the 2021 NCAA Championships.
High altitude? He says he can endure anywhere for 3 and a half minutes.
“That might have been naive,” he said. “But I think that was the case today.
“Once I got the lead, I knew I couldn't let it go.”
Kyle Marber, a former 3:52 miler and current sports personality, called Hocker a five-tool miler. He rides comfortably in the pack, winds up from the front, is strong at top speed, and changes pace effortlessly.
Six days earlier, Hocker broke the American record in the two-mile run in New York with a time of 8:05.70, but finished third. Still, it highlighted his fitness level.
Hocker has reunited with former Oregon State coach Ben Thomas and is training in Blacksburg, Virginia. Hocker said he and his coach reviewed footage from the past five championship races in Albuquerque in preparation for this race.
Hocker placed sixth at the 2021 Olympics and seventh at the 2023 World Championships. He has repeatedly asserted himself as a world-class medal contender, and there was no reason to dispute that in Albuquerque.
He said his confidence increased “knowing that I can win races and run the way I want, even if the conditions are different than what I'm used to.”
Reese and Wilson operate at a world-class level despite holding down full-time jobs.
Reese, 28, came up less than a foot underweight at 84 feet, 5 inches to the world record of 85 wins and 1/4 set by Deanna Price here last year. Reese is a former NCAA Hammer competition runner-up and will aim to compete in Paris.
Reese is a volunteer assistant coach for the Sycamores and works full time as a mental health case manager.
Wilson, a 27-year-old native of Wallingford, Pennsylvania, graduated from Monmouth, New Jersey, to become a professional runner. She recently moved her base from Atlanta to Indianapolis, following the coaching of 10,000-meter Hoosier Olympians Amy Begley and Andrew Begley.
Wilson does not have a sponsor, but she is employed as a nanny, she said.
“Now I just want my name to be out there,” she said. “Maybe someone will come and pick me up.”
She picked it up on the last step and passed Wylie for the win 2:00.63 to 2:00.70. Wiley, 20, is a new Adidas pro after winning eight NAIA titles in 2023 with Huntington.
“I felt like I was really in control of the race,” she said. “Unfortunately, in her last five meters we started having problems.”
Thirty minutes later, Wylie started the 1,500m, but retired with just over three laps remaining.
“I want to push myself,” she said. “I want to do something that no one has ever done before.”
Krauser set a tournament record as the world's best shot putter with 74 wins, 9 draws and 3/4. Lyles defeated world record holder Christian Coleman in the 60-meter dash, 6.43 to 6.44.
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