USATF Women’s 1500 — Hiltz Expected Tactical Race & Aced It

WITH FAMED FRONTRUNNER Elle St. Pierre on maternity leave, the expectation was that this year’s 1500 final would be a tactical affair. And that’s exactly how the race developed. The end result, however, mirrored the last five indoor and outdoor national title races, with Nikki Hiltz once again kicking late for the win.

“It kind of played out exactly how I thought it would, honestly,” said Hiltz, who switched coaches, from Mike Smith to Juli Benson, during the winter. “I was going to be shocked if we broke 4:00 today. I knew it was going to be tactical. No one in that field likes to lead. I know my competitors, I know what everyone likes to do.”

There were no major casualties in the heats, held two days earlier and won by Hiltz (4:05.99), Sinclaire Johnson (4:07.54) and ’24 Olympian Emily Mackay (4:04.32).

In the final, Laurie Barton moved to the front on the first curve, and led through 400 in a tepid 67.88, with Johnson right behind and Hiltz running 3rd alongside Rachel McArthur. Mackay, annoyed by the jostling in the pack, moved up to 3rd at 700. Barton continued to lead at 800 (2:15.90) with a tightly bunched pack following.

Johnson, who ran a mile in 4:16.32 on July 20 to break Hiltz’s American Record, moved to the front at the bell (3:04.30). As the field desperately fought for position, Riley Chamberlain got tangled up and fell to the track. Helen Schlachtenhaufen tripped over her and also went down, face-planting on the track. Looked scary and painful; no serious injury, fortunately.

Though Hiltz was boxed in at the bell, they felt like they were in excellent position and calmly managed to pull alongside Johnson down the backstretch. Behind them, MacLean moved into 3rd at the top of the final bend, with Mackay on her heels as they pulled away from Dani Jones.

Johnson desperately held onto the lead, but with 50 to go Hiltz surged to the front and got the win in 4:03.15 off a 58.67 final lap.

“That was probably one of my best executed races ever, so I’m really proud of it,” said Hiltz, who placed 7th in the Olympic final last summer. “I was just grateful that I had clear track in front of me and I had good position from the gun.”

Johnson (4:03.77) was a clear 2nd, while Mackay (4:04.38) passed former training partner MacLean (4:05.60) at the top of the homestretch. Jones…