Fresh Off High School 300m Record At VA Showcase, Taylor Takes On Both 60m And 300m; Winders To Test His Own US#1 In 600m; Wilson Racing First 400 At The Armory

By Keenan Gray of DyeStat

John Nepolitan/Victah Sailer photos

WATCH THE MILLROSE GAMES LIVE JAN. 30 & FEB. 1 ON RUNNERSPACE+

High school track and field's biggest stars take centerstage in New York City Friday Jan. 30 and Sunday Feb. 1 for the 118th Millrose Games at The Armory.

Here is an event-by-event breakdown on the boys side:

(Start times are Eastern Standard Time)

Friday, Jan. 30

Boys Invitational Weight Throw – 5:30 pm

The nation’s top two throwers – Ryan Evans (East Greenwich RI) and Shamrock Thoun (Woonsocket RI) – will meet for the sixth time this indoor season Friday night.

Thoun has the advantage over Evans in head-to-head matchups, 4-1, but Evans has the nation’s top mark at 81 feet, 10.75 inches (24.96m), which he threw in his only win against Thoun this season at the Beantown Winter Classic on Dec. 20.

Shamrock’s US#2 throw of 80-9.25 (24.62m) came at the U.S. Marine Corps Holiday Classic on Dec. 27, where Thoun beat Evans by nearly eight feet.

Thoun and Evans are the top two returning finishers from last year’s high school weight throw competition at Millrose, finishing third and fifth, respectively.

Boys Invitational Pole Vault – 6 pm 

Isaiah Whitaker (Bloomington IL) faces a tall order of repeating his Millrose title when he takes on the likes of Victor Olesen (St. Christopher’s VA), Luke Beattie (Warwick Valley NY), Eric Rose (Leander Glenn TX) and Jaxon Jerebek (IMG Academy FL).

Whitaker won last year’s competition with a clearance of 17-2.25 (5.25m), but all five names listed have lifetime best clearances of 17-6 or higher: Whitaker and Olesen at 18-1 (5.51m), Jerebek and Rose at 17-9 (5.41m) and Beattie at 17-7 (5.36m).

Whitaker will make his season debut and compete for the first time since last summer’s USATF U20 Championships, finishing fourth to Olesen, who cleared 18 feet to win that competition. Olesen, currently US#3 at 17-4.5 (5.30m), won the top high school field at the Reno National Pole Vault Summit on Jan. 18, and beat Rose, who cleared a US#7 16-11 (5.16m) to finish third.

Jerebek’s recent 17-9 clearance came at the Michigan High School Showcase on Jan. 18, moving him to not only to No. 10 on the all-time indoor high school list, but it’s a US#1 so far in 2026.

Beattie’s best clearance this indoor season is 17-1.25 (5.21m) at the Jim Mitchell Invitational, placing him US#4.

Sunday, Feb. 1

Boys Crowe Invitational Triple Jump – Noon 

Four of the top six triple jumpers in the country, including three who have gone over 50 feet this indoor season, will square off in the only boys field event contested on Sunday.

US#2 Miles Nesmith (Memphis Central TN) leads the field with his 51-7.50 (15.74m) mark he jumped on Jan. 16 at the Carl Lewis Invitational. Nesmith jumped a lifetime best 52-9.25 (16.08m) last outdoor season.

US#3 Justin Arogundade (51-3/15.62m) and US#4 Elijah Harris (51-1.50/15.58m) are not far behind with their recent efforts this indoor season. Arogundade (Kell GA) has vastly improved his best mark by almost three feet from the outdoor season, and Harris (Wester. Central OH) has jumped over 50 feet three times this winter.

Amar Skeete (Catholic Memorial MA), currently US#6 at 49-7.25 (15.12m), is eyeing his first 50-foot jump of 2026. Skeete jumped 50-5.25 (15.37m) last outdoor season, earning him third at New Balance Nationals Outdoor.

Amar Lopez (Jamesville De Witt NY), another top 20 nationally ranked athlete at US#19 (47-9.25/14.56m), is another top entry.

Boys The Udis Family Invitational 60m – 1:47 pm 

Tate Taylor’s (Harlan TX) return to The Armory will draw plenty of attention after his national record run in the 300 at the VA Showcase.

Taylor is entered in the invitational 300, but he will race the 60 first. Taylor owns a personal best of 6.64 from last winter’s Nike Indoor Nationals, the same weekend he ran his 200 national record of 20.46.

Taylor’s currently US#13 with his season’s best 6.79 at the Texas Indoor Championships, and one of the athletes he finished behind in fourth was Dillon Mitchell (C.E. King TX). Mitchell will bring his 6.70 to Millrose, ranking him US#6 and the second-fastest sophomore in the country.

The top entry, Peyton Trammer (Belleville MI), has remained undefeated this indoor season and has run a US#5 6.68 back in late-December. Trammer won the Michigan High School Showcase in 6.69 in his latest 60 race.

Boys JAMBAR Invitational 4x400m Relay – 1:52 pm 

With potential threat Battlefield CT a late scratch, US#1 DeMatha Catholic MD is the overwhelming favorite in the boys invitational 4x400 relay.

DeMatha Catholic improved its top mark at the VA Showcase, running 3:15.33 to beat Jamaica College by less than a tenth of a second. Battlefield finished third by over a second in a US#2 3:16.39.

US#5 Riverdale Baptist, US#6 Haverford School PA and relay power Archbishop Carroll DC are among other top entries.

Boys Mike Frankfurt Invitational 300m – 2:30 pm 

A time of 32.46 seconds may be hard to match for Tate Taylor after competing in the 60, but don’t put it past him to give his own high school record a run for its money.

Taylor will have good competition to push him to attempt his national record. US#8 Andrew Jones (Klein Collins TX), US#10 Anthony Boykin Jr. (Enloe NC), US#11 Aiden Smith (Marvin Ridge NC) and US#13 Austin Smith (Archbishop Carroll DC) have all ran faster than 33.70 this season.

Boys Peter Diamond Invitational 4x800m Relay – 2:37 pm 

St. John’s College DC is back to defend its title after winning last year’s relay in 7:42.45, beating Saratoga Springs NY by almost four seconds.

It will be the school’s season debut in the 4x800, facing current US#1 Hickory VA, who won the VA Showcase in 7:49.61.

IMG Academy, Union Catholic, Haverford PA and McCallie TN will field competitive teams who should be in sub-8-minute contention.

Boys Miller Sports Invitational 600m – 3:02 pm 

Caleb Winders’ (Bloomington North IN) mile win at New Balance Indoor Grand Prix has reassured him he’s primed for a breakout run in the 600 at Millrose.

While he does have the current US#1 at 1:17.46, third-fastest all-time, he’s most likely in 1:16 shape given he’s already ran 1:49.66 in the 800. 

Henry Frasca (The Master NY) is the only other athlete to run the same time as Winders in the 600 this season, posting a 1:19.95 for US#2 back in December.

Jayden Lloyd McKenna (Pearl River NY), US#9 in 600, and Joshua Cooper (Willow Spring NC) and Jayden Smith (Bishop McNamara MD), US#4 and 5 in the 500, will make their season debuts in the 600.

Boys Stern Family Invitational 4x200m Relay – 3:27 pm 

Bullis will get a second chance to prove their 1:24.5 should be the fastest time in the country a late disqualification at the VA Showcase.

Instead, Archbishop Carroll and DeMatha Catholic own the top two times in the country in 1:25.22 and 1:25.39, respectively, after finishing 1-2 at VA Showcase.

Bishop McNamara, US#4, and Bergen Catholic, US#6, add more depth and talent to a race where all five teams entered could go under 1:27.

Boys Nike Invitational Mile – 4:59 pm 

The chase for the first sub-4 of the indoor season will head to Millrose a week after Winders ran 4:02 in Boston.

Caleb Ten Pas (Des Moines Christian IA) will have his eyes set on the barrier after running a US#4 4:08 in Boston, along with Andrew Beroset (McCallie TN), Rocco Culpepper (Niwot CO) and Reed Grotenhuis (Slinger WI).

Tommy Latham, now a North Carolina freshman, was less than a second away from breaking four at last year’s Millrose, running 4:00.94 for the win.

Boys Invitational 400m - 5:30 pm 

Paris Olympic gold medalist Quincy Wilson (Bullis MD) has had his fair share of races in New York City over the years, but he has not run his signature event - the 400 - at The Armory. What better way to debut than at the Millrose Games?

Slated right before the NYRR Wanamaker miles, Wilson will look to challenge his own high school record of 45.66 against a field that includes his own teammate, Cameron Homer, as well as Jayden Deleon (Montgomery Blair MD), Rondre Austion (Oak Park MI) and Kendrick Joshua (Richmond GA). 

Wilson opened up with his fastest season debut in the 400 at New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, running 45.96 to finish second in Boston.