By Elliot Denman // Photo by John Nepolitan

Russian Olga Kotlyasova's women's world indoor 600-meter record of l:23:44 has been in the books since the 2004 season.

But it's definitely on the endangered list now that (a) the event will again be run at the USA Indoor Championships, and (b) Ajee Wilson has put the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in her rear-view mirror and is back in the brilliant form that has already earned her three USA National titles.

With no IAAF World Indoor Championships on the 2017 slate, USA Track and Field has reverted to the 2015 format that saw the world-standard distances of 400, 800, 1500 and 3000 meters replaced by the 300, 600 and 1000 meters, and the one and two-miles for the USA Indoor Nationals set for Albuquerque March 3-5.

So look for those retro-distances to be under attack time and time again this winter. Saturday, for instance at the Armory's New Balance Games.

While she will forever be delighted to be recognized with the lifetime title of USA Olympian, Neptune, N.J. product Wilson, now 22, also knows that her Rio 2016 performance wasn't what it could-have-been, might-have-been.

For whatever reason.

She bowed out in the semifinals of the 800, an event she'd already thrice ruled in the USA Nationals (once indoors, twice outdoors.)

But the new graduate of Temple University (an exercise and sports science major) is also philosophic about it all. "It is what it is," she tells you. Or, better put, "it was it was."

That was then. This is now, and the re-focused Wilson's vision is absolutely 20-20 straight-ahead, to even bigger and better things than she's ever achieved in her sport.

The New Balance women's 600 saw Wilson at her dynamic best. Running out of lane five, she bolted to a quick lead and (with 27.26, 28.66, 29.32 laps) kept adding to it every step of the race. And when she crossed the line in 1:25.23 (with Central Park Track Club/New Balance's Meg Manley a distant second in 1:29.95) it set the sport's accountants to work.

Their findings: Not only was this Wilson's personal best for 600 (topping the New Balance meet record of 1:28.27 she'd run in 2014) but the second-best ever by an American (topped only by Alysia Montano's 1:23.59 at the Armory in 2013) and fifth best-ever by anyone (on a list headed by Kotlyarova's 1:23.44 in Moscow thirteen seasons ago.)

Wilson had run a pair of tuneup meets this winter, but this was her first real test. Then again, it wasn't really a test. She won by at least 30 meters.

"Essentially, I'm just training the way I've always been training (under coach Derek Thompson in Philadelphia)," she said. "So to run a PR this early in the season, that's promising, very promising."

Just seven months out of Virginia's Loudon Valley High School, and already a pro signed to an Adidas contract, 19-year-old Drew Hunter of Purcellville, Va. keeps doing it...and doing it.

He'd already run three sub-4 miles (including the 3:57.81 National HS record here at the 2016 NYRR Millrose Games) and has a future as bright as any runner his age in the world.

Continuing to train under his high school coach, Tom Schwartz, Hunter was outright brilliant in this, his 2017 major-meet opener, taking the lead after the rabbits left off, seeing New Zealander Julian Oakley surge ahead on the final lap (leading at 1500 meters in 3:42.87), then come right back off the final turn to edge the Kiwi, 3:58.92 to 3:59.04.

"I felt good, I had a lot left," said Hunter, who will soon be among the hunted if - as the whole track world expects - he keeps running at this level.

Hunter calls 2017 his "gap year," time to truly focus on his running and racing.  "I will definitely go to college, maybe next year (the fall of '17)," he said.  "But right now I have no idea of where it will be, no idea at all." 

"He (Hunter) was just too strong for me at the end," conceded Oakley, who represents the Tauranga Harriers.

However, the real revelation of the race was the third runner over the line - LaSalle Academy (Providence, Rhode Island) senior D.J. Principe, who stayed right up with Hunter and Oakley much of the way and was just a step or two back at the end in 4:00.97.

While it was a definite confidence-builder, it was also a slight disappointment. He'd had his heart set on joining the short-short list of high schoolers (just Hunter and Alan Webb) who have ever broken 4 indoors.

It cost him his breakfast and lunch - upchucking into the nearest waste basket - but it was all worth it.

"No matter how I felt, I knew I had to stay right up there, stay engaged for the first 1200 meters," said Principe. "I was able to do just that, and gutted it out.

"Getting under 4? I know I still have some work to do, but I also know I have it in me."

The women's mile went to Canada's Kate Van Buskirk in 4:30.14, capping a nearly three-year siege of injuries and unexplained illnesses.

"Nobody could figure out what it was," she said. "It got so bad at one point that I could hardly get out of bed alone, let alone run."

But a tattooed message of "Be Relentlessly Positive" on her midsection tells much of her story.

She'd been a Commonwealth Games bronze medalist before all the setbacks, but now - thanks to the work of an enlightened medical and physical therapy team - she's positive she can come all the way back to the top echelons of the sport.

"I felt really good coming into the last 300, I told myself 'I had to do it now."  And she did just that.  

Other elite/pro division winners were Queensite/Trinidad 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Lalonde Gordon (32.88) and Jordan Lavender (37.94) in the men's and women's 300s, along with Speed River Track Club of Canada's Tommy Land in the men's 600 (1:20.02.)

"Right from the beginning (a 70.1 opening quarter), I went out for it," said Lourdes High School junior Caroline Timm, the girls high school mile winner in 4:56.25 over Howell, N.J.'s Niamh Hayes (5:00.90.)

"I slowed down a little bit, but not that much. Now it's time to go home, get in some hard workouts, and be ready for Millrose Games. The people who are going to be there are amazing." 

"Right now, it's incredible, it's hard to comprehend how great Millrose is going to be," said Fairport's Ben Bulkeley, the equally delighted boys mile winner and NYRR Millrose Games qualifier in 4:20.71. 

"Going under 4:20, that's my real goal right now, but I know the Millrose Games race is going to be a whole lot faster than that," he said.

"In the beginning of the season, my coach (Sean Van Laeken) was always talking about goals, but mostly they were about the 800 and 1000. Now, though, I'm beginning to think I'm a miler, too.

I'm getting a lot of new confidence."

In other high school highlights, boys and girls winners included: Terrance Laird of Coatesville, Pa. (with a 6.41 meet record) and Kai Lewis of Paul Robeson (7.19) in the 55-meter dash.

Aaron Banson of Cardinal Hayes (7.45) and Sophia Myers of Queens Teaching (8.16) in the 55 hurdles.

Bishop Shanahan's Nate Alleyne (34.71) and QT's Myers again (39.73) in the 300. Penn Wood's Dennis Manyleah (1:23.58) and Suffern's Kamryn McIntosh (1:30.98, a meet record) at 600.

Winners at 1000 meters were Corning's Kevin Moshier (2:30.14, a meet record) and Cardinal O'Hara's Olivia Arizin (2:52.48.)

Running off with two-mile titles were Chris Hughes of Glens Falls (9:34.83) and Lydia Olivere of Padua (11:07.49.)

Tara Mandel of Farmingdale - one of the nation's top young racewalking talents - convincingly won the 1500 Olympic discipline event in 7:14.75. 

Winners of 1500 steeplechase finals were Massapequa's Matthew Ronan (4:49.59) and Pascack Valley's Ashley Evans (5:48.57.)

Stealing the spotlight among the many strong relay winners was Imhotep (Philadelphia) Charter's USA #1 list-leading and meet-record 1:27.55 in the boys 4x200. Cheltenham claimed the girls 4x200 in 1:38.93.

Other relay boys and girls relay winners were: Newburgh Free Academy (3:22.59) and Penn Wood (3:52.53) in the 4x400; Fairport (8:14.67) and Suffern (9:23.91) in the 4x800; Bishop Shanahan (3:35.06) and Young Women's Leadership (4:11.73), sprint medley, and Xavier (10:23.37) and Ursuline (12:02.16, meet record) in the distance medley.

Back on the infield, Christian Brothers Academy sped to the up-down-up-down boys 4x55 shuttle hurdles title in 31.31, while Young Women's Leadership led all girls teams in 34.72.

Safir Scott's 6-10 meet-record high jump for Greenwich was a field event feature. Likewise was Alexa Parks' girls meet record-equaling 5-8 for Palisades High. 

Other jumps wins went to Hatboro-Horsham's Nicholas Marino (15 feet) and Springside's Elizabeth Jefferson (11-6) in the pole vault; Aaron Cruickshank's 22-7 1/4 for Erasmus Hall and Tionna Tobias' 17-11 1/2 for Winslow Township in the long jump, and Sean Faherty's 44-7 3/4 for Immaculate and Caroline Billone's 37-7 for Coatesville in the triple.

Jared Briere of Woonsocket muscled one out to 71-0 ½ and Vestal's Mya Muse reached 48-0 3/4 to lead the weight thowers.

New Jersey has another top young shot put talent in C.J. Licata of Gill-St. Bernards (who hit 58-2 1/2) to top the boys. Girls shot honors  went to Abington's Sianni McLeod at 37-5 1/4.

Loud applause, too, went to the pair of Youth 4x200 relay winners, both in meet-record time.  The Metro Eagles boys sped to a 1:44:01, the Jeuness Track Club girls to a 1:46.76.

With all this in the books, all left to do was announce the high school team winners.

Coatesville nosed out Newburgh Free Academy, 29-25, to take home the boys team trophy.  Registering 36 points apiece to share girls team honors were Young Women's Leadership and Paul Robeson.

In addition to all these active-athlete stars, there was one more special celebrity on the premises. That man is Million Wolde, formerly of Ethiopia and now of Tarrytown, New York. 

Back in 2000, he ran off with the gold medal in the 5000 meters at the Sydney Olympic Games, outdueling Ali Saidi Sief of Algeria and Brahim Lahlafi of Morocco to claim the top spot on the podium.

Now he's a member of Armory chief Dr. Norbert Sander's officiating team and working at the shot put event for this one.

"Happy to be here, happy to be at this great Armory building, happy to be helping out," said Wolde.

 For 2017 New Balance Games results, photos, videos, and news click HERE.