Camille Herron was the overall winner at the USATF 100 Mile Championships in Henderson, Nevada, bettering her own world record with a 12:41:11 that put her across the line almost a half hour in front of Arlen Glick, who was the men's winner in 13:10:25. Hosted as part of the Jackpot Ultra Running Festival at Cornerstone Park, the race was held on a 1.18-mile course that was predominantly a paved and concrete surface. Herron, 40, set the existing world record of 12:42:40 on November 11, 2017, and holds the world records for 12 hours and 24 hours. En route to her win in Nevada, Herron bettered her 12-hour world record by covering 152km.
Roddie Haley, one of the greatest runners in University of Arkansas history and the second runner on the U.S. team that won World Championships 4x400 gold at Rome in 1987, died on February 17 in Texarkana, Texas. Haley, 56, won three individual NCAA titles, two in the indoor 500m and one in the 400m outdoors, and was a nine-time All-America. His lifetime best in the 400m of 44.48 came at Houston in May 1986, and he finished as the runner-up at the U.S. outdoor championships in 1986 and 1987. Haley, who was eighth in the 400m at Rome '87, won Pan American Games gold in the 4x400m relay that year.
USA Track & Field's manager of alumni relations, 1984 Olympian Sharrieffa Barksdale, was selected for induction into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, earning recognition for her outstanding achievements as a member of the powerhouse University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers from 1981-84. Barksdale won the TAC (now USATF) Championships in the 400m hurdles in 1983 and then earned a silver in the event at the Pan American Games. She set an American record of 55.78 at Knoxville on May 21, 1983, and was a semifinalist at the inaugural World Championships later in the year. She was a semifinalist at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles after placing third at the Olympic Trials. A member of Tennessee's first national championship squad in 1981 when the team won the AIAW title, Barksdale earned AIAW gold in the 1981 800m medley relay and 4x400m relay and added gold in 1982 on the 4x400m. Indoors, Barksdale collected gold on the mile relay in 1983 and 4x400m in 1984. In Southeastern Conference competition, Barksdale won three individual titles and five relay golds.
Chris Nilsen continued his streak of great pole vault performances and Grant Holloway added another victory to his lengthy indoor winning streak at the Liévin, France, stop on the World Athletics Continental Tour - Gold on February 17. Nilsen cleared 5.91m/19-4.75 for his third win of the indoor campaign, while Holloway breezed through the 60m hurdles to win in a world-leading 7.35, a time only two other men besides him have ever bettered.
Two days after Liévin, more of the world's top stars took to the track in Birmingham, England, for another World Continental Tour - Gold meet. Team USATF picked up three wins, with Noah Lyles setting a lifetime best of 6.55 to take the men's 60m and lead a 1-2-3-4 U.S. finish, and Kahmari Montgomery clocking a season best of 45.72 in the men's 400m. Grant Holloway was again imperious in the men's 60m hurdles, galloping through the line in 7.41 to dismantle a very strong field.
American indoor 800m record holder Ajee' Wilson zipped to a world-leading 1:25.59 in the women's 600m at the Garden State TC Invitational at Ocean Breeze, the 10th fastest performance ever by an American.
The University of Kentucky announced plans to build a new indoor track and field facility featuring a 200m hydraulic banked oval adjacent to their outdoor stadium. Kentucky currently trains and competes on an oversize 291m unbanked track in Nutter Fieldhouse, which is shared with the Wildcats' football program.