The Weekend Recovery: Marco Langon's Historic 1500m, Mantecon's 4 Titles

Q: What record did Marco Langon set in the 1500m race?

Marco Langon achieved a historic milestone in the 1500m race during the championship season.

Q: How many titles did Mantecon win at the Florida state championships?

Mantecon won four titles at the Florida state championships.

Q: When does the 2026 outdoor championship season start?

The 2026 outdoor championship season officially began recently with various record-breaking performances.

Q: Where can I find the schedule for the 2026 Diamond League?

The full event list, dates, and locations for the 2026 Diamond League can be found online.

The Weekend Recovery: Marco Langon's Historic 1500m, Mantecon's 4 Titles

Championship season officially arrived for the 2026 outdoor campaign with performances matching the moment.

From record-breaking middle-distance races in California to all-around dominance at the Florida state championships, athletes across every level continued to raise the standard.

Here are the top five performances from the weekend.

5. Damian Garcia Runs NCAA DII No. 2 All-Time 1500

At the Franson Last Chance Meet in California, Chico State’s Damian Garcia delivered one of the fastest Division II 1500m performances ever run.

Garcia clocked 3:35.61 to finish fourth in a loaded field, moving to No. 2 all-time in NCAA Division II. Only Wingate’s Titouan Le Grix, who ran 3:34.30 in 2025, remained ahead of him on the all-time list.

The junior’s performance also ranked him No. 10 across all NCAA divisions for the 2026 season.

And he wasn’t done there.

Earlier in the meet, Garcia also ran a personal best of 1:48.23 in the 800m, continuing an impressive breakthrough season.

4. Quincy Wilson & Tara Davis-Woodhall Take on Hurdles

Two stars stepped outside their usual comfort zones this weekend and both impressed.

At the IAC Championships in Maryland, Quincy Wilson traded the open 400m for the 300m hurdles, making his high school hurdle debut in style. The high school phenom ran 38.77, showing off a different side of his sprinting ability.

Wilson also stayed busy throughout the meet, running:

45.88 in the open 400m
A 46.38 split in the 4x400m relay

Meanwhile, Tara Davis-Woodhall returned to an event many fans may have forgotten she once dominated.

Before becoming one of the world’s premier long jumpers, Davis-Woodhall was an elite hurdler at Texas, winning the Big 12 title in the 100m hurdles in 2021.

In her season opener, she revisited the event and ran 12.99 (-1.0) into a headwind.

The growing trend of athletes experimenting with off-events continued to produce entertaining results—and both Wilson and Davis-Woodhall showed they could thrive almost anywhere on the track.

3. Anna Cockrell Runs World No. 2 300mH

At the Arkansas Twilight Meet, Anna Cockrell delivered one of the most impressive hurdle performances of the season.

The Olympic silver medalist clocked 37.40 in the 300m hurdles, breaking the previous American record held by Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

While the 300m hurdles isn’t a standard championship event, the race offered another reminder of just how deep the current era of women’s hurdling has become.

Cockrell’s mark also moved her to World No. 2 all-time, trailing only Femke Bol’s world record of 36.86.

As season openers go, it was about as strong a statement as possible heading into the Diamond League circuit.

2. Langon and Masai Rewrite 1500m All-Time List

The NCAA 1500m landscape shifted once again this weekend.

At the Franson Last Chance Meet, Villanova’s Marco Langon added another chapter to his growing rivalry with Oregon’s Simeon Birnbaum.

Looking for one final fast race before championship season, Langon delivered a major performance, winning in 3:32.79 after closing in 55.60 over the final lap.

The performance moved him to No. 2 in NCAA history, trailing only Birnbaum’s collegiate record of 3:31.69, which had been set just weeks earlier.

But Langon wasn’t the only athlete making history.

At the Arkansas Twilight Meet, Brian Masai ran 3:33.17, taking nearly five seconds off his previous best from the week before. The performance moved him to No. 4 all-time in NCAA history, tying Michigan’s Trent McFarland.

With Langon and Masai joining Birnbaum near the top of the list, the four fastest 1500m performances in NCAA history had all been run within the span of a month.

And with championship season approaching, the event only continued to get deeper and faster.

1. Marcelo is the Man(tecon)

At this point, Marcelo Mantecon wasn’t just winning races.

He was redefining what was physically possible for a high school distance runner.

The Florida standout had already put together an incredible year, finishing runner-up at Brooks XC Championships and earning Gatorade Florida Boys Cross Country Player of the Year honors.

Then came Nike Indoor Nationals, where he captured four national titles across four days.

This weekend, somehow, he topped it.

At the FHSAA Track Championships, Mantecon won four state titles in the span of four hours.

His day began at 4:00 p.m. in the 4x800m relay, where his team ran 7:51.30 for the win.

Two hours later, he returned for the 1600m, winning in 4:17.38.

An hour after that, he lined up for the 800m and ran a personal best of 1:51.40.

Then, to close the night, he captured the 3200m title in 8:56.02.

Four hours, four races, and four titles later, the junior is surely ready for a major postseason.

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