PORTLAND, Ore. – Trying to get in as many races as possible, Derek Holdsworth has spent the past few weeks competing in various meets. Dustin Nading joined him this past weekend in Portland as both competed in The Bigger Friendly.
Holdsworth was one of four to run the 600-meter coming in with a time of 1:17.08 to place second. He finished ahead of Drew Windle, who runs for Brooks Beasts and a teammate of WOU's David Ribich, won a silver global medal during the 2017 World Championships in the 800. Nijel Amos, currently part of Oregon Track Club Elite (Nike), who won the event collected a silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 800. Holdsworth also defeated Daniel Maton who runs for the University of Washington.
"I'm pretty happy with how I've been racing recently aside from my mile attempt on the Fourth of July. My first 800 since the indoor season was an ok rust buster. I ran 1:47.90 in Virginia while I was at home. Then a few weeks later, I ran 1:17.08 over 600-meters which would be a two second official personal-best. Being able to run against one of the fastest 800-meter runners of all time was pretty cool and I can't wait to get after it some more," Holdsworth said.
Prior to the COVID shutting down the NCAA Indoor Championships, Holdsworth was on a roll and was setting up to compete for not only a title in the 800, but in the DMR as well. Holdsworth was named a USTFCCCA All-American and set a new standard for the 800-meter this season when his time of 1:47.74 not only won the UW Invitational, but that time stood as the fastest in all of NCAA Division II this season. His time set a new GNAC and WOU school record in the 800 and the time is fifth-fastest in GNAC history (all conditions) and tied for fourth this season across all college divisions. In addition, his time in the event is fifth in Division II All-Time. Holdsworth won the GNAC Championships in the 800-meters and was part of the 4x400 relay team that placed second at the championships. Holdsworth was set to compete in the 800 at the NCAA National Championships, along with the distance medley relay team having helped the team to the 11th and 12th fastest times in the event in NCAA Division II. Earlier in the year he was named the USTFCCCA West Region Male Athlete of the Year award, along with taking home the GNAC Male Athlete and Newcomer of the Year honors.
Before arriving at WOU, Holdsworth was already starting to set the NJCAA track world on fire having won both the 800 and mile, while coming in second during his first NJCAA Championships in 2018. Later in 2018, he added titles in the 800 and 1,500 at the NJCAA Division I Outdoor Championships and during his final year at Trinidad State JC in 2019, he won the 800, 1000 and came in fourth in the DMR during the NJCAA Indoor Championships.
Nading competed in the 1,000-meter posting a time of 2:22.25 to come in fifth out of the five competitors. He also went against a loaded field with Josh Kerr, who runs for Brooks Beasts as well, winning the event who won a gold medal at the 2015 European Junior Championships and is know for primarily competing in the 1,500. Sam Prakel came in second and is a former five-time All-American and U.S. Olympic Trials competitor. He originally competed at the University of Oregon. Vincent Ciattei, who runs for Oregon Track Club Elite (Nike), came in third and recently finished his career running at Virginia Tech. At the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships, he collected a silver medal in the 1,500. Jake Heyward finished just ahead of Nading and has competed in several European Athletics U-18 and U-20 Championships before turning pro.
"These last few months have been an opportunity for many in the sports community, including myself, to reflect and take time for introspection. Athletes have had to ask themselves hard questions like what does sport mean to me? What does dedication look like? How can I move forward without my community?" Nading said. "This summer has been a time for me to revisit the basics and invest in the process. Working out week after week alone can be difficult, but it also makes you really appreciate the sport of track and field, the teammates, coaches, and the entire community."
This past season running for the University of Washington, Nading competed in the mile and distance medley relay, posting a top time of 3:59.25 in the mile at the Husky Classic and was part of a DMR that placed second at the MPSF Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Nading ran in almost everything during his time at WOU, competing in the 800, 1,000, 1,500, mile, 3,000 and 5,000, relays, DMR, while also running for the cross country squad. He opened his career strong back in 2016 placing 10 in the GNAC Cross Country Championships. During the 2017 Indoor Track and Field Championships, placed second in both the 800 and mile. At the NCAA Indoor Championships that year he added a fourth-place finish in the mile and was part of a first-place DMR. During the Outdoor Championships that year, he came in second in the 1,500 and fifth in the 5,000 at GNAC's and then came in sixth in the 1,500 at the NCAA Championships. It was a strong fall in 2017 for Nading coming in eighth at the GNAC Cross Country Championships and 13th at the NCAA Division II West Regional. During the Indoor Championships in 2018, he placed second in the mile and fourth in the 3,000 at GNAC's and then once again helped the DMR to the first-place podium at the NCAA's and later added a title in the mile. In the Outdoor Championships that year, Nading was second in both the 800 and 1,500 at GNAC's and then placed second at the NCAA's in the 1,500. In his last cross country season in the fall of 2018, he placed sixth at GNAC's and 10th at the NCAA Division II West Regional.
"Competing at Portland Track was a breath of fresh air and an exciting opportunity to assess my fitness against an outstanding professional field. Portland Track always does an outstanding job putting on meets here in the Northwest and that has not changed during this pandemic," Nading added. "It can be easy to take competition for granted when races are happening every week, but these rare opportunities have become very special. Getting back on the track with competitors and setting a PR in an event rarely run outdoors, the 1,000-meter, helps me build momentum for races the remainder of the summer and into my final collegiate track and field season with the University of Washington next year."
