How NIL is reshaping major high school track and field events, including New Balance Nationals

Franklin Field played host to the New Balance Nationals Outdoors Championship this weekend, where it brought some of the most talented high school track and field athletes in the country to Philadelphia.

The keyword is some. Two other high school track competitions were happening at the same time. The Nike Outdoor Nationals were held in Eugene, Ore., and the Adidas track nationals came to Greensboro, N.C.

This is not a new occurrence. There has long been an overlap between open, registration-based national championships. Beside from medaling, these meets serve as a massive marketing opportunity for their sponsors. Famously, competitors at all three meets are given out free backpacks with the title sponsor’s logo on them. Penn’s Rockwell Gym was converted into a pop-up New Balance store this past weekend.

What is semi-new to the landscape — and high school sports — is the role name, image, and likeness deals are playing in these three championship meets. If a student athletes is signed with Nike or New Balance, he or she would compete at their respective meets.

For example, Eastern Regional senior runner Natalie Dumas, who’s heading to Arkansas next fall, is one of only 20 female high school track and field athletes signed to Nike Elite. Because of this, Dumas competed this past weekend in Eugene a day after running in the USATF U20s on the same track. At the Nike Nationals, she ran a 52.21 seconds in the 400-meter dash, placing first.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Olympian Quincy Wilson of the Bullis School is signed to New Balance. Wilson also ran in the USATF U20s, clocking a second-place finish of 44.84 seconds on Friday to qualify for the World U20 Championships.

But quickly after, Wilson got on a flight back to the East Coast to compete at Franklin Field due to the meet’s title sponsor. He ran the final leg in the 4x400-meter boys’ championship on Sunday and willed his school to a second-place finish.

Outside of NIL deals, New Balance Nationals’ prestige seemed to play the biggest role in winning over competitors from Nike and Adidas.

“I’ve always had just like a natural draw to the New Balance Nationals,” said senior Blake Cook, who attends Corry Area High School in Erie County and placed sixth in the boys’ 110-meter hurdles championship. “It was the first Nationals I ever watched Knowing that Nike and Adidas did it, they just never appealed as much to me. Just knowing how grand that this meet makes everyone feel. Even if you’re dead last in your heat, you feel elite just walking in and being able to say that you got your [backpack].”

» READ MORE: Winslow’s Jasmine Jackson emerges as one of the nation’s fastest hurdlers: ‘She is running with a purpose’

The New Balance Nationals have only operated since 2022, following a split from the National Scholastic Athletic Foundation, a nonprofit that operates and supports high school track competitions. New Balance had partnered with the NSAF from 2010 to 2019 as the national meet’s title sponsor. Then, it was New Balance that called Greensboro home — not Adidas. Nike has been partnered with the NSAF since the nonprofit split from New Balance. Today, many see Nike and New Balance as the “premier” national meets with Adidas trailing behind.

“In general, I think New Balance has the most competition,” said Patrick Logan, who attends Grafton High School in Virginia and ran in the boys’ 400-meter dash. “Nike has some big names, but I think, in general, New Balance is just a more competitive meet and it’s on the East Coast, so it’s easier for me to get to.”

The weekend brought competition from all over the country, but two runners from South Jersey showed out.

On Friday, Pennsauken senior Sianni Wynn won the 100-meter girls’ championship with a personal-best 11.27 seconds. To finish out Friday, Wynn anchored Pennsauken to a first-place finish in the 4x200-meter championship relay. Then, on Sunday, Wynn finished third in the 200-meter championship.

“It’s been a super long weekend,” said Wynn, who is committed to Florida. “I’m happy to cap it off now, and you know, it’s been a great last high school track for me.”

Sunday was Jasmine Jackson’s day. The Winslow Township High sophomore shattered her personal-best in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking in at 13.04 seconds to place first in the girls’ championship.

“I’m feeling great,” Jackson said. “I woke up today, I said ‘I’m not losing.’ I lost indoor, I got second, I got second in middle school, I got second as a freshman. So today I just knew I was not losing. That was not an option.”

Jackson’s finish also beat the previous New Jersey state record of 13.18 seconds, which was held by Union Catholic’s Taylor Cox. After the race, Jackson made sure to show love to Cox, who now runs at Georgia.

“Taylor dominated New Balance when she was still in high school,” said Jackson. “I knew I had to bring it back to Jersey.”