Two seasoned veterans added to their accolades at the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships on Saturday in Portland, Oregon, while two rising stars used blistering final-lap kicks to earn their spots on Team USA, competing at the IAAF World Championships next weekend. 

In the men’s 1500 meters, Ben Blankenship led early, Robby Andrews led late, but Matthew Centrowitz led last, inching past Andrews in the final 20 meters to win the men’s race in 3:44.33.

Centrowitz, who ran a world-leading mile (3:50.56) at the Millrose Games last month, took the lead with 600 meters to go, but Andrews came charging up to his shoulder on the final curve and edged ahead with 50 meters left. Centrowitz and Andrews ran stride for stride down the home straightaway before the 2013 world silver medalist finally found his winning gear. 

“I didn’t know necessarily if I had another move until I did it,” Centrowitz said. “It was just a matter of digging deep and looking past that finish line.”

Centrowitz is undefeated this indoor season and will enter the world championships in Portland as gold-medal contender. Abdalaati Iguider of Morocco and Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti are among those expected to challenge him for victory next week, but Centrowitz knew better than to look past Andrews, whose signature finishing kick makes him especially dangerous in races that are tactical, with a slow early pace.  

“It’s probably the first time I’ve had someone go by me this year,” Centrowitz said after his win. “I was happy with the way I responded. It just shows my strength right now. 

“Obviously, we have a great U.S. team going into worlds.”

Andrews, who finished second behind Centrowitz at the 2015 USATF Outdoor Championships, has now made two U.S. squads in a row. But he’s never come closer to victory than he did on Saturday, falling to Centrowitz by only 0.07 seconds. 

“He had just a little bit saved up,” Andrews said. “He’s a tremendous runner. He knows exactly what he’s doing.”

Meanwhile, in the women’s 1500 meters, Brenda Martinez sat mid-pack for most of the race before bolting to the front with 300 meters to go and pulling away for victory—her first U.S. title—in 4:08.37. Behind her, fellow New Balance-sponsored runner Cory McGee used a similar strategy to earn her second world championships bid, finishing second in 4:09.97 after outkicking the remainder of the field. 

“I am on top of the world right now,” McGee said. “I like to win, but this is the happiest I have ever been to be second.” 

Martinez, the 2013 world 800-meter bronze medalist, says she’ll move back down to the 800-meter distance this outdoor season. But she added that a pivot to the longer distances might be on the horizon.  

“I have a feeling this will be my last year to focus on the 800,” she said. “In the next Olympic cycle, I’ll definitely work on the 1500 more, maybe more 5Ks. I know the speed is going to go away eventually as I get older.”

Martinez pointed to her intense long runs as one of the reasons for her 1500-meter success. While some of the men in her training group run 6 or 7 miles on long-run day, Martinez says she has made a habit of running 10 miles as fast as 5:40 pace. 

“I feel like the long runs and tempos are my bread and butter,” she said. “It feels like a marathon to me, but that’s what gets me so strong.”

The men’s and women’s 1500-meter preliminary rounds at the world championships will be contested on Friday afternoon.