Abby Nichols

ABBY’S STORY
Abby grew up in Kettering, Ohio where she was a State Champion in both track and cross country. She stayed close to home to attend Ohio State University where she majored in speech and hearing science. She finished up her undergraduate degree and went on to receive a Masters from the University of Colorado where she was the Pac 12 Women’s Track and Field Athlete of the Year in 2022. 

PRO STATS
Abby joined HOKA NAZ Elite in the summer of 2022. She was part of the group’s third place team finish at the USATF Club Cross Country Championships in December. Then she kicked off her 2023 indoor track season with a win and facility record (9:01.96) in the 3,000 meters. Two weeks later she was a close second at the BU Terrier Classic in a big personal best of 8:48.58 before setting a mile PB a week after that in 4:29.12–en route to a commanding victory. She finished her indoor season by finishing fifth in the 3,000 and sixth in the 1500 at the USATF Indoor Championships. Outdoors, she opened up with a PB and team record of 15:09.60 at the On Track Fest in California. She followed that up with a win at the HOKA Festival of Miles in a PB of 4:26.08 and then a 10th place finish at the USATF Outdoor Championships over 5,000 meters. A week later she set another PB–a 4:08.13 to finish second in the 1500 meters at the Harry Jerome Classic. It didn’t last long though–set set another one two days later when she won the Victoria Track Classic in 4:07.47. Two weeks after that she took home the win at the Sir Walter Miler in 4:26.80.

Abby kicked off 2024 by placing sixth at the USATF Cross Country Championships, qualifying for her first World Championship team. She was 33rd at the World Championships, helping the U.S. to a fourth-place finish in the team standings. In her first track race of the outdoor season, she smashed her personal best at 5,000 meters–running 15:03.17 at the USATF LA Grand Prix. A month later she finished 10th at the Olympic Trials at the same distance.

NCAA STATS
Abby began her collegiate career at Ohio State University where she was the 2019 Big 10 Champion in the 5,000 meters. She transferred to the University of Colorado and began competing for the Buffaloes in 2021, seeing immediate success. She was a three-time Pac 12 Champion and a three-time All American while in Boulder, including a sixth-place finish at the 2022 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 5,000. She finished her NCAA career with personal bests of 4:14.82 for 1500 meters, 15:15.95 for 5,000, and 32:27.25 for 10,000.