The breakthrough came last weekend, with Neil taking first in the Boys 2 Mile at Nike Indoor Nationals on March 8 at The Armory Track and Field Center in New York City. Neil took control in the second mile to win in 8 minutes, 47.96 seconds — the current No. 3 time in the United States this season.

“It was just a really cool experience,” Neil said. “I’m hoping to get that a lot more this season.”

Jermyn added that the win furthered Neil’s legacy as a Hawk.

“(National titles are) pretty special and you kind of see them unfold with obviously great athletes and with the athletes that are heavily invested and heavily committed to their sport,” Jermyn said. “And I think with Nathan, I felt like it was a really great way to basically kick off his track season.”

Neil recently won both the mile and 3,000 meters at the STCU West Coast Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 4 at The Podium in Spokane, Washington. Most of Neil’s previous high profile races have taken place on or near the West Coast, like the Arcadia Invitational in California and Nike Outdoors in Eugene, Oregon. Nike Indoors was a change of pace.

Neither Neil nor Jermyn had been to New York City before. Jermyn said it was a “sensory overload” with the number of people. Neil said he definitely prefers Montana, but still enjoyed experiencing New York City, which included nearby Times Square and Central Park.

Another highlight was racing at The Armory, a historic indoor track and field facility that is also home to the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.

Jermyn — who was trackside for Neil’s race — said he could barely hear himself yelling splits due to the noise within The Armory, which can hold 4,000 spectators. Neil added that he fed off the energy in his race, compared to a more relaxed environment the week before at The Podium.

“At a big prestigious event like Nike Indoor Nationals, everyone there is a top-level athlete, so that also brings the fans that know what’s going on and it just creates a really great place to race,” Neil said.

Initially, Jermyn and Neil devised two race strategies. If the race went out fast, Neil would let the leaders “tow him along,” Jermyn said, before a late surge to win. If it went out slow, Neil would get up front early and “keep the pace honest,” Jermyn added.

Neither of those things happened, with Neil starting out near the back of the pack. The slower pace caught both Neil and Jermyn off guard. For example, the second 400-meter split came in at 77.96 seconds with James Partlow (Maryland) leading.

Neil said he felt he was the fastest in the field, leaving him disappointed in a more tactical race. He added that he could’ve ran at least 15 seconds faster given his current fitness level.

“It sucks to be in the back knowing that you could be out in front pushing the pace and running a fast time,” Neil said. “But then you realize that it’s a national meet. It was a national championship, so it doesn’t really matter what time you run. It’s just about winning.”

He moved up from 12th to sixth on lap seven, and made his key surge to take the lead on the backstretch of lap eight past Will Conway (Indiana) and Colin Eckerman (Tennessee). Neil continued to push the pace in the second mile.

Neil said he assumed someone was right behind him and was surprised the pack didn’t match his surge. Other runners told him after the race they tried to keep contact but quickly gave up.

He ran his second mile in 4:13.76, which is near his personal-record mile time of 4:10.05 set at the Nike Jesuit Twilight Relays last outdoor season. That’s a PR both Neil and Jermyn see falling this coming outdoor season.

“I think to be able to do that in the second half of a two mile is really telling for things to come in the future,” Jermyn said. “I think that has got to be a massive confidence boost to where he’s at right now.”

During the race, Jermyn was calling out splits on each lap. Once he saw Neil on a 4:13-4:16 mile pace in the back half, Jermyn started adding a second or two to each split he called out. He lied to not freak Neil out. Jermyn and Neil laughed about it after the race.

“I just kind of quietly didn’t really want to tell him what he was doing because at a certain point, I thought he was just pressing hard and not really paying attention to splits and sometimes that’s better just to be in the race and be in the moment,” Jermyn said. “And then to see it all unfold with a 4:13, that is really impressive.”

Neil said he could always hear Jermyn’s voice, but stopped listening to splits after taking the lead.

“At that point in the race, I didn’t really care what my splits were,” Neil added. “There was no pace I was trying to go for at that point.”

Winning at Nike Indoors opens up the outdoor season, Jermyn said, allowing Neil the freedom to run in any race he wants. Some goals include running 8:30 in the two mile, entering some bigger mile races and potentially earning dual Brooks PR and Nike Outdoors invites.

“I think we can just really have fun with it and really kind of enjoy his last season as a Bozeman Hawk before he’s off to the University of Washington,” Jermyn said.

Neil said his last two indoor races served as great fitness checks heading into outdoors. He’s excited to return to the Arcadia Invitational on April 5-6, which will probably be the biggest meet he’ll compete at all season, he said.

“All the fastest guys will be there and it always goes out super hard because they always try to break the high school two mile record,” Neil said. “It’ll be really fun.

“That’s definitely what I’m looking forward to for the rest of the season. And then after that, we’ll just take it one race at a time.”