Highlights from the 2012 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix

At the sold-out Reggie Lewis Center in Boston last Saturday, over 4,000 fans gathered for the 2012 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. The evening's track and field events generated close finishes and broken records.

Among the night's great accomplishments was a win by Team New Balance's Maggie Vessey in the Women's 800m run, as she crossed the finish line four one-thousandths of a second ahead of fellow American Erica Moore. Both competitors were credited with a time of 2:02.37, but it was Vessey who found a small window to break ahead and claim first in a photo finish. In a post-race interview for FloTrack, Vessey reflected on her performance saying the goal going into this competition was, "learning from what I did last year and applying it."

On the infield, the crowd roared to its feet as 2008 Olympic silver medalist Jenn Suhr broke the American record in the Women's Pole Vault — sailing over the bar at 4.88 meters (16 feet). With her victory on Saturday, Suhr currently owns the best pole vault in the world this year.

Ireland's Ciaran O'Lioniard took first place in the Men's Mile with a time of 3:56.01 followed closely by Team New Balance's Taylor Milne at 3:56.40. Earlier in the race, Great Britain's 5000m world champion Mo Farah stumbled to the ground on the opening lap. Despite the fall, Farah rallied for a comeback and a fourth-place finish with a personal best time of 3:57.92.

The event also featured two exciting high school junior events. Craig Engles of Pfafftown, NC finished first in the Boys' Junior Mile with a speedy time of 4:13.70 and Haley Pierce of Wilmington, DE closed the gap after the bell to take home first in the Girls' Junior Mile with an indoor personal best time of 4:48.59.

Other first-place wins of the night include, Meseret Defar of Ethiopia (8.33.57) in the Women's 3000m,19 year-old Caleb Ndiku of Kenya (7:38.29) in the Men's 3000m, and Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia (9:21.60) who won the Women's 2 Mile by nearly a full lap.

For more on the 2012 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, you can visit the meet's official website to view a full list of results, videos, and news.

Check out the New Balance Facebook page for additional photos of the event.

Photos by: Ross Dettman/New Balance.