Natasha Hastings breaks US women's 300 indoor record

BOSTON (AP) Natasha Hastings broke the U.S. women's 300-meter indoor record in the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on Sunday, finishing in 36.25 seconds at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Hastings, a member of the winning U.S. 1,600 relay team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, topped the mark of 36.33 set by Allyson Felix in 2007 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

''I really did not come into this race with any expectations,'' Hastings said. ''I didn't even have a time in mind. I just wanted to go out and execute a sound race.''

Olympic pole vault champion Jenn Suhr won the meet for the eighth time in nine tries, clearing 15 feet, 9 3/4 inches (4.82 meters). The American failed in an attempt to push her world indoor record to 16-7 1/2 (5.07 meters).

''My first attempt, I felt really good,'' Suhr said. ''I went up the pole and I was like, `Man, I got this.' And I just didn't have the legs. ... That let me know that I just didn't have the pop today.''

Suhr broke her own world indoor record Jan. 30 with a vault of 16-5 (5.03 meters).

American Kurt Roberts won the shot put with a world-leading mark of 70-9 1/4 (21.57 meters). Roberts is recovering from a back injury that limited him last year.

''It sets me up for the bigger picture, which is Rio,'' Roberts said.

American Boris Berian won the 600 with an event-record and world-leading time of 1:15.51. It was the second-best finish ever for an American man.

Two-time Olympic champion Meseret Defar of Ethiopia pulled away to win the women's 3,000 in a world-leading 8:30.83. Abbey D'Agostino, a seven-time NCAA champion who grew up in nearby Topsfield, placed a distant second behind Defar at 8:56.77.

Nick Willis of New Zealand ran a world-leading 3:53.27 to win the mile, and Ethiopia's Dawit Seyaum won the women's 1,500 with a world-leading mark of 4:01.86.