Athlete of the Month

October 2009
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Josh Moen and Kristen Nicolini Lehmkuhle are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for October 2009.

Moen, a member of Team USA Minnesota, is honored for finishing second at the USA 10 Mile Championship held in conjunction with the Medtronic Twin Cities 10 Mile on October 4th.  Moen fought a race-long battle with defending champion Abdi Abdirahman who edged Moen by three seconds at the finish.  Abdirahman ran 46 minutes, 35 seconds for the distance; Moen ran 46:38.

Nicolini Lehmkuhle, also a Team USA Minnesota runner, is recognized for her third-place finish at the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, which served as the USA Marathon Championship for women.  Making her debut at the distance, the Villanova University graduate ran 2:35:06.

September 2009
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Jianna Cager and Benjamin Olson are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for September 2009.

Cager, an 8-year-old from St. Paul, is honored for wining the national titles in the 100, 200, and 400-meter events at last month’s AAU Junior Olympic Championships.  Competing in the “Primary” age-division, Cager won the 100m in 14.41, the 200m in 30.65, and the 400m in 1:07.43 at the Des Moines, Iowa meet.

Olson, a 9-year-old from Coon Rapids, is recognized for his third-place finish in the Sub-Bantam age-division 1500m in 5:23.49 and his seventh-place result at 800m in 2:40.64 at the AAU Junior Olympics.

August 2009
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Tom Langenfeld and Shaina Burns are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for August 2009.

 

 

Langenfeld, a 73-year-old from Edina, is honored for winning the USA Masters high jump title in the M70 division at the USA Masters Outdoor Championships in Oshkosh, Wisconsin last month.  Langenfeld cleared four feet, eight and one-quarter inches to earn his 30th career masters title in the event.

 

Burns, a 13-year-old from Prior Lake, is recognized for her runner-up finish in the high jump at the USA Youth Championships held in Ypsilanti, Michigan in July.  Burns cleared five feet, three inches in the competition.  She also placed 4th in the pentathlon at the meet.

July 2009
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Zach Mellon and Laishema Hampton are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for July 2009.

 

 

Mellon, a recently graduated senior at Buffalo High School, is recognized for finishing second in the men's 800 meters at the USA Junior Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon last month.  Mellon, who will attend the University of Wisconsin next year, clocked 1:51.70 to finish second to Joe Abbott of Washington State University. 

 

 

Hampton, a 2008 graduate of St. Louis Park High School and a student at Iowa State University, is honored for her runner-up finish at USA Juniors in the women's shot put.  Hampton threw 50 feet, three and one-quarter inches in the competition, a mark bettered only by Anastasia Jelmini of California.

June 2009
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Analisa Huschle and Caesy Dehn are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for June 2009.

Huschle, a sophomore on the Bagley/Fosston track and field team, is honored for breaking the Minnesota State High School League all-time State Meet record in the girls’ long jump.  Huschle marked a Class A-winning leap of 19-feet 2 and ¼ inches at the meet on June 5.  Huschle, who also won the triple jump and 200 meter dash at State, led her squad to the Class A team title.

Dehn, a senior at Owatonna High School, is recognized for winning the Class AA boys’ shot put and discus competition at the MSHSL State Meet.  Dehn put the shot 61 feet, 5-inches and threw the discus 165-4 to defend the titles he won in 2008.

May 2009
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Luara Hermanson and the University of Minnesota's Men's 4x1600 relay team are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for May 2009.

Hermanson, a North Dakota State University senior, was honored for winning the 800 meter run at last month's Drake Relays. The Burnsville High School graduate set a meet record with her 2:07.12 clocking.

The Gophers 4x1600 relay team (Hassan Mead, Andy Richardson, Chris Rombough and Ben Blankenship) also won a Drake Relays title, beating powerhouse Stanford by a fraction of a second, 16:29.74 to 16:29.85.

April 2009
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he Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Thom Weddle and Katelin Rains are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for April 2009.

Weddle, a masters runner from Minneapolis, is honored for winning the M70 3000 meter run at the USA Master Indoor Track and Field Championships in Landover, Maryland last month.  The 70-year-old also placed second in his age-group in the 800 meters and mile run.

Rains, a senior at Minnesota State University, Mankato, was recognized for winning her third straight NCAA Division II indoor pole vault title last month at the Division II Championships in Houston, Texas in March.  Rains cleared 13 feet, nine and one-quarter inch for the victory.  

March 2009
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Heather Dorniden and Hassan Mead are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for March 2009.

Dorniden, a University of Minnesota senior, is honored for winning the 600 meter and mile events at last month’s Big Ten Indoor Championships.  The Rosemount High School graduate set a meet record in the 600m with her 1 minute, 27.78 second clocking.  She clocked 4:43.71 in the mile.

Mead, a Golden Gopher sophomore, is recognized for his double win at the Big Ten Championships.  The Minneapolis South alum won the 3000 and 5000 meter races at the meet.  The defending Big Ten cross country champ clocked 8:02.61 in the 3000m and 13:58.16 in the 5000m.  

February 2009
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Emily Brown and R.J. McGinnis are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for February 2009.

Brown, a member of Team USA Minnesota, is recognized for winning the USA Cross Country Championships last weekend in Deerwood, Maryland.  The 2006 Big Ten steeplechase champion for the University of Minnesota, won her first-ever national title by finishing more than half a minute ahead of the nearest challenger.

McGinnis, a multi-event athlete on the University of Minnesota track and field team, is honored for winning the Jack Johnson Classic Heptathlon with what was an NCAA-leading performance.  McGinnis scored 5511 points, winning four of the two-day competition’s seven events. 

 

January  2009
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Jacub Zivec and the Eden Prairie girls cross country team are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for January 2009.

Zivec, a Grand Rapids High School exchange student from the Czech Republic, is recognized for his stellar performances at the Nike Cross Nationals and Footlocker Finals meets in December.  Zivec, who was barred from competing in Minnesota State High School League varsity competition last fall, finished runner-up at the Nike meet in Portland, Oregon and was 5th at the Footlocker Finals in San Diego.

The Eden Prairie girls team, which won the MSHSL Class AA state title in November, is recognized for its 11th place team finish at Nike Cross Nationals.  The team of Cassy Opitz, Allie Rudin, Laura Lawton, Megan Platner, Dana Jeter, Hanna Hoch, and Alex Birkle, notched the highest finish at the meet ever by a Minnesota team.