Hartle named USATF Athlete of the Week

Hartle named USATF Athlete of the Week

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INDIANAPOLIS - Nick Hartle has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after winning the 400m, 800m, 1600m and 3200m Friday and Saturday at the 4A Nevada High School State Championships.

“I was confident about the 800m and the 3200m,” said Hartle. “I was the top seed going into them but I was unsure about the 400m. After I won it, though, I knew I could go out and win more events.”

Hartle won the 400m and 1600m on Friday with times of 47.79 and 4:18.03 and came back on Saturday running the 800m and 3200m in 1:52.53 and 9:28.27, respectively. Leading Centennial High School to the state title, Hartle scored 40 of his team’s 79 points. He defended his state titles in both the 800m and 1600m.

“I wanted the team title really bad,” he said. “It is the first team title in school history so I’m just proud to have lead the team in the victory.”

Now in its 11th year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week and features the athlete on www.usatf.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.

2012 Winners: January 5, Landon Peacock; January 11, Kirubel Erassa; January 18, Shalane Flanagan; January 26, John Nunn; February 1, Gunnar Nixon; February 8, Jenn Suhr; February 14, Jillian-Camarena Williams; February 22, Brycen Spratling; February 28, Chaunte Lowe; March 7, Eric Broadbent; March 14, Ashton Eaton; March 21, Jeanne Daprano; March 27, Wallace Spearmon; April 3, Trevor Barron; April 9, Kevin Castille; April 18, Brittney Reese; April 25, Amy Sproston; May 2, Leo Manzano; May 9, Stephanie Brown-Trafton; May 16, Allyson Felix; May 23, Nick Hartle

USATF Week in Review
By USATF Statistician Glen McMicken

TEAM USA ENJOYS RETURN TO SITE OF 2011 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
U.S. athletes made a triumphant return to Daegu on May 16, winning seven events including a sweep of the 100m titles. Carmelita Jeter zipped to a time of 11.11 for the women's century title, while Justin Gatlin dipped under 10-seconds with a 9.93 to take top honors for the men.

American hurdlers also ruled the day with Aries Merritt (13.21) tops in the 110mH and 2008 Olympic champion Dawn Harper (12.65) fastest in the 100mH. Other wins were turned in by LaShauntea Moore in the women's 200m (22.71), Janay Deloach (6.79m/22-3.5) in the women's long jump and World Indoor champ Ryan Whiting in the men's shot put (21.14m/69-4.25).

MERBER MONDAY MONSTER CLAIMS 1500m ACR
Columbia's Kyle Merber had a nifty tune-up for the NCAA first round, rolling to an American Collegiate Record of 3:35.59 in the 1500m at Swarthmore Monday. Merber broke the old record of 3:35.84, set in 1988 by Joe Falcon of Arkansas and tied by Brian Hyde of William & Mary in 1995.

COSBY DOUBLES UP IN BRAZIL
Jessica Cosby picked up a pair of hammer wins in Brazil, throwing 72.05m/236-4 at Sao Paulo on May 16, and following with a 71.80m/235-7 at Rio three days later.

HELLO NEWMAN...CALESIO PRs TWICE IN TRINIDAD
Former North Carolina A&T star Calesio Newman raced to a pair of sprint PRs at the Quantum Invitational in Port-of-Spain May 19, dropping .01 from his 100m best with a 10.07, and knocking .12 off his furlong best with a 20.31.

Porscha Lucas won the 200m in 22.65 and Natasha Hastings took the 400m in 51.71, with Ronnie Ash riding an illegal breeze to a 13.26 110mH victory. Brandon Roulhac also had a bit too much wind assistance on his winning leap in the triple jump, spanning 16.74m/54-11.25w.

SEASON BESTS APLENTY AT TUCSON THROWS MEETS
Arizona hosted a pair of elite field event meets on May 17 and 19, producing a slew of season bests. Among the top efforts were a 75.92m/249-1 U.S. leader in the hammer for A.G. Kruger and a 60.36m/198-0 in the women's javelin by American record holder Kara Patterson.

Jillian Camarena-Williams won both editions of the women's shot in fine fashion, tossing the four-kilogram ball 19.75m/64-9.75 in the opener then 19.82m/65-0.5 at the second meet.

Corey White and Cyrus Hostetler topped 80m in the men's javelin with White taking the title at 80.95m/265-7 and Kurt Roberts blasted a PR of 21.14m/69-4.25 in the men's shot put.

Hyleas Fountain (6.75m/22-1.75) and world champion Brittney Reese (6.85m/22-5.75) also enjoyed long jump wins while 2011 U.S. triple jump champ Amanda Smock had a season-best 13.90/45-7.25.

SOUTH PLAINS SWEEPS JUCO CROWNS
Bralon Taplin won the 400m and helped his team to victory in the 4x400m and Keri Emanuel won the LJ/TJ double to lead South Plains to a pair of team titles at the NJCAA Championships in Levelland, Texas.

PURVIS CRACKS AJCR IN 200
Ashton Purvis of Laney College smashed the American JUCO record in the women's 200m with her 22.86 PR at the California Community Colleges Championships in Norwalk on May 19. Purvis clipped more than a quarter-second off the previous best.





About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track & field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, the World's #1 Track & Field Team, the most-watched events at the Olympics, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport, and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States: www.usatf.org.







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