Andy Wacker earns USATF Athlete of the Week honors
10/20/2016
INDIANAPOLIS -- Andy Wacker (Boulder, Colorado) earns his first USATF Athlete of the Week nod after taking home the second national title of his career, winning the 2016 USATF Half Marathon Trail Championships on Saturday, October 15.
Wacker captured his second career USATF Mountain-Ultra-Trail (MUT) title, winning the 2016 USATF Half Marathon Trail Championships, hosted by the Lake Padden Trail Half, in 1:21:02. Wacker, who won his first national title in 2015 at the USATF 50K Trail Championships, bested the field by nearly three and a half minutes.
Wacker was the runner-up at last year’s Lake Padden Trail Half, and utilized his experience on the course to overcome the muddy terrain, courtesy of an expected six inches of rain and 50+ mph winds. He’s a veteran of multiple IAAF World Cross Country Championships and was the silver medalist at the 2015 WMRA Long Distance Mountain Running Championships.
Other notable performances:
- Chris Grauch (Nederland, Colorado) was the top masters finisher overall at the USATF Half Marathon Trail Championships, finishing in 1:33:47. Grauch, 44, nearly cracked the overall top 10, finishing 11th in the field.
- Kathleen Harris (Bellingham, Washington) was the top masters women's finisher at the 2016 USATF Half Marathon Trail Championships, crossing in 1:57:39. Harris overcame the muddy conditions to best the masters women's field by 12 seconds.
- In her trail racing debut, Renee Metivier (Bend, Oregon) won the USATF Half Marathon Trail Championships in 1:34:36, just edging the second-place finisher by four seconds. Metivier, a U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon competitor, captured her third USATF title, having previously won the 2010 USATF Indoor 3000m and 2012 USATF 20K Championship.
- Emily Sisson (Chesterfield, Missouri) dominated the USATF Women's 10K Championships, winning her first national title with a time of 31:47. With a wire-to-wire victory, Sisson won by 44 seconds and moved up to third overall in the final USATF Running Circuit (USARC) standings.
Now in its 15th 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 USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
2016 Winners: January 13, Garrett Heath; January 20, Donavan Brazier; January 27, Keni Harrison; February 3, Jenn Suhr; February 10, Vashti Cunningham; February 17, Galen Rupp; February 24, John Nunn; March 2, Curtis Beach; March 11, Bill Collins; March 16, Da’mira Allen; March 24, Michelle Carter; March 31, Janet Bawcom; April 8, Maria Michta-Coffey; April 14, Keni Harrison; April 22, LaShawn Merritt; April 28, Courtney Okolo; May 6, Ida Keeling; May 12, Willie Gault; May 18, Marquise Goodwin; June 2, Keni Harrison; June 9, Tia Brooks; June 16, Donavan Brazier; June 23, Sydney McLaughlin; June 30, Tia Jones; July 7, Allyson Felix; July 15, Bernard Lagat; July 22, Allen Woodard; July 29, Keni Harrison; August 5, Chantae McMillan; August 11, Myrle Mensey; August 20, Michelle Carter; August 26, Matt Centrowitz; September 1, Megan Roche; September 8, Christian Taylor; September 14, Joe Gray; September 21, Jenny Hoffman; September 30, Jeff Henderson; October 5, Libby James; October 13, Brian Pilcher; October 20, Andy Wacker.
We welcome your nominations!
To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to Communications@usatf.org.
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