INDIANAPOLIS — Breaking two national records at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships in Eugene, Quenton Lanese (Olympia, Washington/USATF Pacific Northwest) earned recognition as the 27th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2023. Lanese, a 12-year-old member of the Barron Park Striders Track Club, won the 11-12 boys' 3000 by almost 17 seconds in 9:26.59, breaking his own record of 9:31.17 that he set last year. He doubled back to take the 1500 in 4:19.31, trimming almost three seconds off the previous record of 4:22.05, set in 2012 by Coleman Mitchell. Other top performances from last week:
(All records are subject to verification by the USATF Records Committee). Now in its 22nd 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 when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week. 2023 Winners: January 17, Emily Sisson; January 24, Ednah Kurgat; January 31, Woody Kincaid; February 7, Grant Holloway; February 14, Yared Nuguse; February 21, Anna Hall; February 28, Talitha Diggs; March 7, Alicia Monson; March 14, Jasmine Moore; March 21, Keyzelle Thomas; March 28, Camille Herron; April 4, Hillary Bor; April 11, Valarie Allman; April 18, Britton Wilson; April 25, Brooke Andersen; May 2, Gabby Thomas; May 9, Connor Burns; May 16, Britton Wilson; May 23, Brooke Andersen; May 30, Ryan Crouser; June 6, KC Lightfoot; June 13, Grayson Murphy; June 20, Yared Nuguse; July 17, Gabby Thomas & Christian Miller; July 20, Ednah Kurgat; July 27, Nikki Hiltz; August 3, Quenton Lanese. We welcome your nominations! To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about their performance to communications@usatf.org. Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook using the hashtag #USATF.