Athlete of the Month

July 2010
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Jessica January and Michael Sandle are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for July 2010.

January, a ninth-grader at Richfield High School, is honored for winning the Class AA girls' 100m and 300m hurdle events at the Minnesota State High School League State Meet in June. January set a new All-Time State Meet record with her 14.33 second clocking in the 100m hurdles. She ran the 300m hurdles in 44.05.

Sandle, a junior at Eden Prairie High School, is honored for his record-setting victory in the Class AA boys' triple jump at the MSHSL State Meet. Sandle leaped 49 feet, 5 1/2 inches to set a new All-Time State Meet record in the event.

June 2010
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Marie Borner and Max Hanson are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for June 2010.

Borner, a senior at Bethel University, is honored for winning the women's 800-meter and 1500-meter titles at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships in Berea, Ohio last month. Borner, who has won a total of six NCAA Division III titles in her career, defended her 2009 title in the 1500m in 4:23.85 and then set a new NCAA Division III record in the 800m, clocking 2:06.87.

Hanson, a senior at Gustavus Adolphus College, is recognized for winning the men's 800m title at the NCAA Division III Championships. Hanson ran 1:49.50 to win his first-ever NCAA title. Earlier in the season, Hanson won the rare 800m/3000m Steeplechase double at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships.

May 2010
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Macauley Spandl and the University of Minnesota women's 4 x 800-meter and 4 x 1600-meter relay teams are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for May 2010.

Spandl, a senior at Moorhead High School, is recognized for breaking the Minnesota all-time high school record in the pole vault with a clearance of 15 feet, eight inches at the Moorhead Athletic Association Invitational in April. Spandl eclipsed the previous record of 15-7 set by Tim Koupal of Anoka in 1997.

The University of Minnesota women's relay squads are recognized for their victories at the Drake Relays last month. The 4 x 800m team of Nikki Swenson, Alena Brooks, Jamie Dittmar, and Garbiele Anderson won the event in eight minutes, 33.98 seconds. The 4 x 1600m team of Swenson, Elizabeth Yetzer, Megan Duwell, and Anderson won that event in a new Drake Relays record of 18:58.82.

April 2010
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Ralph Maxwell and Katie McGregor are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for April 2010.

Maxwell, a 90-year-old masters athlete who lives in Richville, is recognized for setting a world M90 age-group record in the indoor heptathlon at the USA Masters Indoor Championships in Boston last month. Maxwell scored 4594 points in the five-event effort. Maxwell's time of 15.84 seconds in the 60 meter hurdle race of the pentathlon set a world age-group record as well.

McGregor, a member of Team USA Minnesota, is honored for winning the USA 15K Championship held in conjunction with the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, Florida in March. McGregor clocked 49 minutes, 51 seconds to win her first-ever USA title at the distance. McGregor, has now won national titles at 10,000 meters on the track and at 10K (twice), 15K, and 25K on the roads.

March 2010
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Ben Blankenship and Heather Dorniden are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for March 2010.

Blankenship, a junior at the University of Minnesota, is recognized for winning the conference title in the mile run at the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships last month. Blankenship's win in 4:05.64 helped power the Gopher's runaway team victory at the meet. A week later, the Stillwater High School graduate became the first Gopher to break four minutes in the mile, running 3:57.87 in Seattle.

Dorniden, a member of Team USA Minnesota, is honored for finishing third at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque last month. The University of Minnesota graduate clocked a personal indoor best time of 2:02.33 in the event.

February 2010
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that Antonio Vega and Alicia Rue are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for February 2010.

Vega, a member of Team USA Minnesota, is recognized for winning the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston, Texas in January. The University of Minnesota alum ran a personal best 1:01:54 seconds to win his first-ever USA title.

Rue, a senior at the University of Minnesota, is honored for setting a new Gopher women's record in the pole vault. Rue, a three-time All-American in the event cleared 14-4 1/2 at the Jack Johnson Minnesota Classic in January.

January 2010
The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field is proud to announce that the Eden Prairie boys' cross country team and the Elk River girls' cross country team are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for January 2010.

The Eden Prairie boys are recognized for their 14th-place finish at the 2009 Nike Cross Nationals (NXN), a national high school cross country championship held in Portland, Oregon last month. The Eagles, which won the 2009 MSHSL Class AA title and were the NXN Heartland Regional champs, tallied 297 points at the meet, which was won by Boerne High School of Texas with 195 points.

The Elk River girls are honored for their 20th-place finish at NXN. The Elks, who were the MSHSL Class AA girls' champs last year, scored 418 points at the meet, which was won by Manlius High School of New York with 74 points.