INDIANAPOLIS -- Dominating the men's individual race at the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships, Kenneth Rooks (Provo, UT/USATF Utah) earned recognition as the 40th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2024. Rooks, the silver medalist in the 3000 steeplechase at the Paris Olympic Games and the second-fastest American ever in the event, clocked 31:09 in blustery, sloppy conditions at the Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Washington, to win by 28 seconds. Facing off against more than 400 runners, Rooks took the lead through 3km in 8:53.4, almost nine seconds ahead of his nearest challenger, and he stretched his lead to more than 15 seconds at the 6km mark, going by in 18:25.6. Hitting 8km in 24:52.2, Rooks had a 24-second gap on the field, and he increased that on the way to the finish. Other top performances from last week:
Jeanette Groesz, 75, led her Team Red Lizard squad onto the Women's 70+ podium at the USATF Club Cross Championships. Her 31:13, on a windy day, over a muddy 6 Km course, earned the highest age grade of the day at 87.72%.
Steve Schmidt, 63, not only won the Men's 60+ race on a raw, windy day at the USATF Club Cross Championships, his 31:21 over 8 Km earned the highest score in that race at 85.38%.
Allie Buchalski won the individual women's title at the USATF Club Cross Championships, clocking 20:28 to take a two-second victory over Brooks Beasts teammate Kayley DeLay.
Eli Hernandez, 12, won the boys 11-12 division at the USATF National Junior Olympic XC Championships by more than seven seconds with a course-record 9:33.6 for 3000 meters.
Now in its 23rd 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. 2024 Winners: January 17, Weini Kelati; January 24, Cooper Teare; January 31, Nico Young; February 7, Fiona O'Keeffe; February 14, Elle St. Pierre; February 21, Grant Holloway; February 28, Jalani Davis; March 6, Elle St. Pierre; March 13, Rachel Glenn; March 20, Grant Fisher; March 27, Myrle Mensey; April 3, Jordan Davis; April 10, Hillary Bor; April 17, Jacious Sears; April 24, Christian Miller; May 1, Payton Otterdahl; May 8, Gabby Thomas; May 15, Ja'Kobe Tharp; May 22, Rai Benjamin; May 29, Joe Kovacs; June 5, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone; June 12, McKenzie Long; July 10, Valarie Allman; July 17, Rai Benjamin; July 24, Quincy Wilson; September 4, Ja'Kobe Tharp; September 11, Grant Holloway; September 18, Nora Cary; September 25, Jessica McClain; October 2, Brittany Brown; October 9, Fiona Bayly; October 16, CJ Albertson; October 23, Dan King; October 30, Nick Christie; November 6, Zariel Macchia; November 13, Courtney Olsen; November 20, Lauren Gregory; December 2, Biya Simbassa; December 9, Jane Hedengren; December 16, Kenneth Rooks. 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.