News and Notes – June 30, 2017 – USA Track & Field – News – Crouser, Muhammad nominated for Team USA’s Best of June

COLORADO SPRINGS — The United States Olympic Committee today announced the finalists for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of June, which recognize the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from the last month.

USATF’s finalists are USATF Outdoor champions and reigning Olympic gold medalists Ryan Crouser (Boring, Oregon – men’s shot put) and Dalilah Muhammad (Bayside, New York – women’s 400m hurdles).

Fans are invited to vote for their favorite athletes and teams at TeamUSA.org/Awards through midnight Wednesday, July 5.

Male Athlete of the Month

Ryan Crouser (Boring, Oregon), Track and Field

Defeated the reigning world champion and Olympic silver medalist to win the men’s shot put at the USATF Outdoor Championships, with a throw of 22.65 meters – the best mark in the world since 2003 and a new meet record.

Female Athlete of the Month

Dalilah Muhammad (Bayside, New York), Track and Field

Won the women’s 400-meter hurdles in 52.64 seconds, topping a stacked field that featured six women who finished under 54 seconds at the USATF Outdoor Championships and breaking the meet record.

Each of the finalists automatically qualify for consideration for the 2017 Team USA Awards presented by Dow Best of the Year. Their collective accomplishments tell the inspiring story of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes year-round. A complete list of monthly finalists from the 2016-17 qualification period can be found at TeamUSA.org. The 2017 Best of the Year Awards will be held Nov. 29 in Los Angeles.

For more on the #TeamUSAAwards, please visit TeamUSA.org.

Dr. Melvin Ramey remembered for contributions to the sport

INDIANAPOLIS — Dr. Melvin R. "Mel" Ramey passed away on Monday at the age of 78. Dr. Ramey was USATF’s Sport Sciences Subcommittee Chair for many years, the lead biomechanist in the horizontal jumps and a wonderful friend and mentor. He left a strong legacy on the sport and will be missed.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ramey lettered in both track & field and basketball while earning his undergraduate degree from Penn State, where he graduated in 1960. He later earned his master's degree and Ph.D. in civil engineering from Carnegie Mellon in 1965 and 1967, respectively, then became the second African-American member of the UC Davis faculty in 1967.

Ramey was an assistant coach at UC Davis for 25 years and served as the Faculty Athletics Representative from 1997 until his retirement in 2004, representing the campus at various NCAA events and continuing — if not embodying — the athletics department's commitment to academic integrity. Ramey also stood as an advocate for Title IX, both during its initial implementation in the 1970s and in his tenure as FAR.

His colleagues and students established the Melvin R. Ramey Fund for Student Success, and further had the lobby of the campus's new Student Community Center named for Ramey.

For more on Dr. Ramey’s legacy, please visit ucdavisaggies.com.

Team USATF rosters announced for Capital Cup & Thorpe Cup

INDIANAPOLIS — USATF announced the rosters for the 2017 Capital Cup and Thorpe Cup, both contested in July. Multi-event athletes will don the red, white and blue in Ottawa, Canada from July 3-4 and Dusseldorf, Germany from July 29-30, respectively.

2017 Capital Cup Roster
First	Last	Hometown	University	Event
Breanne	Borman	Desoto, Missouri	Wichita State University	Heptathlon
Kaylee	Hinton	Wylie, Texas	Texas Tech University	Heptathlon
Robert	Robinson	Azusa, California	Cerritos College	Decathlon
Taylor	Sanderson	Lincoln, Nebraska	Doane University	Decathlon
Solomon	Simmons	Murrieta, California	Eastern Michigan	Decathlon
Samantha	Spenner	Columbus, Nebraska	University of Nebraska Omaha	Heptathlon

 

2017 Thorpe Cup Roster
First	Last	Hometown	University	Event
Alex	Gochenour	Missouri Valley, Iowa	Arkansas	Heptathlon
Chari	Hawkins	Rexburg, Idaho	Utah State	Heptathlon
Lindsay	Lettow	Urbandale, Iowa	Central Missouri	Heptathlon
Allison	Reaser	El Segundo, California	San Diego State	Heptathlon
Lindsay	Schwartz	Watertown, Wisconsin	South Alabama	Heptathlon
Jaclyn	Siefring	Covington, Ohio	University of Akron	Heptathlon
Payton	Stumbaugh	Springdale, Arkansas	Arkansas	Heptathlon
Steven	Bastien	Saline, Michigan	Michigan	Decathlon
Kurtis	Brondyke	Clinton, Iowa	Central College	Decathlon
Scott	Filip	Bloomingdale, Illinois	Rice University	Decathlon
Daniel	Golubovic	Los Angeles, California	UCSD/Duke	Decathlon
Gabriel	Moore	Freeport, Florida	Arkansas	Decathlon
Steele	Wasik	Medina, Ohio	Texas	Decathlon

NBC Sports Group to Present AJC Peachtree Road Race Through 2019

Beginning with this year’s AJC Peachtree Road Race, USA Track & Field, NBC Sports Group and Atlanta Track Club will launch a three-year partnership to air a same-day national broadcast of the iconic July 4 event, with this year’s edition airing at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. The third year of the relationship, in 2019, will celebrate the 50th running of the race.
 
The event will be added to the direct-to-consumer NBC Sports Gold “Track and Field Pass,” which live streams to desktops, tablets, mobile and connected devices. Content will be presented as part of the Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA partnership among NBCUniversal, the IOC, and the USOC.

NBCSN presents coverage of the event this Tuesday, July 4, from 7 p.m.-8 p.m. ET. The NBCSN telecast will complement an Atlanta broadcast by race partner 11Alive, an NBC affiliate, which will offer more than four hours of local coverage. Paul Swangard will call the action on NBCSN, joined by two-time Olympian and analyst Amy Rudolph, as well as 2004 Olympian and reporter Carrie Tollefson.

For more, please visit NBC Sports Pressbox.

Amanda Brooks
Marketing and Communications Manager
USA Track & Field
317.713.4690