Katie Nageotte and Kara Winger each ranked in world top-10 by Track & Field News in 2019...
Nageotte, who lived in Pullman until the end of June when WSU jumps coach and former American pole vault record holder Brad Walker resigned, had a resume this season that included winning the Toyota USATF indoor title, a runner-up finish at the Toyota USATF outdoor championships, runner-up finishes at the Pan Am Games and the Zürich Weltklasse Diamond League meet, and a tie for seventh at the IAAF World Championships in Doha
Katie was ranked number 4 by the magazine's international panel, with Doha medalists Anzhelika Sidorova of Russia, American Sandi Morris, and Greece's Katerina Stefanidi finishing ahead of her.
Vancouver native Winger, who was ranked number 7 in the world, earned her third world top-10 ranking by the magazine, a feat previously achieved by only 3 other Americans: Ranae Bair, Barbara Friedrich & Kate Schmidt (with a record 8).
Kara's resume this season included victories at the Pan Am Games in Lima and the USA vs Europe match in Minsk, Belarus, along with a fifth place finish at the world championships, which was a career best placing for her in world championship or Olympic competition.
In all, sixteen men and women with ties to the state of Washington received a national top-10 ranking by the magazine, which is based on honors won, win-loss record, and sequence of marks. The magazine’s rankings are often used by the major shoe and apparel companies as part of their criteria when paying performance bonuses and offering contracts to athletes.
The women with ties to the state of Washington receiving US rankings from Track & Field News are:
1500 meters
10 Alexa Efraimson (4:04.06)
3000 Steeplechase
4 Allie Ostrander (9:30.85)
5 Mel Lawrence (9:29.81)
6 Marisa Howard (9:36.46)
10000 meters
10 Allie Ostrander (32:06.71)
Pole Vault
2 Katie Nageotte (15-11.25/4.86m i)
7 Olivia Gruver (15-6.25/4.73m)
Javelin
1 Kara Winger (213-0/64.92m)
20K Walk
4 Katie Burnett (1:38:21)
50K Walk
3 Katie Burnett (4:50:27)
No man with Washington ties earned a world ranking from Track & Field News. The 1500 meters saw five men with Washington ties earning US rankings. 2018-19 UW volunteer coach Matthew Centrowitz (above/photo by Paul Merca) was the highest US ranked athlete with Washington ties, ranking second in the 1500.
The men with ties to the state receiving US rankings from the magazine are:
800 meters
6 Brannon Kidder (1:45.39)
1500 meters
2 Matthew Centrowitz (3:32.81)
5 Sam Prakel (3:35.66)
8 Izaic Yorks (3:36.52)
9 Brannon Kidder (3:35.27)
10 Henry Wynne (3:35.14)
5000 meters
3 Hassan Mead (13:22.11)
9 Matthew Centrowitz (13:00.39)
110 Hurdles
4 Devon Allen (13.33)
Marathon
8 Jake Riley (2:10:36)
The complete 2019 world and US rankings as compiled by Track & Field News is only available to subscribers here. The 2019 US list is also available to subscribers on its site as well.
paulmerca.blogspot.com’s definition of athletes with Washington ties are: attended high school or college in the state, or are currently training in the state as a post-collegiate athlete.
STATUS QUO
Over the last few weeks, several athletes with Washington ties have announced moves via social media.
Seattle Pacific sophomore All-American Kaylee Mitchell, who was supposed to give the Falcons a significant boost, announced on Instagram that she's moving up in classification to Division I and transferring to Oregon State. That move had been rumored after the Oregon native left the team in October...
Washington State alum CJ Allen is now training for a possible run at the 2020 US Olympic Trials in the 400 hurdles in the Atlanta area, while Cougar alum and two-time Pac-12 heptathlon champ Alissa Brooks-Johnson has relocated to Southern California.
NOTE: Track & Field News and USA Track & Field contributed to this report.
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