Bernard Lagat leads the Mercanator Washington All-Decade men's track & field squad...
We recently named the athletes who made our first ever Mercanator Washington women's All Decade track & field team, led by Vancouver native Kara Winger, the women's track and field athlete of the decade by this website.
It's time to reveal the names of the male athletes with Washington ties who made the first ever Mercanator Washington All Decade Team as well as the Mercanator Washington Athlete of the Decade.
The criteria for making the Mercanator All Decade Team are very similar to the criteria for earning the yearly Mercanator Awards: they are limited to athletes who have affiliations with the state of Washington—either they were born in this state, currently reside in the state or attend(ed) school in the state.
In addition, athletes under consideration for the All Decade Team had to demonstrate competitive consistency over a period of time against the best in the world, and compete in at least one of what I consider the Big Three major meets--the IAAF (now World Athletics) World Outdoor Track & Field Championships; the World Athletics Indoor Track & Field Championships; and of course, the Olympic Games.
While it was easy to make the distinction of athletes who either attended school in the state of Washington, or were born and raised in the state, it was difficult to sort out those professional athletes who only resided for X number of years in the state, given the transient nature of pros looking for a stable coaching and training situation.
The question was whether you consider an athlete for the All Decade Team who only stayed for one, two or three seasons?
After consideration, I went with two seasons as the minimum criteria for pros who moved into the state.
Like the yearly Mercanators, I reserve the right not to give the award to an event group; however, the criteria of competing in one of the big three major meets sorted out those athletes.
In certain events, there was more than one athlete under consideration, most notably in the distances, an area this part of the country is strong in.
Without further ado, here's the men's Mercanator Washington All Decade Team for the 2010s!
MEN
All Decade--800 meters: Three athletes were considered for the one spot on the All Decade squad, and all were from the same team: the Seattle based Brooks Beasts.
Cas Loxsom followed up his personal best of 1:44.92 in the semifinals and finished third at the 2015 USA outdoor championships, and went to Beijing to run in the world championships, but was eliminated in the first round. Loxsom was ranked #4 in the US by Track & Field News.
Brannon Kidder, who ran a personal best 1:45.39 in early July after running a personal best of 3:35.27 in the 1500 at the Brooks PR meet, finished sixth in the 2019 USA outdoor championships, but was the beneficiary of national champ Donavan Brazier's victory in the IAAF Diamond League finals in Zürich, as Kidder was the highest finisher at nationals outside the top three that held the world championships standard.
Kidder, a graduate of Penn State, made the most of his opportunity at the world championships in Doha, advancing to the semis. He earned a #6 US ranking by Track & Field News.
Drew Windle, who graduated from the same school that produced pole vaulter Katie Nageotte--Ohio's Ashland University, finished third at the USA outdoor championships in a then personal best of 1:44.95, then set another PR in winning the TrackTown Summer Series finals in New York, running 1:44.63.
At the world championships, he advanced to the semifinals, where he ran 1:46.33. He earned a #3 US ranking from Track & Field News in 2017.
Windle made his case for the All Decade team in the 2018 season, where he finished second in the USA indoor championships at 800 meters in Albuquerque, then ran an indoor personal best at the 800 at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England, clocking 1:45.52.
In perhaps one of the wildest finals in recent world championship history, Windle finished second, then was initially disqualified for grabbing winner Adam Kszczot of Poland's jersey after the 400 meter mark. After a protest, Windle was reinstated and got the silver medal.
While his 2018 season was cut short by injury, his two year stretch, including his second place finish at the world indoor championships, was enough to get him on the All Decade team
All Decade--1500/3000/5000 meters: While there were a handful of athletes who were worthy of consideration, to not give Washington State alum Bernard Lagat the Mercanator award would be criminal.
In the decade, Lagat competed in two world outdoor championships, finishing second in the 5000 in Daegu, had two top five finishes at the London and Rio Olympic Games in the 5000, won two world indoor titles at 3000 meters, won five national outdoor championships in the 5000, and four national titles indoors in the 3000.
While for all intents and purposes he transitioned away from the 1500/mile in the 2010s, (he won a world title in 2007, and two Olympic medals in 2000 and 2004), he was still a force in the 1500/mile, running 3:54.91 in the mile indoors and 3:57.91 outdoors in 2015 as a 40-year old, both of which are world records for that age group. His en route times of 3:40.20 and 3:41.87 over 1500 meters in both of those races are also world records for 40 year olds.
Bernard was world ranked in the 5000 five times in the decade by Track & Field News, ranking as high as number 2 in 2011.
Lagat retired from the track after the 2016 season, but remains one of the country's top road racers, and could contend for a spot on the Olympic team in next month's US Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta.
All Decade--10000 meters: Hassan Mead, who attended Emerald Ridge HS before finishing up high school in Minnesota, gets the award for the 10000.
While Mead has gone back and forth between the 5000 and 10000 on the track during the decade, he made two world championship teams in the longer track race, finishing 15th in both Beijing in 2015, and London two years later. In the latter, he set his still standing personal best of 27:32.49. He also won a national title at 10000 in 2017.
Mead also receives an honorable mention for his record in the 5000 over the decade, which includes a spot on the Olympic team in 2016 (fueled in part by a DNF in the 10000 at the Olympic Trials), and on last year's world championship team, where he finished 11th. During the decade, he set a personal best at the shorter distance of 13:02.80 in 2014.
All Decade--110 hurdles: Devon Allen, who grew up in the Seattle area before moving to Arizona to spend his high school years, receives the Mercanator in the 110 hurdles.
After winning two NCAA titles in 2014 and 2016 for the University of Oregon, he won three USA outdoor titles, including the 2016 US Olympic Trials on his home track at Historic Hayward Field, where he set his personal best of 13.03.
Allen competed in two world championships and the 2016 Olympics. He finished fifth in the Olympic final, running 13.31, and seventh in last year's world championships in Doha, where he ran 13.70.
Devon was world ranked four times in the decade by Track & Field News, where he was ranked fifth in both 2016 and 2017.
All Decade--400 hurdles: Washington State alum Jeshua Anderson gets the nod over Bonney Lake HS alum Jordin Andrade in this event.
Andrade competed in both the 2016 Olympics and the 2017 world championships representing Cape Verde, getting as far as the semifinals in Rio and the first round in London. The Boise State graduate set the Cape Verde national record in the event in 2016 when he ran 49.26 in Kingston, Jamaica.
Anderson only appeared once in a Big Three meet, competing in the 2011 world championships in Daegu, Korea, where he got as far as the semifinals.
The 2011 season was a magical season for the Cougar, as he won his fourth straight Pac-10 title, his third NCAA title in the 400 hurdles, and won the USA national title that season, running a personal best 47.93 in the finals. He was one of the three men's finalists that season for college track & field's most prestigious award, the Bowerman Award, and remains the only finalist that either was a native of the state of Washington or attended a school from the state of Washington.
In addition to winning the 2011 US national title and earning a number 9 world ranking that season from Track & Field News, he made the finals at the national championships five straight times, and finished fifth at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.
All Decade--Pole vault: Washington alum Brad Walker was one of the most consistent vaulters of the decade before he retired after the 2016 US Olympic Trials.
The University HS/Spokane grad earned a top-10 world ranking from Track & Field News in the 2012 and 2013 seasons, where he was ranked eighth in 2012, and sixth in 2013. He made both the 2012 US Olympic team and two world championship teams, along with the 2012 world indoor championship team.
Walker finished third in the 2012 world indoors in Istanbul, and fourth in the 2013 world outdoors in Moscow, a meet that he ended up losing his Nike contract for taping his shoes to get more support.
In the 2010s, Brad won two national outdoor titles in 2012 and 2013, and an indoor championship in 2012. He had a best clearance of 19-4.25 (5.90m) in 2012 before he finished up his career at the 2016 US Olympic Trials. He transitioned to coaching at Washington State University, and coached All-Decade vaulter Katie Nageotte, who moved to Pullman in late 2017.
All Decade--Discus: Marysville-Pilchuck HS alum Jarred Rome gets the All Decade honors in this event.
Rome competed in both the 2011 world championships and the 2012 Olympics, and won the 2011 national title. Rome finished no worse than third at the national championships in a three year stretch from 2010-12.
Jarred finished second in the 2011 Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, throwing 202-5 (61.71m) at the end of the season, and set his personal best of 225-7 (68.76m) in Chula Vista that year.
Rome retired following the 2013 season, then moved into coaching--first at Concordia University in Portland, then went across the country to Boston University. He passed away on September 21st as a result of a fentanyl overdose, after being inducted into the Snohomish County Sports Hall of Fame.
All Decade--Multi events: Newport HS & University of Washington grad Jeremy Taiwo is the Mercanator athlete of the decade in the multi events.
After an injury filled collegiate career that included a conference championship and a second place finish at the 2013 NCAA championships, he broke through at the 2013 USA championships, finishing third with 7925 points to make his first world championship team.
After missing the entire 2014 season, he won the national heptathlon title, scoring a personal best 6273 points, then finished sixth at the 2015 Götzis Hypo-Meeting decathlon with a score of 8303 points. He was second in the USA national championships, scoring 8264 points to put himself on his second straight world championship team and an opportunity to atone for not finishing in Moscow in 2013.
In 2016, he completed three decathlons, starting with a fourth place finish at Götzis, then set his personal best at the Olympic Trials, scoring 8425 points to make his first Olympic team.
At the Olympics, he finished 11th with 8300 points, and was ranked eighth in the world that season by Track & Field News.
Since 2016, Taiwo has only competed in one decathlon, a DNF at the Firenze Multistars meet in April 2018. He did win the USA indoor heptathlon title that year, scoring 5935 points. He spent most of the last few years healing up from injuries and concentrating on other projects, including an appearance on the television show “American Ninja Warrior”.
HONORABLE MENTION: Rainier Beach HS and University of Oregon grad Michael Berry receives an honorable mention.
Berry was a multi-time All-American both indoors and outdoors for the Ducks in the 400 meters, with his best placing a second outdoors in 2014, and second indoors in 2013.
In 2011, he was on the USA 4 x 400 relay squad after his freshman year at Oregon, where he ran 43.83, the fastest split for the Americans in the semis in Daegu. He was substituted out for the finals, but earned a gold medal as the USA won the finals.
Berry was ranked in the top ten in the USA by Track & Field News five times between 2011-16, with his highest a #7 ranking in 2011.
MERCANATOR WASHINGTON TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE DECADE
The Washington men’s track & field athlete of the decade is Bernard Lagat for his consistency and excellence at the national and world class levels over the last ten years.
In the decade, Lagat medaled in the 5000 meters at the Daegu world championships, won a world title at 3000 meters indoors, and earned two top-five finishes in his last two Olympic appearances in the 5000 meters, while remaining among the best in the world...congratulations Kip!
NOTE: TFRRS, Track & Field News, and World Athletics contributed statistical information.
It's time to reveal the names of the male athletes with Washington ties who made the first ever Mercanator Washington All Decade Team as well as the Mercanator Washington Athlete of the Decade.
The criteria for making the Mercanator All Decade Team are very similar to the criteria for earning the yearly Mercanator Awards: they are limited to athletes who have affiliations with the state of Washington—either they were born in this state, currently reside in the state or attend(ed) school in the state.
In addition, athletes under consideration for the All Decade Team had to demonstrate competitive consistency over a period of time against the best in the world, and compete in at least one of what I consider the Big Three major meets--the IAAF (now World Athletics) World Outdoor Track & Field Championships; the World Athletics Indoor Track & Field Championships; and of course, the Olympic Games.
While it was easy to make the distinction of athletes who either attended school in the state of Washington, or were born and raised in the state, it was difficult to sort out those professional athletes who only resided for X number of years in the state, given the transient nature of pros looking for a stable coaching and training situation.
The question was whether you consider an athlete for the All Decade Team who only stayed for one, two or three seasons?
After consideration, I went with two seasons as the minimum criteria for pros who moved into the state.
Like the yearly Mercanators, I reserve the right not to give the award to an event group; however, the criteria of competing in one of the big three major meets sorted out those athletes.
In certain events, there was more than one athlete under consideration, most notably in the distances, an area this part of the country is strong in.
Without further ado, here's the men's Mercanator Washington All Decade Team for the 2010s!
MEN
 |
| Drew Windle (Paul Merca photo) |
Cas Loxsom followed up his personal best of 1:44.92 in the semifinals and finished third at the 2015 USA outdoor championships, and went to Beijing to run in the world championships, but was eliminated in the first round. Loxsom was ranked #4 in the US by Track & Field News.
Brannon Kidder, who ran a personal best 1:45.39 in early July after running a personal best of 3:35.27 in the 1500 at the Brooks PR meet, finished sixth in the 2019 USA outdoor championships, but was the beneficiary of national champ Donavan Brazier's victory in the IAAF Diamond League finals in Zürich, as Kidder was the highest finisher at nationals outside the top three that held the world championships standard.
Kidder, a graduate of Penn State, made the most of his opportunity at the world championships in Doha, advancing to the semis. He earned a #6 US ranking by Track & Field News.
Drew Windle, who graduated from the same school that produced pole vaulter Katie Nageotte--Ohio's Ashland University, finished third at the USA outdoor championships in a then personal best of 1:44.95, then set another PR in winning the TrackTown Summer Series finals in New York, running 1:44.63.
At the world championships, he advanced to the semifinals, where he ran 1:46.33. He earned a #3 US ranking from Track & Field News in 2017.
Windle made his case for the All Decade team in the 2018 season, where he finished second in the USA indoor championships at 800 meters in Albuquerque, then ran an indoor personal best at the 800 at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, England, clocking 1:45.52.
In perhaps one of the wildest finals in recent world championship history, Windle finished second, then was initially disqualified for grabbing winner Adam Kszczot of Poland's jersey after the 400 meter mark. After a protest, Windle was reinstated and got the silver medal.
While his 2018 season was cut short by injury, his two year stretch, including his second place finish at the world indoor championships, was enough to get him on the All Decade team
 |
| Bernard Lagat (Paul Merca photo) |
In the decade, Lagat competed in two world outdoor championships, finishing second in the 5000 in Daegu, had two top five finishes at the London and Rio Olympic Games in the 5000, won two world indoor titles at 3000 meters, won five national outdoor championships in the 5000, and four national titles indoors in the 3000.
While for all intents and purposes he transitioned away from the 1500/mile in the 2010s, (he won a world title in 2007, and two Olympic medals in 2000 and 2004), he was still a force in the 1500/mile, running 3:54.91 in the mile indoors and 3:57.91 outdoors in 2015 as a 40-year old, both of which are world records for that age group. His en route times of 3:40.20 and 3:41.87 over 1500 meters in both of those races are also world records for 40 year olds.
Bernard was world ranked in the 5000 five times in the decade by Track & Field News, ranking as high as number 2 in 2011.
Lagat retired from the track after the 2016 season, but remains one of the country's top road racers, and could contend for a spot on the Olympic team in next month's US Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta.
 |
| Hassan Mead (Paul Merca photo) |
While Mead has gone back and forth between the 5000 and 10000 on the track during the decade, he made two world championship teams in the longer track race, finishing 15th in both Beijing in 2015, and London two years later. In the latter, he set his still standing personal best of 27:32.49. He also won a national title at 10000 in 2017.
Mead also receives an honorable mention for his record in the 5000 over the decade, which includes a spot on the Olympic team in 2016 (fueled in part by a DNF in the 10000 at the Olympic Trials), and on last year's world championship team, where he finished 11th. During the decade, he set a personal best at the shorter distance of 13:02.80 in 2014.
 |
| Devon Allen (Paul Merca photo) |
After winning two NCAA titles in 2014 and 2016 for the University of Oregon, he won three USA outdoor titles, including the 2016 US Olympic Trials on his home track at Historic Hayward Field, where he set his personal best of 13.03.
Allen competed in two world championships and the 2016 Olympics. He finished fifth in the Olympic final, running 13.31, and seventh in last year's world championships in Doha, where he ran 13.70.
Devon was world ranked four times in the decade by Track & Field News, where he was ranked fifth in both 2016 and 2017.
 |
| Jeshua Anderson (Paul Merca photo) |
Andrade competed in both the 2016 Olympics and the 2017 world championships representing Cape Verde, getting as far as the semifinals in Rio and the first round in London. The Boise State graduate set the Cape Verde national record in the event in 2016 when he ran 49.26 in Kingston, Jamaica.
Anderson only appeared once in a Big Three meet, competing in the 2011 world championships in Daegu, Korea, where he got as far as the semifinals.
The 2011 season was a magical season for the Cougar, as he won his fourth straight Pac-10 title, his third NCAA title in the 400 hurdles, and won the USA national title that season, running a personal best 47.93 in the finals. He was one of the three men's finalists that season for college track & field's most prestigious award, the Bowerman Award, and remains the only finalist that either was a native of the state of Washington or attended a school from the state of Washington.
In addition to winning the 2011 US national title and earning a number 9 world ranking that season from Track & Field News, he made the finals at the national championships five straight times, and finished fifth at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.
 |
| Brad Walker (Paul Merca photo) |
The University HS/Spokane grad earned a top-10 world ranking from Track & Field News in the 2012 and 2013 seasons, where he was ranked eighth in 2012, and sixth in 2013. He made both the 2012 US Olympic team and two world championship teams, along with the 2012 world indoor championship team.
Walker finished third in the 2012 world indoors in Istanbul, and fourth in the 2013 world outdoors in Moscow, a meet that he ended up losing his Nike contract for taping his shoes to get more support.
In the 2010s, Brad won two national outdoor titles in 2012 and 2013, and an indoor championship in 2012. He had a best clearance of 19-4.25 (5.90m) in 2012 before he finished up his career at the 2016 US Olympic Trials. He transitioned to coaching at Washington State University, and coached All-Decade vaulter Katie Nageotte, who moved to Pullman in late 2017.
 |
| Jarred Rome (Paul Merca photo) |
Rome competed in both the 2011 world championships and the 2012 Olympics, and won the 2011 national title. Rome finished no worse than third at the national championships in a three year stretch from 2010-12.
Jarred finished second in the 2011 Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, throwing 202-5 (61.71m) at the end of the season, and set his personal best of 225-7 (68.76m) in Chula Vista that year.
Rome retired following the 2013 season, then moved into coaching--first at Concordia University in Portland, then went across the country to Boston University. He passed away on September 21st as a result of a fentanyl overdose, after being inducted into the Snohomish County Sports Hall of Fame.
 |
| Jeremy Taiwo (Paul Merca photo) |
After an injury filled collegiate career that included a conference championship and a second place finish at the 2013 NCAA championships, he broke through at the 2013 USA championships, finishing third with 7925 points to make his first world championship team.
After missing the entire 2014 season, he won the national heptathlon title, scoring a personal best 6273 points, then finished sixth at the 2015 Götzis Hypo-Meeting decathlon with a score of 8303 points. He was second in the USA national championships, scoring 8264 points to put himself on his second straight world championship team and an opportunity to atone for not finishing in Moscow in 2013.
In 2016, he completed three decathlons, starting with a fourth place finish at Götzis, then set his personal best at the Olympic Trials, scoring 8425 points to make his first Olympic team.
At the Olympics, he finished 11th with 8300 points, and was ranked eighth in the world that season by Track & Field News.
Since 2016, Taiwo has only competed in one decathlon, a DNF at the Firenze Multistars meet in April 2018. He did win the USA indoor heptathlon title that year, scoring 5935 points. He spent most of the last few years healing up from injuries and concentrating on other projects, including an appearance on the television show “American Ninja Warrior”.
Berry was a multi-time All-American both indoors and outdoors for the Ducks in the 400 meters, with his best placing a second outdoors in 2014, and second indoors in 2013.
In 2011, he was on the USA 4 x 400 relay squad after his freshman year at Oregon, where he ran 43.83, the fastest split for the Americans in the semis in Daegu. He was substituted out for the finals, but earned a gold medal as the USA won the finals.
Berry was ranked in the top ten in the USA by Track & Field News five times between 2011-16, with his highest a #7 ranking in 2011.
The Washington men’s track & field athlete of the decade is Bernard Lagat for his consistency and excellence at the national and world class levels over the last ten years.
In the decade, Lagat medaled in the 5000 meters at the Daegu world championships, won a world title at 3000 meters indoors, and earned two top-five finishes in his last two Olympic appearances in the 5000 meters, while remaining among the best in the world...congratulations Kip!
NOTE: TFRRS, Track & Field News, and World Athletics contributed statistical information.
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