Presenting the 2023 Mercanator Awards!
To put a bow on the 2023 season, which was one of the best seasons in recent memory, it's time to hand out the Mercanator Awards for the top performers and performances of the year.
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And now, the 2023 Mercanators!
Here are the disclaimers: Mercanator Awards are limited to athletes who have affiliations with the state of Washington—either they were born in this state, trained for a significant time, currently reside in the state or attend(ed) school in the state. Also, not all event categories from previous editions were awarded...publisher's decision.
With the World Athletics (formerly IAAF) rankings coming into play for qualification to this summer's Olympics in Paris, the two numbers next to an athlete's name signifies their world event ranking in 2023, followed by the number of points accumulated.
The baseline for athletes to be considered for the top performer in their event category and the Mercanator Award is a world ranking in the top 100, AND a world ranking score of at least 1000 points (the exception in 2023 was in the marathon and half-marathon, where a ranking of 125 and 1100 was the baseline).
For a thorough explanation on how the World Athletics event rankings work, here's a link. The World Athletics rankings used for the purposes of the Mercanators were released on December 26, 2023, the final Tuesday of the year.
World Athletics releases its world rankings every Tuesday.
WOMEN
Middle distance (800-steeple)
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| Nia Akins |
Ten women, one short of the record eleven from the 2021 season, received consideration for the Mercanator in the middle distances.
In the 800, two were considered: national champ Nia Akins (10, 1324) of the Brooks Beasts and Carley Thomas (90, 1163) of the University of Washington made the cut.
The 1500 meter group included Marta Pen Freitas (59, 1193) of the Brooks Beasts; the Huskies' Sophie O'Sullivan (65, 1185); and UW volunteer coach Alli Cash (85, 1156).
The biggest group came from the steeplechasers, which included NCAA champ Olivia Markezich (35, 1216) from Bear Creek HS; Pasco HS alum Marisa Howard (37, 1213); former Seattle Pacific All-American Kaylee Mitchell (59, 1175); Washington alum Katie Rainsberger (74, 1150); and recent UW grad Kayley DeLay (75, 1150), now competing for the Brooks Beasts,
Akins, Pen Freitas and O'Sullivan all appeared at the world championships, with Akins advancing to the finals, where she finished sixth.
In the end, Akins, who was nosed out by Rainsberger for the Mercanator in the middle distance category, gets the nod by a decisive margin. Akins finished sixth in the finals of the 800 meters at the world championships, running a personal best of 1:57.73, the tenth fastest time in the world in 2023.
From this group, Akins (800--1:57.73), O'Sullivan (1500--4:02.15), Markezich (steeple--9:17.93), and Howard (steeple--9:22.73) already have the Olympic qualifying standards in their events.
Distance (5000-marathon)
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| Lindsay Flanagan |
Four women were considered for the honor in the distances: UW alum Amy-Eloise Markovc (42, 1193) and Allie Buchalski (77, 1156) of the Brooks Beasts in the 5000; and a pair of Washington alums: Izzi Batt-Doyle (65, 1165) in the 10000, and (124, 1210) in the marathon; and Lindsay Flanagan (101, 1230) in the marathon.
While there was an argument to go with Markovc based on a higher world ranking, I gave the Mercanator to Washington alum Lindsay Flanagan based on her ninth place finish in the marathon at the world championships in Budapest against less than ideal race conditions, clocking 2:27:47.
Both Batt-Doyle (2:23:27) and Flanagan (2:26:08) hold the Olympic qualifying standard in the marathon.
Hurdles (400H)
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| Gianna Woodruff |
Though she had a drop-off in 2023 after making the finals at both the Tokyo Olympics and the world championships in Eugene the previous two years, Washington alum Gianna Woodruff of Panama (13, 1302) in the 400 hurdles again gets the nod.
Woodruff advanced to the semifinals at this year's world championships in Budapest, ran a season best of 54.46 at the Wanda Diamond League stop in Oslo to get under the Olympic standard, and won the Pan-Am Games title, despite some drama after her race when the Costa Rican federation filed a protest saying she didn't clear the ninth hurdle properly.
Pole Vault
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| Katie Moon |
Six women received consideration for the Mercanator in the women's pole vault, led by former Pullman resident and defending world and Olympic champion Katie Moon (1, 1457).
Also in the mix for the 2023 Mercanator are world championships ninth place finisher and American high school record holder Hana Moll (24, 1202) from Olympia's Capital HS; NCAA All-American Nastassja Campbell (41, 1148), Amanda Moll (43, 1142), Hana's twin sister and the former American high school record holder; Washington alum Olivia Gruver (47, 1128); and UW All-American Sara Borton (82, 1080).
Katie Moon received the Mercanator in the women's pole vault after defending her world championship, winning both the USA indoor and outdoor titles, and winning four Wanda Diamond League meets, including the final at the Nike Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.
Moon is the only vaulter from the group of six who holds the Olympic standard of 15-6.25 (4.73m), a mark she exceeded five times since the opening of the qualifying period on July 1st.
As a side note, for the second straight year, both Hana and Amanda Moll were the only under-20 athletes to score enough world ranking points to receive consideration for the Mercanator Award.
Triple Jump
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| Lexi Ellis |
Curtis HS and University of Oregon's Lexi Ellis (72, 1102) gets the Mercanator in the horizontal jumps after winning another Pac-12 triple jump title and finishing eighth in the triple jump at the NCAA indoor championships in Albuquerque. She set a personal best of 45-10 (13.97m) in Albuquerque.
Multi Events
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| Ida Eikeng |
University of Washington's Ida Eikeng (38, 1124) gets the Mercanator in the multi events after finishing eighth in the NCAA indoor pentathlon with a personal best scorer of 4266 points and followed it up with a second place finish at the Pac-12 heptathlon with a personal best score of 6113. She only competed in one event at the NCAA heptathlon, running 13.35 in the 100 hurdles, before rolling her ankle warming up for the high jump.
MEN
Middle Distance (800-5000)
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| Josh Kerr |
Three athletes from the 800 meter group, all of whom are members of the Brooks Beasts received consideration: Isaiah Harris (19, 1268); Devin Dixon (84, 1175), and Brandon Miller (92, 1169). Note that Dixon left the Beasts in October, while Miller replaced Dixon on their roster after spending the 2023 season training in Los Angeles.
Eight athletes earned Mercanator Award nominations in the 1500/mile category: Josh Kerr (3, 1413) of the Brooks Beasts; former Husky Sam Tanner (13, 1333); Johnny Gregokek (24, 1270), who commuted from the East Coast for extended training sessions with his former Oregon coach Andy Powell; UW volunteer assistant coach Sam Prakel (25, 1269); Henry Wynne (36, 1239) of the Brooks Beasts; recent UW grad Kieran Lumb (43, 1228); and current Huskies Joe Waskom (58, 1202) and Nathan Green (86, 1181).
As a testimony to how deep the 1500 group was in 2023, the number 200 ranked runner in the men's 1500 according to the final World Athletics rankings of 2023 released December 26th was Tacoma native Jack Yearian (200, 1113).
With the accomplishments of everyone on this list, the Mercanator in the middle distance category goes to Josh Kerr of the Brooks Beasts, after winning the world championship in the 1500 in Budapest.
Out of the eleven finalists for the Mercanator, Kerr (3:29.38), and Tanner (3:31.24) have the Olympic standard.
Distance (steeple-10000)
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| Kenneth Rooks |
Four athletes were considered for the Mercanator in the distance category: Walla Walla native Kenneth Rooks (20, 1254) of BYU and Washington grad Ed Trippas (59, 1170) in the steeplechase; recent Husky grad Brian Fay (22, 1240) in the 5000 meters, and Washington alum Jack Rowe (67, 1159) in the 5000 and half marathon (105, 1138).
While Fay got the Olympic standard in the 5000 when he ran an Irish national record 13:01.40 in Heusden, Belgium on July 15th, Rooks got the nod based on him making the finals in the steeplechase at the world championships, while Fay didn't advance out of the 5000m semis in Budapest.
Hurdles (110-400)
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| CJ Allen |
In the hurdles, three men were considered for the Mercanator: former Renton resident Devon Allen (10, 1334) in the 110 hurdles; Washington State alum CJ Allen (5, 1406); and recent Washington grad Cass Elliott (70, 1183) in the 400 hurdles.
Devon Allen's season ended after the USA championships in Eugene where he finished fourth in the first round of the 110 hurdles and qualified for the semis as a time qualifier, but strained a calf muscle in the race. After USAs, Devon reported to the Philadelphia Eagles training camp, where he spent most of the season as a wide receiver on their practice squad.
The Mercanator goes to CJ Allen for yet another breakthrough performance in 2023, which included a personal best of 47.58 in June, a win in the Paris Diamond League meet, a second place finish at the USA Championships, and advanced to the semifinals at the world championships. He has the Olympic standard, having run a best of 47.84 at the Diamond League meet on July 21st, after the qualifying period opened on July 1st.
Pole Vault
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| Jacob Englar |
Washington grad Jacob Englar (87, 1149) gets the Mercanator in the pole vault, after setting a personal best of 18-4.5 (5.60m) to finish third at the NCAA championships in Austin, after finishing 17th the previous year while competing for Washington State.
Throws
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| Brock Eager |
Recent Washington grad Elijah Mason (79, 1089) in the discus, and Washington State alum Brock Eager (40, 1157) in the hammer were considered in the throws category,
Eager gets the nod based on his fourth place finish at the USA championships.
Multi Events
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| Bruno Comin Pescador |
Current Husky Bruno Comin Pescador (53, 1165) was the only multi event specialist to receive consideration for a Mercanator based on his number 53 world ranking.
The man nicknamed "The Fisherman" won the Spanish decathlon title with a personal best score of 7979 points, and finished eighth in the NCAA indoor heptathlon with a score of 5992 points in March.
WHO GETS THE MERCANATOR AS WASHINGTON STATE'S TOP MALE AND FEMALE TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF 2023?
WOMEN
Former Pullman resident and two time world outdoor champion Katie Moon gets the nod as the 2023 Mercanator Award winner.
She gets the award on the basis of defending her world championship in the pole vault that she won in 2022 in Eugene, as well as winning the Wanda Diamond League championship at the end of the season.
Katie also swept the USA indoor and outdoor championships in 2023.
Moon receives her fourth career Mercanator, winning the award in 2018, 2019, and in 2021 along with a Top Box award from the COVID truncated 2020 season.
Moon needs one more to tie Kara Winger's career five Mercanator Awards.
MEN
Like the women's Mercanator, the men's Mercanator was an easy choice.
Josh Kerr of the Seattle based Brooks Beasts is the 2023 Mercanator Award winner.
While his overall body of work in the meets leading up to the world championships may not be as good as it could have been in 2023, mainly because he raced infrequently, the bottom line is that he was the best in the world on the day that mattered, beating all competitors in the finals of the world championship 1500 meter race in Budapest.
Kerr gets his third career Mercanator, winning it previously in 2019, and 2021. He is second in career Mercanator Awards, behind Devon Allen's five career Mercanators (the award began after the 2010 season, and wasn't awarded in 2013, because the editor forgot).
This is the second time that Katie and Josh have won it outright together (Josh shared the 2021 men's Mercanator with Devon Allen).
Before ending the Mercanators, here's the all time list of Mercanator Award winners:
2023--Josh Kerr, Katie Moon
2022--Devon Allen, Kara Winger
2021--Devon Allen/Josh Kerr, Katie Nageotte
2020--(Top Box) Katie Nageotte
2019--Josh Kerr, Katie Nageotte
2018--Devon Allen, Katie Nageotte
2017--Devon Allen, Kara Winger
2016--Devon Allen, Andrea Geubelle/Kara Winger
2015--Garrett Heath, Kara Winger
2014--Bernard Lagat, Katie Mackey
2013--none (we forgot)
2012--Bernard Lagat, Ginnie Crawford
2011--Jeshua Anderson
2010--Kara Patterson
2009--by event category
2008--by event category
2024 will be an exciting season, with the collegiate season starting in the state of Washington (technically it started last month in Spokane) next weekend with indoor meets in Spokane and Seattle, both the Olympic Trials and the Olympics, and much, much more. We look forward to chronicling the 2024 season for you.
NOTE: World Athletics, USA Track & Field, Track & Field News, and TFRRS contributed to this report.
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