Gorze's cross country win earns him USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Winning the individual title handily and leading his team to victory at the NXR Northwest Regional, Tyrone Gorze (Central Point, Oregon/USATF Oregon) earned recognition as the 39th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2022.
 
Gorze, a senior at Crater High School, ran away with the race at Eagle Island State Park near Boise, Idaho, clocking 14:51.6 on the 5km course to win by more than 12 seconds. Gorze was in second through the first kilometer before assuming the lead for good, and stretched his lead to almost 16 seconds with just more than a kilometer remaining.
 
Recording the lowest winning score since 2013, Gorze's Southern Oregon Project squad earned advancement to the Nike Cross Nationals, scheduled for December 3 in Portland, Oregon. In June, Gorze won the USATF U20 5,000m title and was the runner-up in the 3,000m. He went on to place 12th in the 5,000m for Team USATF at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Jackson Heidesch won the Nike Cross Regionals Heartland in a sprint finish over sub-4:00 miler Simeon Birnbaum, clocking 14:39 for 5km in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
• Olivia Howell of Illinois won the individual title at the NCAA Midwest Regional cross country meet by nine seconds with a 20:02.9 for 6km.
• Isabel van Camp won the NCAA South Central Regional women's 6km race in 20:01.9 to lead Arkansas to an 11th-straight team title.
• Olivia Markezich of Notre Dame led her school to the women's team title at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional with a 19:00 individual win.
• Liam Murphy of Villanova captured the men's NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional title and led his school to the team trophy with a 29:52.6 for 10km.
• Nico Young helped Northern Arizona to the NCAA Mountain Regional team title with his 28:01.8 individual win.

Now in its 21st 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.

2022 Winners: January 10, Alicia Monson; January 17, Keira D’Amato; January 24, Nyckoles Harbor; January 31, Elle Purrier St. Pierre; February 7, Chris Nilsen; February 14, Grant Fisher; February 21, Camille Herron; February 28, Cole Hocker; March 7, Grant Fisher; March 14, Randolph Ross; March 21, Grant Holloway; March 28, Anna Hall; April 4, Natalie Cook; April 11, Valarie Allman; April 18, Gabby Thomas; April 25, Robyn Stevens; May 2, Erriyon Knighton; May 9, Emily Sisson; May 16, Britton Wilson; May 23, Janee Kassanavoid; May 30, Michael Norman; June 6, Chari Hawkins; June 13, Devon Allen; June 27, Sydney McLaughlin; August 10, Roisin Willis; August 17, Grant Fisher; August 24, Kara Winger; August 31, Alicia Monson; September 7, Kara Winger; September 14, Joe Kovacs; September 21, Biya Simbassa; September 28, Garrett Heath; October 4, Hillary Bor; October 11, Emily Sisson; October 18, Katelyn Tuohy; October 25, Chris Gomez; November 1, Parker Valby; November 8, Adam Peterman; November 15, Tyrone Gorze.

We welcome your nominations!

To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to communications@usatf.org.

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