Team NYAC Bios
Valarie Allman
Discus
Birthday: February 23rd, 1995
Hometown: Longmont, CO
College: Stanford University, Bachelor’s in Product Design ’17
Career Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist; North American record-holder (71.46m/234-5 at Triton Invitational in La Jolla, CA in April 2022); five-time national champion (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023); 2022 World Championships bronze medalist
Valarie is currently the top-ranked female discus thrower in the world. Her personal best ranks as the farthest throw in the world almost 30 years. Valarie lives in Austin, TX. Prior to beginning track and field as a freshman in high school, she was a competitive dancer.
Valarie secured a silver medal in the discus with a mark of 69.23m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Brooke Andersen
Hammer
Birthday: August 23rd, 1995
Hometown: Vista, CA
College: Northern Arizona University, Bachelor’s in Environmental Science ’18
Career Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Olympian; 2022 World Championships gold medalist; 2023 national champion; 2019 Pan American Games silver medalist
Brooke is currently the top-ranked women’s hammer thrower in the world. This year, Brooke became the third woman in history to surpass 80 meters in the hammer throw, with a mark of 80.17m/263-0, set at the USATF Throws Festival in Tucson, AZ on May 20th, 2023. The NYAC now has two of the three women to ever throw over 80 meters, as Brooke joins the NYAC’s DeAnna Price.
Brooke finished 13th in Group B of the hammer throw with a mark of 67.72m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships and did not advance further.
Nick Christie
20K Race Walk
Birthday: September 29th, 1991
Hometown: El Cajon, CA
College: Cuyamaca College; transferred to Missouri Baptist University, Bachelor’s in Exercise Science ’15
Career Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Olympian; American record in the 35K race walk (2:38:16 in Dublin, Ireland on December 19th, 2021); American record in the 5K race walk (19:23.30, in Philadelphia, PA on April 28th, 2022); 28-time national champion (all distances)
Nick is currently ranked 81st in the world as a 20k race walker. While at Cuyamaca College, Nick was introduced to race walking by NYAC Hall of Fame race walker Tim Seaman.
Nick finished 41st in the 20K race walk with a season’s best time of 1:26:21 at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Will Claye
Triple Jump
Birthday: June 13th, 1991
Hometown: Tucson, AZ
College: University of Florida, Bachelor’s in Entrepreneurship ’12
Career Highlights: Three-time Olympian (2012, 2016, 2020); two-time Olympic triple jump silver medalist (2012, 2016); London 2012 Olympic long jump bronze medalist; two-time world indoor triple jump champion (2012, 2018); six-time triple jump national champion (outdoor: 2014, 2016, 2017; indoor: 2012, 2015, 2018); three-time world triple jump silver medalist (outdoor: 2017, 2019; indoor: 2012); world outdoor triple jump bronze medalist (2011)
Will is currently ranked 22nd in the world as a triple jumper. In 2012, Will became the first American to secure Olympic medals in both the long and triple jumps at the same Games since Myer Prinstein in 1904. Additionally, Will is a Platinum recording musician and the owner of his own fashion label, “Elevate.”
Will finished seventh in the triple jump with a season’s best mark of 16.99m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Tori Franklin
Triple Jump
Birthday: October 7th, 1992
Hometown: Evanston, IL
College: Michigan State University, Bachelor’s in Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies ’15 and Master’s in Business Administration ’21
Career Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Olympian; 2022 World Championships bronze medalist; three-time indoor national championships gold medalist (2017, 2018, 2020); 2023 outdoor national championships gold medalist; four-time outdoor national championships silver medalist (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022)
Tori is currently ranked sixth in the world as a triple jumper. Last year, Tori became the first American woman to medal in the triple jump at the World Championships. In addition to speaking publicly about mental health, Tori is a frequent contributor for Medium, an online publishing platform, and recently finished writing her memoir, titled, “You Anthem.”
Tori finished sixth in Group B of the triple jump with a mark of 14.13m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships and advanced to the final, but she did not contest the final.
Daniel Haugh
Hammer
Birthday: May 3rd, 1995
Hometown: Marietta, GA
College: University of Alabama, Bachelor’s in Marketing ’18; Kennesaw State University, Master’s in Public Administration ’20
Career Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Olympian; 2022 National Championships gold medalist; 2019 National Championships bronze medalist; 2019 NCAA champion
Daniel is currently ranked tenth in the world in the men’s hammer throw. Daniel enjoys fishing in his free time.
Daniel finished sixth in the hammer throw with a mark of 78.64m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Joe Kovacs
Shot Put
Birthday: June 28th, 1989
Hometown: State College, PA
College: Pennsylvania State University, Bachelor’s in Earth and Mineral Science ’11
Career Highlights: Two-time Olympic silver medalist (2016, 2020); two-time World Championships gold medalist (2015, 2019); two-time World Championships silver medalist (2017, 2022); 2014 National Championships gold medalist; 2022 National Championships silver medalist
Joe is currently ranked second in the world in the men’s shot put. He lives and trains in Tennessee, where his wife (and coach) is the Associate Head Track and Field Coach at Vanderbilt University.
Joe secured a bronze medal in the shot put with a mark of 22.12m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Maggie Malone
Javelin
Birthday: December 30th, 1993
Hometown: Geneva, NE
College: Texas A&M, Bachelor’s in Human Resources ’17
Career Highlights: Two-time Olympian (2016, 2020); two-time national champion (2016, 2021); NCAA champion (2016)
Maggie is currently ranked 24th in the world in the women’s javelin throw. When Maggie was in kindergarten, she sustained a broken femur and chipped growth plate, and doctors thought her leg would never grow again.
Maggie finished eighth in Group B of the javelin at the 2023 World Athletics Championships with a mark of 57.85m and did not advance further.
Sam Mattis
Discus
Birthday: March 19th, 1994
Hometown: East Brunswick, NJ
College: University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor’s in Finance and Operations and Information Management ’16
Career Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Olympian; two-time National Championships gold medalist (2019, 2023); two-time National Championships bronze medalist (2018, 2022)
Sam is currently ranked sixth in the world, and has a personal best of 68.69m/225-4, set in May 2022 in Tucson, Arizona. Upon graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016, Sam received a job offer from a prominent Wall Street firm, but he turned it down to pursue his athletic ambitions full time.
Sam finished seventh in Group A of the discus at the 2023 World Athletics Championships with a mark of 63.43 and did not advance further.
Miranda Melville
35K Race Walk
Birthday: March 20th, 1989
Hometown: Rush, NY
College: University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Bachelor’s in Psychology and Biology ’11
Career Highlights: Two-time Olympian (2016, 2020); two-time USATF outdoor 20K race walk champion (2014, 2015); USATF outdoor 20K race walk silver medalist (2017); two-time USATF indoor 3K race walk champion (2019, 2023); 2023 USATF 35K race walk champion
Miranda is currently ranked 60th in the world as a 35k race walker. In January 2023, she recorded the second-fastest time ever by an American woman in the 35K race walk, with a time of 2:57:22, in Santee, CA. Miranda is a voracious reader, and she also enjoys hiking.
Miranda finished 35th overall in the 35K race walk in a time of 3:09:41 at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Rob Napolitano
1500m
Birthday: November 3rd, 1994
Hometown: Brick, NJ
College: Columbia University, Bachelor’s in Financial Economics ’17
Career Highlights: 10-time Ivy League champion and two-time All-American at Columbia University
Rob is currently ranked 63rd in the world in the men’s 1500m.
Rob finished 12th in Heat 2 of the 1500m with a time of 3:48:29 at the 2023 World Athletics Championships and did not advance further.
Chris Nilsen
Pole Vault
Birthday: January 13th, 1998
Hometown: Kansas City, MO
College: University of South Dakota, Bachelor’s in Kinesiology and Exercise Science ’20
Career Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist; 2022 World Championships silver medalist; three-time national champion (2021, 2022, 2023); three-time NCAA champion and seven-time All-American at University of South Dakota
Chris is currently ranked second in the world in the men’s pole vault. He enjoys coffee, hiking and is passionate about sports nutrition.
Chris claimed a bronze medal in the pole vault with a mark of 5.95m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
DeAnna Price
Hammer
Birthday: June 8th, 1993
Hometown: Moscow Mills, MO
College: Southern Illinois University, Bachelor’s in Accounting ’16
Career Highlights: Two-time Olympian (2016, 2020); American record-holder at 80.31m/263-6, which ranks as the second farthest throw all-time in the world; 2019 World Championships gold medalist; three-time national champion (2018, 2019, 2021); two-time NCAA champion
DeAnna is currently ranked fifth in the world in the women’s hammer throw. She is coached by her husband, James Lambert. In high school, DeAnna was an accomplished softball player and threw both the discus and shot put.
Deanna secured a bronze medal in the hammer throw with a mark of 75.41m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Harrison Williams
Decathlon
Birthday: May 7th, 1996
Hometown: Memphis, TN
College: Stanford University, Bachelor’s in Product Design ’19
Career Highlights: 2023 outdoor national champion; two-time outdoor national championships bronze medalist (2018, 2019); NCAA indoor heptathlon champion (2019)
Harrison is currently ranked 14th in the world in the men’s decathlon. At the 2023 USATF National Championships, Harrison set a personal best with a score of 8630.
Harrison finished seventh in the decathlon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.
Rudy Winkler
Hammer
Birthday: December 6th, 1994
Hometown: Sand Lake, NY
College: Cornell University, Bachelor’s in CALS Information Science ’17; Rutgers University, Master’s in Business and Science ’19
Career Highlights: Two-time Olympian (2016, 2020); American record-holder in hammer throw of 82.71m/271-4 set in June 2021; 2023 national champion; six-time Ivy League champion in weight throw and hammer throw
Rudy is currently ranked second in the world in the hammer throw. While he pursued his Master’s degree at Rutgers, Rudy served as a volunteer assistant throws coach for the university’s track and field team.
Rudy finished eighth overall in the hammer throw with a mark of 76.04m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.