by RBR Admin
Editor’s note: For two plus decades, this writer attended the USATF National Meeting. It was where I caught up with USATF delegates, coaches, Association leadership and athletes. It was old home week, to use an old time phrase. Then, around 2010, it started to get difficult to be each year. The last year that I went was 2014-15, I believe. I need to find a way to reach out to the meetings again.
The National meeting, which this year was offered as a remote event as well as in person, was lost in the news of those first couple of weeks of December.
My apologies for the delays. Sometimes, things get lost in the craziness. I will make sure I watch better next year. These awards are very important. Recongnition in our sport comes after many years, in most cases.
The truth is, USATF Honors top athletes and Coaches, as well as Max Siegel, the USATF CEO provides his state of the sport. I am very happy for the athletes, who have journeyed and battled for many years to get to this level!
USATF Honors Standout Performers With 2025 Annual Awards
ORLANDO — USA Track & Field has announced its 2025 End of Year award winners, honoring a standout class of champions, record breakers and rising talent across the sport. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden has been named this year’s Jackie Joyner Kersee Female Athlete of the Year, and Rai Benjamin has been selected as the Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year. The honorees also include Nike Coach of the Year Dennis Mitchell, Youth Athlete of the Year Cooper Lutkenhaus and Toyota Para Athletics Athletes of the Year Jaydin Blackwell and Annie Carey.
2025 Jackie Joyner Kersee Female Athlete of the Year: Melissa Jefferson-Wooden
Jefferson-Wooden capped off a dominant season with a historic triple crown effort that made her the first American woman to ever win the 100m, 200m and then led Team USA to gold in the 4x100m relay at the same World Championships. Her time of 10.61 in the 100m makes her the second-fastest American woman of all-time in the event and is a Championships record. In the 200m, she ran a world lead of 21.68, taking gold by almost half of a second.
“I am so happy to be this year’s recipient for the Jackie Joyner Kersey Award,” Jefferson-Wooden said. “It means so much to me with the year that I’ve had. And it’s just a testament to all the hard work that I put in this year. And to know that it didn’t go unnoticed means the world to me.”
Jefferson-Wooden was undefeated in the 100m in 2025, recording three sub-10.7 performances.
2025 Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year: Rai Benjamin
The reigning Olympic champion earned his first individual World title in the second-fastest 400m hurdles time of the season. Just six hundredths of a second shy of his own American record, Benjamin commanded the race early and crossed the finish line in 46.52 to complete an undefeated season in the discipline. The World Champion then anchored the 4x400m relay, representing Team USA through a dramatic photo-finish that earned the group a silver medal in 2:57.83.
Prior to his World Championship performances, Benjamin earned his sixth consecutive U.S. National title in the 400m hurdles.
2025 Nike Coach of the Year: Dennis Mitchell
Olympian Dennis Mitchell guided six Team USA athletes to a combined 10 medals at the 2025 World Championships. Jefferson-Wooden led the group with her historic sweep in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay, arriving in Tokyo after winning two titles in the U.S. National Championships. In fact, Mitchell’s athletes made up the entire team which also included Sha’Carri Richardson, TeeTee Terry and Kayla Dee.
Kenny Bednarek earned silver in the 200m with a season-best 19.58 after finishing fourth in the 100m. Bednarek joined training partners Christian Coleman and Courtney Lindsey to help Team USA win the men’s 4x100m, completing the sprint relay sweep. Lindsey also made his first World Championship team earning a spot in the 100m semifinals. Hurdler Tonea Marshall became the fifth fastest American woman ever in the 100m hurdles with her 12.26 run in Poland.
“As coaches, you know, we don’t get a lot of credit for the things that we do. And to be able to even just be eligible to receive an award like this … is a great honor for me,” Mitchell said. “This is my second time receiving this award in three years, and I am extremely happy to be Nike Coach of the Year.”
Mitchell’s guidance and dedication to excellence in sprints and hurdles elevated Team USA’s presence on the world stage throughout 2025.
2025 Youth Athlete of the Year: Cooper Lutkenhaus
At 16 years old, Lutkenhaus became the youngest American to ever compete at the World Championships. To earn his spot to Tokyo, the high school standout shattered his own U.S. high school 800m record, broke the U18 world record and U20 American record with an unforgettable 1:42.27 runner-up finish at the U.S. National Championships making him the fourth fastest American of all-time.
“I want to say how incredibly honored I am to receive the 2025 USATF Youth Athlete of the Year award,” Lutkenhaus said. “This award means more to me than I can put into words. Track and field has shaped who I am, not just as an athlete, but as a person. I’m grateful for every step, stride, and sometimes stumble that brought me here.”
Now a junior, Lutkenhaus rewrote high school history across both indoor and outdoor seasons, with major milestones at Millrose Games, Nike Outdoor Nationals and Texas High School State Championships.
2025 Toyota Para Athletics Female Athlete of the Year: Annie Carey
In her first World Para Championships, Carey left New Delhi with a world record, two American records and two medals. The Paralympian powered home to win gold in the T44 200m with a new American record of 27.31 and claimed silver in the T44 100m in 13.45. She also set a new T44 world record of 5.20m in the T64 long jump, placing fourth.
“I’m beyond grateful to accept the 2025 Toyota Para Athlete of the Year award,” Carey said. “Thank you for reminding me to be strong and for being the foundation that’s kept me on my feet. To Toyota and USATF, thank you for your commitment to the Paralympic Movement and for providing opportunities for athletes to find their purpose and power.This award means much more than just an athletic achievement, but proof that disability has no limits. So thank you again for this incredible honor, and I will carry it with pride.”
Carey set the tone in the U.S. Para National Championships, breaking her own T44 long jump world record with a leap of 5.19m
2025 Toyota Para Athletics Male Athlete of the Year: Jaydin Blackwell
Blackwell delivered a historic double of the T38 100m and 400m at the 2025 World Para Championships. The defending Paralympic champion won his third consecutive World title in the T38 100m with a 10.70 American and Championships record. He followed with a dominant win in the T38 400m, breaking his own T38 world record in 48.00 — more than a second ahead of the field.
“Twelve years ago, I put on my first pair of spikes with one mindset that I would race up against anyone, any place, any time,” Blackwell shared. “And that same [mindset] still stands true today. And for the years to come, I want to elevate what it means to be a para track athlete.”
Earlier in the season Blackwell lowered his world record with a 48.26 performance at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Cali, Colombia. He left New Delhi a six-time Para World Champion since earning his first title in 2023.
