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 discus champion, American record-holder (71.46m/234-5 at Triton Invitational in La Jolla, CA in April 2022), two-time national outdoor champion (2019, 2022), seven-time All-American at Stanford University
Valarie is the top-ranked female discus thrower in the world. She currently trains under Coach Zebulon Sion of the University of Texas and lives in Austin, TX. Prior to beginning track and field as a freshman in high school, she was a competitive dancer. In the 2022 outdoor season, Valarie won three Diamond League meets.
Valarie secured a bronze medal at the 2022 World Track and Field Championships with a throw of 68.30m.
Joe Kovacs
Shot Put
Birthday: June 28th, 1989
Hometown: State College, PA
College: Penn State University, Bachelor’s in Earth and Mineral Science ‘11
Career Highlights: Two-time Olympic silver medalist (2016, 2020), two-time world champion (2015, 2019), 2017 world silver medalist, 2014 national champion, 2022 Outdoor National Championships silver medalist.
Joe is currently ranked second in the world in 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 silver medal at the 2022 World Track and Field Championships with a throw of 22.89m, a season’s best mark.
Sam Mattis
Discus
Birthday: March 19th, 1994
Hometown: East Brunswick, NJ
College: University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Operations and Information Management
Career Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Olympian, 2022 Outdoor National Championships bronze medalist, 2019 discus national champion, 2018 National Championships bronze medalist
Sam is ranked 9th in the world with 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 11th in the discus at the 2022 World Track and Field Championships with a throw of 63.19m.
Tori Franklin
Triple Jump
Birthday: October 7th, 1992
Hometown: Chicago, IL
College: Michigan State University, Bachelor’s Degree in Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies ’15 and Master’s Degree in Business Administration ‘21
Career Highlights: Tokyo 2020 Olympian, three-time indoor national champion (2017, 2018, 2020), four-time outdoor national championships silver medalist (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022)
Tori is currently ranked 18th in the world as a triple jumper with a personal best of 14.84m/48 8 ¼” set in Baie Mahault, France in May 2018. In addition to speaking publicly about mental health, Tori is a frequent contributor for Medium, an online publishing platform, and she is currently writing a book.
Tori secured a bronze medal at the 2022 World Track and Field Championships with a mark of 14.72m, a season’s best.
Kara Winger
Javelin
Birthday: April 10th, 1986
Hometown: Vancouver, WA
College: Purdue University, Bachelor’s in Nutrition, Fitness and Health ’09, DeVry University, Master’s in Accounting ’16
Career Highlights: Nine-time national champion (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022), four-time Olympian (2008, 2012, 2016, 2020), 2019 Pan Am Games champion, six-time world outdoor championship team (2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022)
Kara is currently ranked 12th in javelin in the world. From June 2010 to May 2021, she held the American record of 66.67m/218’ 8”. (The new record was set by Maggie Malone, who won the US Trials). She is married to Russell Winger, a discus and shot put specialist. Kara achieved her Master’s in Accounting at DeVry University through a United States Olympic Committee scholarship program.
Kara secured a silver medal at the 2022 World Track and Field Championships with a mark of 64.05m.
Will Claye
Triple Jump
Birthday: June 13th, 1991
Hometown: Tucson, AZ
College: University of Florida, Bachelor’s Degree in Entrepreneurship ‘12
Career Highlights: Three-time Olympian (2012, 2016, 2020), two-time Olympic triple jump silver medalist (2012, 2016), 2012 London 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 sixth in the world as a triple jumper with a personal best of 18.14m/59 6 ¼ ”, set in Long Beach, CA in June 2019. 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 11th at the 2022 World Track and Field Championships with a mark of 16.54m.
Rudy Winkler
Hammer Throw
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: American record-holder in hammer throw of 82.71m/271-4 set in June 2021, Tokyo 2020 (7th place, hammer throw) and Rio 2016 Olympian (18th place, hammer throw), six-time Ivy League champion in weight throw and hammer throw, 2022 Outdoor National Championships silver medalist.
Rudy is currently ranked seventh in the world for the hammer throw. Rudy works at RWJ Barnabas Health in West Orange, NJ as a Cyber Security Analyst. While he pursued his Master’s at Rutgers, Rudy served as a volunteer assistant throws coach for the university’s track and field team.
Rudy finished 6th at the 2022 World Track and Field Championships with a throw of 78.99m.
Miranda Melville
20K and 35K Race Walk
Birthday: March 20th, 1989
Hometown: Rush, NY
College: University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Biology ‘11
Career Highlights: Two-time Olympian (2016, 2020), 2022 USATF 20K race walk national champion, Penn Relays silver medalist (2022), USA Outdoor 20K race walk champion (2015), USA Outdoor 20K race walk silver medalist (2017)
Miranda is ranked 54th in the world as a 35k race walker and 77th in the world as a 20k race walker. In March 2016, she set a 20K personal best of 1:31:42 in Nomi, Japan, and she set a personal best and American record in the women’s 35K race walk with a time of 3:00:19 in Santee, CA in January 2022. Miranda is a voracious reader, and she also enjoys hiking.
Miranda finished 35th in the 20K race walk at the 2022 World Track and Field Championships with a time of 1:39:58.