Mellon, Hampton Earn USATF-Minn. Honors

Zach Mellon and Laishema Hampton have been named USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for July 2009, the organization announced.

Mellon, a recently graduated senior at Buffalo High School, was recognized for finishing second in the men’s 800 meters at the USA Junior Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon last month. Mellon, who will attend the University of Wisconsin next year, clocked 1:51.70 to finish second to Joe Abbott of Washington State University.

Hampton, a 2008 graduate of St. Louis Park High School and a student at Iowa State University, was honored for her runner-up finish at USA Juniors in the women’s shot put. Hampton threw 50 feet, three and one-quarter inches in the competition, a mark bettered only by Anastasia Jelmini of California.

USA Track & Field Minnesota selects Athletes of the Month to honor excellence in track and field and its related sports in Minnesota.