Place, Delgado, Olson Honored by USATF-Minn.

The Minnesota Association of USA Track & Field announced yesterday that Morgan Place, Jesse Delgado, and Connor Olson are USATF Minnesota's Athletes of the Month for January 2011.

Place, a junior at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, was recognized for her 5th place finish at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships held in Louisville, Kentucky in December. Place ran the 6-kilometer race in 21:14, making her third-straight finish in the top-10 at the meet.

Delgado and Olson were recognized for runner-up finishes in their respective divisions of the USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Hoover, Alabama last month.

Delgado, a Waseca resident, ran 10:17 in the 3-kilometer Midget Boys race for 11 and 12-year-olds. Olson, of Maple Grove, ran the 4-kilometer Youth Boys race for 13 and 14-year-olds in 13:02.

USA Track & Field Minnesota selects Athletes of the Month to honor excellence in track and field and its related sports in Minnesota. USA Track & Field is the governing body of the sport in the United States and the Minnesota Association of USATF sanctions and sponsors track and field, cross country, road racing, and racewalking events for athletes of all ages in the state.