Ketchikan native Isaac Updike earned Alaska Athlete of the Week honors after placing third in the steeplechase at the USA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Updike, 31, clocked 8 minutes, 17.69 seconds, just .22 off his personal best, to snatch the country’s final berth at the Track and Field World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, next month.
A standout cross country runner at Ketchikan High School, Updike’s performance at the national championships marked the high point of a track career that progressed from walk-on at Eastern Oregon, to NAIA national steeplechase champion, to professional athlete, to a fifth place finish at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, to earning a spot at Worlds.
The Alaska Athlete of the Week is selected by a panel each Monday.
Have a candidate in mind? Email us your nomination: info@alaskasportshall.org.
Also receiving votes: Alaska Rush Girls U17 Soccer Team, Tania Boonstra, Fairbanks Eclipse 05 Girls Soccer Team, Coby Marvin, Christy Marvin, David Norris.