William (“Will”) Claye is an American track and field athlete who competes in both the long jump and triple jump. 

Will Claye is one the world’s greatest all-time jumpers – triple jump and long jump. His 2019 triple jump of 18.14m (59' 6") was the best in the world last year and the third longest triple jump in history.

Will is a two-time Olympian (2012 and 2016), and he is the last jumper to win medals in both the long jump (bronze) and triple jump (silver) at the same Olympics (2012, in London). No other jumper had achieved that feat since Naoto Tajima of Japan at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Will repeated his silver medal in the triple jump.

While competing for the NYAC, Will won a silver medal in the triple jump at the 2019 Outdoor Track & Field Championships held in Doha, Qatar.

When not competing in the jumps at an elite international level, Will is producing hip hop music and designing clothing (“Elevate”).
 

Career Highlights

• 2019 - Silver Medal, World Outdoor Championships - Triple Jump
• 2018 - World Indoor Champion - Triple Jump
• 2017 - Silver Medalist, World Championships - Triple Jump
• 2016 - Silver Medal, Olympic Games - Triple Jump
• 2013 - Bronze Medal, World Championships - Triple Jump
• 2012 - Silver Medal, Olympic Games - Triple Jump
• 2012 - Bronze Medal, Olympic Games - Long Jump
• 2012 - World Indoor Champion - Triple Jump
• 2011 - Bronze Medal, World Championships - Triple Jump

Daniel Haugh is an American male track and field athlete who competes in the hammer throw and weight throw. He has thrown the hammer 80.18m (263'1"), which is the second longest toss among active American throwers (behind his NYAC teammate, Rudy Winkler, who is the American Record Holder at 82.71m); his 80.18m throw is the fifth longest in American history.

Daniel was the 2019 USA Indoor National Champion in the weight throw and a silver medalist in the weight throw at the 2020 USA Indoor National Championships.

Daniel was the 2022 USA Outdoor National Champion in the hammer throw. He proceeded thereafter to finish eighth in the world in the hammer throw with a best toss of 78.10m at the 2022 Outdoor Track & Field World Championships held in Eugene, Oregon.

Daniel was the silver medalist at the USA Olympic Trials and, as an Olympian, he finished 11th at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Daniel graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in business marketing in 2018 and then undertook graduate study in public administration at Kenessee State University. While at Alabama, Daniel was the SEC Champion in the discus in 2016, the SEC Champion in the weight throw and a three-time All American. While a graduate student at Kenessee, Daniel captured the 2019 NCAA hammer throw crown. Interestingly, Daniel was/is a multi-sport star – he was the 2013 Georgia state high school champion in the hammer, discus and weight throw, and competed successfully in all three events as an NCAA athlete.

Joseph Mathias Kovacs is an American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put.

Joe is a two-time Olympic medalist and two-time World Champion in the event. He is currently the #1 world-ranked male shot putter. Joe launched the third-farthest shot put in history to win the 2022 Diamond League Final in Zurich, Switzerland with a toss of 23.23 meters.

Joe is the 2019 and 2015 World Outdoor Champion, a 2016 and 2020 Olympic silver medalist, and 2017 World Outdoor silver medalist.

At the 2019 Track & Field World Championships held in Doha, Qatar, Joe won what has been deemed the “greatest shot put competition in history” when he hurled the shot 22.91 meters – a then-massive personal best, a World Championship meet record, an NYAC Club record, the third longest toss in history and the longest throw in the World since 1990. Joe beat his next two closest competitors by one centimeter, and he did it on his last throw of the night. Joe is coached by his wife, Ashley Kovacs, an accomplished shot putter herself; she was the 2019 “throws coach” for Team USA and is presently the “throws coach” for the Ohio State Track & Field Team.

Career Highlights

• 2 x World champion
• 1 x Olympic Games Silver medalist
• 1 x World Championships Silver medalist
• 1 x World (Continental) Cup Bronze medalist
• 7 x Diamond League meeting winner
• 2 x National champion
• 1 x Diamond Trophy winner

Personal Bests

Sam Mattis is an American discus thrower. He was the 2019 U.S.A. Champion in the event. Sam competed at the Tokyo Olympics (2021) and finished eighth. His personal best toss is 68.69m. He is currently ranked #8 in the world.

Sam was a two-time New Balance National Champion in high school and finished his high school career with the New Jersey state record and the fifth best throw in high school history.

At the University of Pennsylvania, Sam continued his discus career with four consecutive Ivy League Championship titles. He won the 2015 NCAA Discus National Championship and he is the American Collegiate record holder in the event. In 2015, Sam was named the 2015 NCAA Scholar Athlete of the Year.

After graduating cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Sam turned down an offer from JP Morgan to pursue his dream of making an Olympic podium.

 

Career Highlights

• 2019 US National Champion
• 2019 World Championship Finalist (Doha, Qatar: finished 11th)
• Two-time New Balance High School National Champion
• Four-time Ivy League Champion
• Olympic (2021) finalist (8th place)
• Three-time NCAA All American
• Four-time USTFCCCA Academic All-American
• 2015 NCAA National Champion
• 2015 NCAA National Scholar Athlete of the Year
• Personal Best: 68.69m

Conor McCullough is an American hammer thrower and weight thrower.

Conor won the 2015 NCAA outdoor title, defeating the field by 17 feet and recording the longest throw by a collegiate athlete since May 2002. He is a two-time medalist at the junior world championships, including gold in 2010 and silver in 2008.

Connor won the US Indoor National Championship in the weight throw in 2018 and 2020. His 25.31m/83' 0.5" toss at the 2020 championships made him #3 on the all-time US performer list in the event. Conor was the runner up in the weight throw at the Indoor Championships in 2019.

Conor won the national championship in the hammer throw in 2019, while throwing a personal best of 78.14m (making him the #3 American hammer thrower all-time).

Conor competed for Team USA at the 2019 Track & Field Championships in Doha, Qatar (where he finished 12th in the hammer throw), and he competed alongside NYAC teammates Kibwe Johnson and Rudy Winkler in the hammer throw at the 2016 Rio Olympics. His father, Conor, represented Ireland in the hammer throw at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games.
 

Personal Bests

Photo credit: Aaron C. Packard

Chris Nilsen is an American track and field athlete who competes in the pole vault. He is the American Record Holder in the indoor pole vault after vaulting 6.05m (19ft 10.5in) on March 6, 2022 at the Perche Elite Tour meet in France. He is currently the #1-ranked pole vaulter in North America and the #2-ranked pole vaulter in the world.

Chris captured the silver medal in the pole vault at the 2022 World Athletics Track & Field Championships held in Eugene, Oregon. Chris cleared 19 feet, 5 ¾ inches, (5.94m) on his first attempt to secure the silver medal. He was one of only three athletes to make that height. The Olympic champion, Mondo Duplantis, captured the event by breaking his own world record, clearing 20-4 ½ (6.21m). This was the third world championship medal earned by Chris within the last 12 months. He took home the silver medal at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics last August with a vault of 5.97m (19ft 7in), and a bronze medal at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Serbia. The silver medal earned by Chris was the highest pole vault finish by an American at the Olympic Games since 2004. His path to the Olympic silver medal is documented here: 

Chris attended the University of South Dakota, where he was a six-time NCAA Division I First Team All-American, and a three-time NCAA Track & Field pole vault champion. He holds the South Dakota Coyotes’ records in the pole vault – indoors 5.93m (19ft 4.5in) and outdoors 5.95m (19ft 5in).

Michael Shuey is an American track and field athlete competing in the javelin throw. In a dramatic finish, Michael won the 2019 National Championship in the javelin at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He uncorked a then lifetime-best throw of 82.85 meters (271 feet, 10 inches) on the final attempt of the competition (the farthest throw by an American since 2017). Michael has recently thrown even further – a new personal best of 83.21 meters while competing for Team USA in September 2019. Michael set the NYAC club record in the javelin in 2021 with a toss of 85.67m.

Michael is a 2017 graduate of Penn State University, where he was an All American and Big Ten Champion (in multiple years).

Michael competed for Team USA in the men’s javelin at the 2019 Pan American Games where he finished fourth, at the 2019 Outdoor Track & Field World Championships in Doha, Qatar where he made the finals and finished eleventh, and at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he experienced a knee injury (torn meniscus, torn cartilage and sprained lateral ligaments) on his first throw of the competition.
 

Rudy Winkler is an American track and field athlete who competes in the hammer throw and weight throw. He is the current American Record Holder (82.71m) and is the #3 world-ranked male in the hammer throw for 2023.

Rudy is a three-time National Champion in the hammer throw (2018, 2019 and 2020).

Rudy finished sixth at the 2022 Outdoor Track & Field World Championships held in Eugene, Oregon.

While an undergraduate at Cornell, Rudy was a three-time NCAA First Team All-American; he was named NCAA Northeast Region Field Athlete of the Year three times and the Ivy League's Most Outstanding Performer in 2014 and 2015. He captured the 2017 NCAA hammer throw crown with a toss of 74.12 meters (243' 2"). In 2016, Rudy recorded his personal record in the hammer at the perfect time: the 2016 United States Olympic Trials. His toss of 76.76 meters (251" 10') earned him the win at the trials and a trip to the Rio Olympics in 2016, where he placed 18th. As a graduate student at Rutgers University in 2018, he was named a First Team All-American in the Hammer Throw; he was the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year; he was the Big Ten Hammer Throw Champion and was named First Team All-Big Ten.