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AUGUST
2006 ------- JUNE 2006 |
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2005 |
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| So Cal Track Club won the inaugural club title
at the USATF National Masters Indoor Championships, March 10-13
in Boise, Idaho. The Masters division of USA Track and Field this year instituted official club scoring at its indoor and outdoor championships. So Cal won several unofficial club championships at outdoor Nationals since the late 1990s. In Boise, the 25-member So Cal squad outpointed runner-up Oregon Track Club Masters and third-place finisher Potomac Valley Track Club. "All in all, it was a great meet," Mark Cleary said. Among a bevy of standout performances, Cleary singled out the world record set by So Cal's M60 4X400 meter relay team. Frank Condon, John Darlington, George Cohen and Larry Barnum clocked 4:14.76, smashing the previous record by nine seconds. The same quartet also won the M60 4X800 relay, in 10:23.92. Nolan Shaheed, a Masters track Hall of Famer, set an American record in the M55 3000 meters, clocking 9:30.09. He also won his division of the mile and was narrowly beaten in the 800 meters, his third race. Carrie Sherburne, 41, got to stand on top of the medal stand at her first-ever track meet. She won the W40 800 and took second in the 400 and second in the mile. The winner of the mile was teammate Mary Grene, who also won the W40 3000. Grene and Sherburne teamed with Lorraine Jasper and Caren Ware to give So Cal the gold in the W40 4X800 relay. Ware also struck gold in the W40 high jump. Barnum, in addition to his relay golds, won the M60 800 and silver in the 400. Henry Ross took the M70 shot-put crown, upsetting multiple national champion Bob Ward. Jan Condon brought home the gold in the W60 400 meters. However, So Cal's top point scorer was 79-year-old Hall of Famer Johnnye Valien. She collected golds in the W75 60 meters, long jump, triple jump, super weight throw and indoor pentathlon. Cleary credited several other So Cal members for their medal-winning performances, including David Olshan, David Quick, David Salazar, Keith Nelson, Ron Lee, LaVell Davenport, Steve Wulf and Lorraine Jasper. For complete results of the Indoor Nationals at Boise, go to www.usatf.org/events/2005/USAMastersIndoorTFChampionships/results.asp To see photos from the meet, go to www.idahosportspics.com/events/2005/masters-track/ |
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| So Cal Track Club athletes outpointed the competition
to earn the first-ever team title at the USATF National Masters
Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. The initial results gave So
Cal 151 points, followed by Oregon Track Club Masters (126), Atlanta
Track Club (85), Portland Masters (82), and Midwest Masters (78).
Our entire team can take pride in the achievements of the 28 athletes
who racked up 41 medals during the four-day meet. Six of our teammates won two golds, and the twin championships were earned across the athletics spectrum: sprints, hurdles, distance and field events. David Ashford, fresh off a world-record-setting effort at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Puerto Rico, won the M40-44 division in both the short hurdles and long hurdles. V Amarasekara successfully defended her national titles in the W40-44 triple jump and long jump, setting an age-group American record in the latter event. Brian Pope, appearing in his first Nationals for So Cal, won the M40-44 divisions of the 5,000 and 10,000. Multi-event Johnnye Valien limited herself to field events but still earned gold in the W75-79 shot put and javelin. Sumi Onodera-Leonard may have achieved the most-distinctive double, winning the W75-79 divisions of the 400 and 800 to go with her silvers in the 100 and 200. Other notable achievements were Larry Barnum’s crushing victory in the M55-59 800 meters that positioned him to challenge the world record in the M60-64 age group into which he is moving. So Cal’s other 800 meter champion was David Salazar in the M50-54 division. So Cal’s Dave Cook, in winning the M45-49 3000-meter steeplechase, ran an over-40 personal best. And, speaking of the steeple, Chris Yorges, 37, extended his streak of gold medals that stretches back well into the ‘90s. M40-44 high jump champion Ron Lee was So Cal’s other gold medalist So Cal’s final medal count included 17 gold, 15 silver and nine bronze. Everyone who competed deserves our congratulations. |
| Magill
Shines As Masters Runner |
| A major developing story in Masters track and field in 2002 is the "rookie" season being compiled by So Cal Track Club's Peter Magill. The 40-year-old middle-distance specialist from Pasadena has been racing regularly since those cold days of the January all-comers, and, as of early May, when many Masters' outdoor seasons are just being launched, Magill already has compiled an impressive roster of results. His latest breakthrough came May 11 at a college meet, the Occidental Invitational in Los Angeles, where he ran the rarely offered 3,000 meters in 8:31.08. A week earlier, at the Steve Scott Invitational at UC Irvine, Magill took advantage of the competitive field in the 1500 meters en route to running 3:56.42, breaking 4 minutes for the second time this season and claiming the No. 2 time in the world in the M40-44 age group. He also is among the elite for his age group in the 800, where he's run 1:59.48. Those three efforts, in the 800, 1,500 and 3,000 meters, all translate to age-graded performances above the 90 percent level, a major feat in any single event. The Nationals in Maine are still nearly three months away, but at this point Peter Magill should figure prominently in any handicapping of the middle distances in the M40-44 group. |
| All
Hands On Deck for the Regionals |
| Our club's name is attached to the USATF Western Region Masters Championships on July 13-14 at the newly reconstructed track at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. As such, we are the de facto hosts of this important competition and we need to help ensure things run as smoothly as possible. This primarily means that members -Š along with spouses, friends and older children Š need to offer a few hours of their time on the day or days they are not competing. Job could include working one of the field events (raking a pit or retrieving discuses, for example) or the hurdle crew, or just being available for whatever comes up. The meet is being automatically timed and USATF officials are handling the management of events. |
| Big
Meets Ahead |
| The season is moving into high gear over the next few weeks. Please remember some key events. June 29-30 is the Hayward Classic Masters meet in Eugene, Ore. This is one of the top meets in the country and a major focus for our club. If you're planning to go, great, but please tell Mark Cleary so that arrangements can be made as efficiently as possible. July 13-14 is the USATF Western Region Masters Championships at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif. Mark Cleary, the Western Region coordinator, is in charge of the meet and So Cal Track Club is the de facto host. Everyone who is ready is urged to compete, but even if you canÕt compete, please volunteer some time to help conduct the meet. And, again, let Mark know of your intentions and whether you and/or a family member or friend can assist in running the meet. And, of course, Aug. 8-11 are the USATF Masters National Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Orono, Maine. This is the culmination of our season and an invaluable vehicle for promoting our club and our members. If you can make it, you should. Also, Mark will be assembling top-notch fields for a Masters elite exhibition womens 800 meters and mens 400 meters at the USATF Open National Championships at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. These races are by invitation only. |
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