Masters Corner
Rob Lemke - Chair
Well, here we are near the end of the year and we’ve been asked to write a recap for our new e-newsletter. 2013 has been a very exciting year in Masters athletics. In March we had probably the largest group of Long Islanders ever to attend the USATF Masters Indoor National T&F Championships. And the group did quite well, winning numerous medals. The summer brought warmer weather and the best Summer Series of meets USATF-LI has ever had. We again conducted our Masters Grand Prix during the outdoor meets and the competition was exciting and very close. The top 5 finishers won prize money. In order, the top 5 were; Rick Lapp, Gerry O’Hara, Jim Reilly, Matt Kubelle & Vicki Fox. Vicki Fox was instrumental in leading the Northport RC to the team title this year. She encouraged her teammates to come to the meets and try a variety of events. As a result they scored the most points and looked like they really enjoyed themselves. 2nd Wind TC and Bohemia TC finished second and third, respectively.
Masters News & Highlights
Speaking of athletes of the year, it is time for us to start thinking about the USATF-LI Masters Athletes of 2013. Please send us via e-mail the name and a brief list of accomplishments for any athlete you would like to nominate. There will be a male and female award in each category. The categories are Track & Field Athletes of the Year, LDR Athletes of the Year and Senior (60+) LDR Athletes of the Year. The winners will be honored at the USATF-LI Annual Awards Brunch in February.
To Nominate email: Rob Lemke, Masters Chairperson: [email protected]
or Vicki Fox, Masters Vice Chairperson: [email protected]
This summer also saw the return to track dominance of Kathy Martin. At the USATF Masters Outdoor National Championships Kathy won the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and 10000m races in her age group. She followed that up by setting a world record in the mile at a USATF-LI meet. Kathy ran 5:42.62.
NRC Women's Relay
On the roads the Masters competition just keeps getting better. Although there are some outstanding runners dominating their age group; Jill Skelly, Linda Ottaviano, Boyd Carrington, Wil Widman, Ned Daily and Kevin Carroll among others, there is a deep pool of talent just behind them that seems to get bigger and better each year. The final LDR Grand Prix standings have been posted to the USATF-LI website along with the final XC Grand Prix standings. There are many prizes that are going to go unclaimed in XC. Our goal for 2014 should be to increase participation so that all the prizes are claimed.
20 • Winter 2013 • One Step Ahead
At the recently concluded USATF Annual Meeting Caryl Senn-Griffiths (W50), Kathy Martin (W60) and Mary Trotto (W65) were named as age-group athletes of the year. Kathy Martin was also named as Female Masters LDR Athlete of the Year.
Vice-Chair Vicki Fox
Kathy Martin's World Record Performance