Harvey Lewellen, M60 – M90, Athlete (Throws)
Harvey has competed in Masters Track & Field since 1991. During that time, he set 2 WMA records, 21 USATF MTF records, won 1 WMA Championships, 14 USATF MTF Championships with competition and another 8 without, and won 1 WMA Silver and 1 WMA Bronze medal. He has had at least 54 USA #1 Rankings and received 2 USATF MTF Age Group Athlete of the Year Awards.
Bill Murray, M45 – M65, Athlete / Administrator (Combined Events, Sprint Hurdles and Jumps)
Bill competed in Masters Track & Field for ten seasons beginning in 2003. During that time, he set 2 WMA records, 4 USATF MTF records, won 3 WMA Championships, 18 USATF MTF Championships, and won 1 WMA Silver medal. He has had at least 14 USA #1 Rankings and received the USATF MTF Overall Athlete of the Year Award.
Bill was primarily a combined events athlete which is where he set his WMA and USATF MTF records. His USATF MTF records in heptathlon from 2005 and heptathlon and decathlon from 2009 still stand. The WMA decathlon record and Championship win were accomplished while battling through a back injury which would eventually lead to the end of him competing.
Bill’s Administrative Contributions:
For more than two decades, he has been a leader in organizing, promoting, and managing meets at regional, national, and international levels. His contributions include finding sponsoring sites, fund raising, event scheduling, meet management and supervision of officials. He has been the “go to” authority at all USATF Masters Championship meets for more than a decade. The relevant positions held are:
Association Masters Chair 2005 – present
LOC Combined Events Championship head 2007
SE Region Masters Chair 2014 – 2021
USATF MTF Combined Events Co-Chair 2014 – 2021
USATF MTF Games Committee 2014 – present
USATF MTF Executive Committee 2014 – present
NCCMA VP Combined Events 2017 – present
WMA Competition Committee 2017 – present
WMA Combined Events Referee @ 2018 and 2019 Championships
WMA Competition Management Team @ 2018, 2022 and 2023 Championships
USATF MTF Games Committee Chair 2021 – present
Referee over 20 USATF Masters Championships
Bill also conceived and implemented the USATF MTF Pole Rental Program which included forming a 501(c)(3) Public Charity to sustain the program, registering as a shipper with Southwest Airlines, transporting the poles and much more.
He also acquired countdown clocks at a significant discount.
Derek Pye, M40 – M50, Athlete (60m, 100m, Sprint Hurdles, Long Jump)
Derek has competed in Masters Track & Field since 2010. During that time, he set 3 WMA records, 5 USATF MTF records, won 1 WMA Championship, 24 USATF MTF Championships, and won 1 WMA Silver medal. He has had at least 24 USA #1 Rankings and received 5 USATF MTF Age Group Athlete of the Year Awards. Derek broke the WMA indoor 60m hurdle records for age M45 when he was 49. One year later, after adjusting to new hurdle intervals, he broke the WMA M50 hurdle record. He still holds both of them. In 2019, Derek ran 13.43 in the 100m hurdles at the NCCMA Championships, which was faster than the nearly 30 year old 13.57 WMA outdoor record, but a 2.1 wind reading prevented it from being recognized as a record. Derek has also worked as a volunteer at several Masters West Region and Southern California Association Championships.
Robert Thomas Jr, M35 – M55, Athlete / Administrator (Sprints)
Robert has been involved in Masters Track & Field since 2001. During that time, he has earned 18 WMA World Championship Medals, 24 USATF Gold Medals, and received 5 USATF MTF Age Group Athlete of the Year Awards.
Robert’s Administrative Contributions:
Since 2007, Robert has served in an administrative position at the Association, Regional, and National level. Significant accomplishments include:
Two terms as Vice Chair of USATF Masters Track and Field from 2010-2016 and 2019-Present
Midwest Regional coordinator 2017-2019
USATF Masters National Championship Site selection coordinator from 2014 – Present, investigates locations that allow USATF Masters to keep expenses down and provide members with the best national championship possible
Meet Director for the 2012 USATF Masters Indoor Championships. This was the first USATF Masters Championship where the athlete’s bib were personalized with their name and age group and the first national championship to provide custom medals
Presently working on two bids for master’s 2024 National championship and 2025 World championship to be held in Indianapolis, IN
Initiated conversations with the USATF National Office which resulted in Masters athletes getting a free uniform when competing at both indoor and outdoor World Masters Athletics World Championships
Contributed to the improvement of USATF Masters performance at WMA Championships by convincing the USATF National Office to purchase physical therapy and recovery equipment. USATF Masters currently has a Game Ready System, Two Hypervolt Percussion Guns, and multiple Normatec Recovery Systems
Recruited a massage therapist and chiropractor to attend WMA Championships for a small group of athletes which eventually expanded to include that service for the entire USA team
Increased revenue twofold and decreased expenses dramatically while serving as Indiana Association treasurer from 2009 to present
As Masters Chair for the Indiana Association, he was the driving force for establishing the annual Indiana Association Indoor Championship meet
Initiated the practice of a USA Team hotel at WMA Championships. This increased team comradery and provided a comfortable zone for first time attendees
Gave Team USA the opportunity to showcase their participation in the WMA championship by providing team shirts for sale with the location and dates of the championship to those that attended as a memento
Doug Torbert, M60 – M70, Athlete (Shot Put and Javelin)
Doug started competing in Masters Track & Field in 2012 after retiring from teaching and coaching high school track and football. Since then, he set 3 WMA records, 6 USATF MTF records, and won 5 WMA Championships and 11 USATF MTF Championships. He has had 17 USA #1 Rankings and received the USATF MTF Thrower of the Year Award.
Almost all of Doug’s accomplishments are in his specialty, shot put. He is the current USATF MTF record holder in M60 (2016), M65 (2017) and M70 (2022) and current WMA record holder in M65 and M70. He has been the US #1 Ranked shot putter every year since he started competing in MTF. He has won every shot put WMA and USATF MTF Championship that he has attended.
