12/11/2021 TALLAHASSEE FL – Temperatures were delightful for spectators, but a little warm and humid for the competitors. Athletes were impressed with the substantial infrastructure improvements with new permanent tenting, buildings, and award stages. As runners traversed the course, a large jumbotron screen displayed live video and continuously updated splits and scoring positions for each runner.
The athletes enjoyed a spirited competition; those who could adapt to the conditions did well. A local hero won the Women’s race overall; Katie Sherron, of the Gulf Winds Track Club, pulled away from Cal Coast’s Maggie Shearer and Team Red Lizard’s Carre Joyce Heineck. Sherron claimed the title, over 6 km, in 22:10, with a 13 second margin of victory. In the Men’s 60 and up race, Dan King, Athletics Boulder, won going away, in 29:56. He outdistanced his Boulder Road Runner rivals, Tim DeGrado and Roger Sayre by 45 seconds. In the Men’s 40 and up race, Jesse Davis, Indiana Elite, took the win in 32:56, with a 17 second victory margin over West Valley Track Club’s Peter Gilmore, and Eric Blake of the Central Mass Striders. This is Sherron’s first Masters LDR National Championship. Davis qualified for the Olympic Marathon trials as an Open runner and hopes to make Team USATF for the 2022 World 100 Kilometer Championships. King has been on a tear for the last year, setting American and World records at the middle distances on the track, as well as setting a new American Road Mile Record. This is King’s 2nd consecutive overall M60+ win at a National Masters Cross Country Championship, to go with his win in Boston.
Team Championships were tightly contested. The Women’s 40+ team title went to the Boston Athletic Association with 30 points, a 4-point margin over Cal Coast Track Club. Club Northwest tied with Gulf Winds Track Club at 50 points, but took third on a tiebreaker. Women’s 50+ was claimed by Sirius Athletics with 19 points, 5 points ahead of the Janes Elite, who were 7 points in front of the Garden State Track Club. The Greater Philadelphia Track Club took the Women’s 60+ trophy over Club Northwest and the Atlanta Track Club, 9 to 17 to 22. In Women’s 70+, Team Red Lizard took 1-2-3 for 6 points, winning by 9 points over the Atlanta Track Club, with Atlanta’s B team third with 27 points. The Indiana Elite Athletic Club made their first appearance at a Masters National Championship count as they gutted out a tight victory over the West Valley Track Club, 85 to 88; the Bowerman Track Club captured the final M40+ podium spot by a single point over the Boston Athletic Association. The West Valley Track Club got it done in Men’s 50+, taking the title with 29 points, ahead of the Garden State Track Club (GSTC) and the Central Mass Striders. The GSTC had an unusually well-balanced team; only a single runner from another team was able to break up their top 5.
Age Grading Awards, indicators of the fastest runners by age across all age divisions, were won by: Women Karolyn Bowley, Boston Athletic Association, 88.78%, followed by Lorraine Jasper and Michelle Rohl; Men 60+ Dan King 87.75%, followed by Tim DeGrado and Roger Sayre; and Men 40+ Mark Yuen, West Valley, 87.79%, followed by Peter Hammer and Jaime Heilpern.
Age Division National Champions were crowned:
Women 40-44 Sherron 22:10 45-49 Euleen Josiah-Turner 24:31 50-54 Bowley 22:53 55-59 Rohl 24:27 60-64 Lorraine Jasper 25:51 65-69 Sharon Moore 31:42 70-74 Jeanette Groesz 30:24 75-79 Myrna Barnett 44:53
Men 40-44 Davis 32:56 45-49 Todd Rose 34:14 50-54 Mark Yuen 34:08 55-59 Peter Hammer 35:46 60-64 King 29:56 65-69 Thomas Cushman 34:13 70-74 Doug Bell 35:59 75-79 Ronald Wells 37:58 80-84 John Elliott 51:13 85-89 Adrian Craven 1:02:27.
Submitted by
Paul Carlin
USATF Masters LDR/Media Coordinator
Running Professor LLC/www.runningprof.com
