Records Shattered at Outdoor Championships

More than 1300 of the nation’s top Masters track and field athletes made their way to American River College in Sacramento, California for a shot at a national title at the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships. Dozens of world and American records fell along the way, with standout performances in the combined events, throws, and relays.

DAY ONE

A standout at the USATF Masters Indoor Championships earlier this year, Neringa Jackstiene (Unattached) was back in the spotlight to kick off an exciting four days in Sacramento at the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships presented by Prevagen. Jackstiene tallied a world record performance in the W60 pentathlon with her impressive 4921 point total. Her mark obliterated the existing record of 4391, set in 2019 by Spain’s Maria Rosa Escribano Checa. En route to her record, Jackstiene also set a long jump world record with her 4.89m jump to better a mark set in 1997, and a high jump American record with a 1.46m clearance.

Florence Meiler (Unattached) was the first woman in the W90 division to complete an outdoor pentathlon, therefore establishing a world record in the division. Across the five events, Meiler totaled 2218 points, with standout performances in the high jump (0.86m) and shot put (5.14m).

Marsha Baird (Unattached) broke the American record in the W50 pentathlon by more than 200 points with her 3937 total. Standout performances for Baird came in the 100 hurdles (13.26) and 800 (2:41.14).

Multiple records toppled in the men’s pentathlon, including an American record in the M85 division. Sherwood Sagedahl (Unattached) tallied 2336 to better the existing record by nearly 400 points. Sagedahl could attribute more than a quarter of his points total to an impressive 1500 time of 7:50.92.

William Platts (Unattached) became the oldest man to ever complete an outdoor pentathlon at 96. He tallied a whopping 3311 points on the hot Sacramento day to establish a world record that will be tough to match. His 23.78m javelin throw earned him a whopping 1088 points alone.

A men’s non-club 4×800 team of Tim Owen, Robert Whitaker, Michael Lebold, and David Westenberg took down the existing world record in the M65 division with a blazing 10:16.67, toppling Canada’s previous mark of 10:19.89 by nearly three seconds. Their time chopped 11 seconds off of the existing American record of 10:27.85.

Another world record was at risk when the New England 65 Plus Runners Club’s M85 team stepped onto the track. The quartet had their eyes set on the existing world record of 24:31.16 set at last year’s USATF Masters Outdoor Championships. Joe Cordero, Bill Masterson, Ram Satyaprasad, and Robert Randall became the first in their age division to go sub-24 in the event with a 23:28.41 clocking and new M85 world record.

So Cal Track Club put together a masterful foursome in the M75 4×800 to take down the American record. Donald Loewe, Larry Rink, Salih Talib, and Gary Patton worked together to a 14:41.96 to better the previous record of 15:18.63.

The Boulder Road Runners 4×800 team of John Prineas, John Borthwick, Todd Straka, and Chris McDonald clocked a 9:19.55 to better the American record of 10:14.17 in the M55 division.

DAY TWO

Loretta Woodward-Turner (U.S. Air Force) turned on the jets to take the crown in the W70 100. Woodward-Turner clocked a 14.71 to take the win by more than two seconds on her way to a world and American record. The previous world record of 14.73 was set in 2017 by Germany’s Ingrid Meier.

When two of the world’s top competitors in the W60 division, Joy Upshaw (Joy’s Jackrabbits Track Club) and Neringa Jakstiene (Unattached) lined up against each other in the 80 hurdles, something special was bound to happen. It was a neck-and-neck battle through each hurdle and the race came down to the lean at the finish. 63-year-old Upshaw got the nod with her 13.04 to Jakstiene’s 13.05 for the gold. Both women ran well under the existing American record of 13.26.

Upshaw’s club teammate, Peter Grimes (Joy’s Jackrabbits Track Club), showed the team’s depth in the hurdles with his winning performance in the M65 100 hurdles. Grimes clocked a world and American record of 15.08 to chop .12 off the existing record, set by Tyrone Brown in Raleigh in 2013.

After a successful showing in the pentathlon, Florence Meiler (Unattached) decided to see what she could put together in the W90 80 hurdles. She clocked a 36.68 into a headwind to establish a world and American record in the event. Later in the day, she went on to better yet another American record with her 4.21m leap in the W90 triple jump. Her jump added more than a meter to the existing record of 3.07m. With more energy still in the tank, Meiler took on the pole vault. She cleared one meter even to establish a world and American record in the event. Of note, Meiler also holds the current world record in theW75, W80 and W85 division.

Sue McDonald (Unattached) set the age division world record in the W60 400 last year at the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships with her 1:02.34 performance and she was seeking improvement a year later in Sacramento. She dipped down under the 1:02 mark with a 1:01.73 performance to better her own world and American record and better the field by almost 15 seconds.

An American record fell in the M70 4×80 shuttle hurdle relay as a non-club team of Max Siu, Larry Vollmer, Russell Jacquet-Acea, and Ernie Snodgrass clocked a 1:02.10 to improve on the existing American record of 1:02.79.

In the M50 division of the 4×100 shuttle hurdle relay, a non-club team of Alfredo Sanchez, Matt Hamilton, Phil Cannon, and Wale Aka-Bashorun clocked a swift 1:11.72 to better the American record of 1:20.26 by nearly nine seconds.

Foreshadowing what was to come through the remainder of the weekend, Myrle Mensey (Throwing and Growing) bettered the world American record in the W75 hammer throw with a 41.25m heave. Mensey’s behemoth throw was more than ten meters further than any American woman in her division had ever landed a hammer, and a meter and a half past the world record set by Germany’s Eva Nohl earlier this season. Her throw doubled the distance of her nearest age-division competitor.

Joining in hammer throw glory, Elsbeth Padia (Unattached) landed a 21.61m hammer throw to surpass the existing American record of 21.34m.

Neringa Jakstiene (Unattached) once again showed her versatility with a top performance in the W60 triple jump. Jakstiene leapt 10.71m to better the existing American record in the event by a half a meter.

DAY THREE

April Lund (GYS Track Club) started day three off strong, splintering the W40 American record in the 10,000 by more than twenty-five seconds. Lund clocked 34:27.51.

The M50 division witnessed history in the 800, with the top two performers breaking American and world records. In first was Brian Tullis (Indiana Elite Athletic Club), followed by Mark Williams (Freedom – GR Project), who clocked 1:58.07 and 1:58.40, respectively. The pair took down the American and world record of 1:58.65 in a masterful finish. On the women’s side of the 800, Lynne Hurrell (Sierra Gold) took down the W85 American record in 5:10.45, trimming off two seconds in the process.

The SC Striders Track Club delivered two broken American records in the W70 division. Linda Cohn, Kathy Bergen, Jeanne Bowman, and Tina Bowman ran an electric 1:12.24 in the 4×100, besting the American record by nearly six seconds. Joy Flynn, Brenda Steele Matthews, Carole Jackson, and Rita Hanscom were the other quartet that delivered a striking performance three seconds below the American record.

After Myrle Mensey’s (Throwing and Growing) exceptional performance on day two, she came back for more, delivering a new W75 American record in the shot put. Mesley threw 9.42m, shaving .16m off from the American record.

Day three featured another standout, Florence Meiler (Unattached), in the W90 long jump. Meiler recorded a staggering 1.68m to take down yet another American record.

Edward Burke (Unattached) and Peter La Barge Sr. (Texas Throwers Club) landed a pair of American records in the M80 and M85 divisions. In the hammer throw, Burke recorded 50.37m, upgrading the previous record from 45.25m and coming just .32m from the world record. Burke’s other notable performance came after propelling the weight 18.17m to improve the American record by over one meter. In the M85 division, La Barge Sr.’s mark of 37.66m in the hammer throw elevated the American record by nearly four and a half meters. To complete his weekend, La Barge Sr. showed off his strength in the weight throw, reaching a mark of 13.88m to become the new American record holder.

DAY FOUR

Starting off on the road, Michael Wiggins (So Cal Track Club) clocked a M75 American record of 1:04:54.72 in the 10,000 race walk to shave off half a second from the previous 1:05:10.

On the track, day four witnessed two broken American records and one broken world record in the hurdles. In the M65 division, Ronald Humphrey (Unattached) shaved off nearly a second of the preexisting 45.20 300 hurdles record. In the next division, Ron Stevens (SC Striders Track Club) showed off his agility, clocking 49.04 in the 300 hurdles and setting a new M70 American record. Rounding out the records, Sue McDonald (Unattached) crossed the finish line in 48.84, taking down the W60 300 hurdles American and world record of 48.89 with a sharp finish.

In the 1500, Martha Klopfer (Unattached) became the new W85 American record holder, registering a time of 10:54.45, cutting the previous record by more than half a second. In another sensational performance, Loretta Woodward-Turner (U.S. Air Force) ran a swift 200, registering 31.14 to break the W70 American and world records of 31.39 and 31.30.

Odeika Giscombe, Christina Elder, Christina Trucks, and Ericka Charles of the women’s non-club showcased their speed in the 4×400, registering a time of 3:48.68 to take more than four seconds off the W35 American record and two seconds off the world record. The Central Park Track Club’s team, Santa Medina, Lisa Edwards, Jennifer St. Jean, and Nathalie Jones, achieved a similar feat, shattering the W45 4×400 American record by more than fourteen seconds, clocking 4:21.16 to leave victorious.

The Sierra Gold team stepped onto the track with a mission in the men’s 4×400. Daniel O’Haver, Drue Mathies, John Darlington, and Bill Wilson recorded 6:55.25, obliterating the W75 American record by more than two minutes. In the same division, Daniel Ziskin, Salih Talib, Gunnar Linde, and Colben Sime from the So Cal Track Club also ran six seconds faster than the American record.

Myrle Mensey (Throwing and Growing) topped off her weekend breaking the W75 American and world record in the weight throw. Mensey launched a massive 16.24m, demolishing the previous American record of 12.03m and world record of 14.74m.

Elsbeth Padia (Unattached) also made her mark on the field events, breaking two W85 American records. Padia propelled the discus 19.31m, reaching a mark nearly two and a half meters further than the American record. Padia’s other record came from her 21.61m performance in the hammer throw to chop .27m off the previous American record. Amy Haapanen’s (Unattached) execution of the hammer throw also took the W40 American record by nearly one meter.

In the M65 triple jump, Willie Banks (Unattached) jumped 10.98m, surpassing the American record by .14m.

A full list of results for the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships presented by Prevagen can be found here.