9/18/22 HIGHLANDS NJ
Men’s Overall race
Twenty minutes into the race, the temperature and the humidity both stood at 73. The wind speed was 17-20 mph. The only thing hotter than the day was the pace that Riley Cook threw down to start the Masters 12 Km race, hitting the 2-mile mark at 9:48! Benjamin Bruce and Jesse Davis tried to stay with him. Cook, like almost everyone else, had to dial back his pace after the 5th mile but he held on for an 18 second margin over Bruce, winning in 38:20. The hot early pace and the weather got to Davis; Darryl Brown, Jr. caught him in the last half mile to take 3rd overall.
Women’s Overall race
The Women’s Overall race was distinctive in that Abby Dean, aged 50, and Fiona Bayly, 55, were both in the hunt for the win. In the end, Kristen Prendergast, 41, took the win in 46:07, with Dean a half minute back in 2nd. Sara Girotto took 3rd, with Bayly 4th.
Overall Age Grading Awards
The Overall Age Grading awards determined by chip time recognize the athletes across all age divisions with the most outstanding performance for their age. Nora Cary, who set the 65-69 Women’s American Record here last year, took top honors; her 54:05 at 67, graded at 93.55. Bayly’s 47:38 at 55, earned a 90.83 for 2nd. Bayly was not the only 55-59 athlete to have a great day. Suzanne la Burt, 59, clocked 50:10 for a 90.62% score. It was incredibly close on the Men’s side with the top 3 athletes separated by less than a tenth of a percentage point. Rick Becker’s 46:34 at 67, graded at 90.48%. He was followed by Nat Larson, 2nd on a 43:33 at 60, for 90.44; with Brian Crowley 3rd with a 90.41% for his 42:23 at 57.
Age Division National Champions gun time included M/W: 40-44 Cook/Prendergast; 45-49 David Angell/Sara Girotto; 50-54 Mark Andrews/Dean; 55-59 Crowley /Bayly; 60-64 Larson/McCoubrie 65-69 Becker/Cary; 70-74 Robert Qualls/Suzanne Ray 75-79 Dave Glass; Cheryl Kohut 80-84 George Gilder/Sandra Folzer; 85-89 Adrian Craven/Joyce Hodges-Hite.
Team Championships
There were hotly contested team championships as well. The Greater Philadelphia Track Club M70+, W60+ and the Shore Athletic Club M60+, W40+ took two Team Golds each. In the Men’s contests, the Indiana Elite M40+, West Valley Track Club M50+, and the Clifton Road Runners M80+ also took Team Gold. In the Women’s championships, the Janes Elite Racing W50+ and Team Red Lizard W70+ each took the team first place.
The San Francisco Bay Area’s West Valley Track Club took the Men’s 40+ and 50+ titles while 60+ went to the Boulder Road Runners and 70+ to the hometown SRA Elite. Women’s titles went to Southern Cal clubs, the Cal Coast Track Club at 40+ and the Janes Elite at 50+. The Bay Area Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders took the 60+ title while the 70+ title went north to Portland’s Team Red Lizard.
The 2022 Masters National Grand Prix circuit concludes with the USATF Masters 5 Km Cross Country Championships in Boulder CO on October 22nd. There will be an Awards Ceremony at the Club Cross Championships in San Francisco on December 10th.
Submitted by
Paul Carlin
Masters LDR/Media Coordinator
Running Professor, LL
www.runningprof.com
