From Matthew Lacey of the Open:
Bill Wells
Photo: NYRR
CPTC Men scorched the Van Cortland Park course last weekend, sweeping spots 2-6 en route to an impressive team victory and an average time of 16:26.
Jon Wetzel led the way in 16:20 followed closely by Joe and Paul Gilhuley in 16:22. Jonevan Hornsby knocked 30 seconds off his time from the week prior, finishing in16:33, ahead of Will Davis who ran a course PR of 16:36.
The Orange dominance did not stop there as CPTC had 6 MORE runners in the top 25, including Herbert Plumber, who ran 17:47, a Van Cortland PR by 90 seconds(!) and 800 meter powerhouses Julius Mutekanga, Oscar Kamula, and Dustin Emrani.
Without anyone to “pace” Giancarlos Zambrano faded 7 seconds from his previous week’s performance, finishing in 18:40, and Gal Cohen delivered on his promise to avenge last week’s near miss at sub 20, clocking 19:52.
With countless other fantastic CPTC performances sprinkled in, anyone on the course without an orange singlet must have felt sorely lacking. Overall, out of the 48 runners who broke 20 minutes, 18 were from the Central Park Track Club. Well done!
From David Greenberg of the 40+:
Peter Brady
Photo: Sue Pearsall
The men of the 40+ laced ’em up and hit the trails in orange, just missing a top five team finish.
Our frontrunner was Peter Brady, who clocked 16:01, gaining 4th in the 40-44, a lifetime 5k PR, and the satisfaction of beating some very fast people.
“I didn’t expect to run that fast on a somewhat hilly grass course, so I’m hopeful I can finally break 16 on the road in the near future,” Peter said.
Peter’s time slotted him into second place all time on the CPTC masters 5k xc list.
Second man was wily veteran harrier Armando Oliveira, at 17:04. Armando takes XC very seriously, and in Flemington ran his second best age graded score (in the NYRR database): 83.7%.
Gerry O’Hara brought his 4:09 1500 speed to Central Jersey and was the #3 guy at 17:07/85.4%. I’d bet on 49-year-old Gerry winning some 50+ races next year. Chris Donnelly and all – get ready to receive. Those guys have an embarassment of riches.
Gerry O’Hara
Photo: Sue Pearsall
Our #4 and #5 men were John Milone (17:38) and Jim Charlton (17:40)…but unfortunately they didn’t score in the team standings because of the intricacies of USATF national championship rules. If they had scored, the team might have finished 5th instead of 6th, but rules are rules and disappointed runners are disappointed runners.
With John and Jim excluded from the team competition, Mel Stafford and David Greenberg filled in right behind them, running together in 17:51 and 17:53 respectively. Mel said afterward that the “camaraderie d’orange” helped him get through the race in fine fashion, and David was pleased that his last mile was the fastest of his race. Both regretted the absence of powdered doughnuts at the finish.
Freshman CPTCer Sherman Lau, in a loaner singlet, inaugurated what I am sure will be a long and medal-strewn career with the Orange, hitting the line right with Mel and David at 17:58.
The race had all it advertised: excellent competition from across the country, a suitable course, a big-meet feel, and the fun of competing as a team. I look forward to forming up masters teams for the December 2014 club XC meet in Eastern Pennsylvania.
On the pavement, Jim McQuade ran an outstanding 2:44 in Chicago, and Michael Nolan ran a 1:24 PR at the Newport Half.
Armando, Mel, John,David, Sherman and Gerry (missing: Peter and Jim)
Photo: Sylvie Kimche
From Hank Schiffman of the 60+
Allan Dias
Photo: Hillcrest Photo
It was a day of great highs and foul lows. Superb weather and foliage color, but a sprained ankle moments before the start precluded Frank Handelman from running. He pulled back his sock and it was instantly the size of a golf ball. In the race, Dave Delano misstepped on a hazard, fell on his wrist resulting in significant, but undiagnosed injury. He was helped back up to his feet by an elderly gentleman, who I believe called him a youngster. Dave lost his CPTC warm up jacket, I lost a team t-shirt and others were permanently separated from warm clothing, left at the start, disappearing into uncertainty.
Frank, the most accomplished among us, went from competitor to spectator in one nasty twist, cold comfort upon the field of broken dreams, for want of one part.
The course was fast and dry though the wind was always on your nose. The hills were not steep and you could power down the back sides without fear of falling. It was an easier course than Vanny. The sun shone brilliantly and our team mates were everywhere to cheer us on. My, can a herd of old men hustle!
Dave, our back up, his time loss from the fall leaving him with 27:36:72, crossing the line with an injured wing.
Hal Lieberman, running barefoot, slave to the hipster trend in Brooklyn, was our 5th scorer running 23:55:19, also the greyest beard in our group at 70 years and closest to winning a medal in age group.
Kevin McGuire, both shod and uninjured, ran an impressive 23:02:40. The luck of the Irish, on the cusp of cracking 23 with a strong finish.
Dan Molloy, our 3th scorer ran a very pretty 22:02:01. The luck of the Irish take two, on the cusp of cracking 22, ran smoothly, casting a dashing figure in the bright sunshine.
Hank Schiffman
Photo: Sue Pearsall
I scored 2nd, pouring on the coals in the final 100 meters knowing the kick to the line is the last card to play, and anyone around you can be holding trump. I’ll take my 20:16:41, just moving up on Harry Nolan in the last mile.
Allan Dias, never shy about moving up to the front early, was out of my sight in the first half mile. He stormed the 5k course, weaving a 20:04:44 out of it. A very happy Allan, smiling broadly, was our first scorer.
As a team in Masters Men 60, we were 6th out of 7. South Jersey AC had 130 points while we had 133. There is a debate on whether we would have picked up 4 points for 5th had Hal worn spikes on his bare feet. Meanwhile, the scoring eludes me. But without a doubt, we had the best looking team.
Photo: Sue Pearsall