By ELLIOTT DENMAN

OCEAN TOWNSHIP - John Soucheck of Little Silver has ranked as one of the

nation's top long distance racewalkers for years, and now he's gained another major honor.

Soucheck's club, the Shore Athletic Club, which won both the men's and women's team

titles at the USA Track and Field National Club Championships in New York on July 13-14,

will have many members competing in the 2008 USA Olympic Track and Field Trials.

But now Soucheck, 42, has clinched the honor of being the first of them who will compete

 in the Trials. doing it with a four-hour, 44-minute, 20-second performance for 50 kilometers

on Sunday, September 16th, at Joe Palaia Park.

And so he's earned the right to step to the line with America's finest in the USA 50K

Olympic Trials, next Feb. 10 in Key Biscayne, Florida. 

The full track and field phase of the Olympic Trials will be held four months later in Eugene, Oregon.

The Sept. 16 event was actually the 69th annual USATF National Championship 40-Kilometer race

and Soucheck took the option of walking 10 kilometers further and completed his 31.1-mile journey

with 40 seconds to spare under the Trials minimum qualifying time.  About a dozen walkers are

expected for the Key Biscayne event.

Ray Sharp, 47, of Atlantic Mine, Michigan, had previously posted a qualifying time for the 50K

distance (31.1 miles) and so had no need to go further after finishing first in the 40K event (24.8 miles.)

Repeating his 2006 40K triumph, Sharp, who represented the Varsano's Chocolates team of

New York City, covered 20 of the Joe Palaia Park two-kilometer loops for a decisive triumph in 3:27:59.

Soucheck was second at the 40K post in 3:45.52 - and kept on going.

Col. Steve Pecinovsky placed third (3:57:14) and Ian Whatley fourth (3:59:30) and

combined with Sharp to give Varsano's the men's team title.

John Fredericks of Brick was seventh in 4:22:45 and Tom Quattrocchi of Spotswood eighth

in 4:24:49, teaming with Soucheck to give Shore AC second place in team scoring.

C.W. Post College senior Maria Michta, just 21, became the youngest-ever winner of

the women's 40K crown, with a 3:51:22 performance in her first attempt at a distance this long.

Shore AC's Maria Paul of Long Branch placed fourth in 5:07:13.

The Shore AC trio of 11th-place Ron Salvio of Manchester, 14th-place Niall Mandal of

Holmdel and 15th-place Eliot Collins of Raritan combined to win the men's Masters (40-plus) team title.

Winners in the 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) division were Shore AC's Rich Luettchau and

Southeast Pennsylvania AC's Diana Rado.  Three-time Olympian Curt Clausen of NYAC and

Walk USA Club's Jenna Monahan led the way at 10 kilometers (6.2 miles.)

The race was again staged by Shore AC volunteers and sponsored by the club in cooperation with Oxford Health Plans.

States represented were New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire,

Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana,

California, Oregon, District of Columbia, along with Quebec, Canada.

 
69TH ANNUAL USATF NATIONAL 40-KILOMETER

WALK AT JOE PALAIA PARK, OCEAN TOWNSHIP, N.J.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16TH, 2007.

TWO-KILOMETER LOOP COURSE.

MEN:

1. Ray Sharp, Varsano’s Chocolates RW Team 3:27:59.

2. John Soucheck, Shore AC, 3:45:52.

3. Col. Steve Pecinovsky, Varsano’s 3:57:14.

4. Ian Whatley, Varsano’s 3:59:30.

5. Leon Jasionowski, Pegasus AC 4:02:48.

6. Max Walker, Indiana Walkers 4:10:49.

7. John Fredericks, Shore AC 4:22:45.

8. Tom Quattrocchi, Shore AC 4:24:49.

9. Bob Keating, New England Walkers 4:26:13.

10. Bob Mullen, Park Racewalkers USA 4:33:32.

(Guest) Luc Bossieres, Montreal, Canada 4:38:54.

11. Ron Salvio, Shore AC 4:39:51.

12. Peter Bayer, Florida AC 5:10:21.

13. Dr. Pat Bivona, LaVerne, California 5:26:42.

14. Niall Mandal, Shore AC 5:34.05

15. Eliot Collins, Shore AC 5:43:32

DQ: Douglas Brown Clearwater, Fla.

WOMEN

1. Maria Michta, Walk USA 3:51:22.

2. Jennifer Marlborough, Lynbrook, NY 4:26:23.

3. Karen Karavanic, Western Women Go The Distance,

Portland, Oregon. 4:55:09

4. Maria Paul, Shore AC 5:07:13.

5. Carol Alexander, Sylvania, Ohio 5:47:49

TEAM FINISHES:

MEN

1. Varsano’s Chocolates RW Team

(Sharp, Pecinovsky, Whatley) 11:24:43.

2. Shore AC

(Soucheck, Fredericks, Quattrocchi) 12:23:26.

MEN’S MASTERS

1. Shore AC

(Salvio, Mandal, Collins) 15:57.25

NO WOMEN’S TEAM CHAMPION

MASTERS DIVISIONAL SCORING:

MEN

40-44 - 1. Soucheck.

45-49 - 1. Sharp; 2. Whatley.

50-54: 1. Pecinovsky.

55-59 - 1. Fredericks; 2. Quattrocchi; 3. Salvio. 4. Collins.

60-64 - 1. Jasionowski; 2. Walker; 3.Keating; 4. Mullen; 5.Mandal.

65-69 - 1. Bayer; 2. Bivona.

WOMEN

40-44 - 1. Karavanic; 2. Paul.

45-49 - 1. Alexander.

DIVISIONAL PLACINGS - OTHER DISTANCES

50 KILOMETERS

1. John Soucheck, Shore AC 4:44:20.

2. Luc Bossieres 6:10:23.

3. Peter Bayer 6:33:11.

20 KILOMETERS

MEN

1. Richard Luettchau, Shore AC 1:38:44.

2.Julio Alva, Southeast Pa. AC 1:51:06.

3. Bruce Logan, ParkWalkers USA 2:09:11

(Completed 32 kilometers.)

4. Rick Sasulski, Walk USA 2:12:43.

5. Manny Eisner, Shore AC 2:34:50.

WOMEN

1. Diana Rado, Southeast Pa. AC 1:52:04.

2. Solomiya Login, Southeast Pa. AC 1:54:30.

3. Pamela Alva, Southeast Pa.AC 1:57:02.

4. Dorit Attias, Walk USA 2:13:33.

5. Diane Stack, Walk USA 2:35:27.

6. Bernadette McNulty, Phast Club 2:35:33

10 KILOMETERS

MEN

1. Curt Clausen, NYAC 53:26.

WOMEN

1. Jenna Monahan, Walk USA 58:30.

2. Joan Woods, Shore AC 1:20:29

5-KILOMETERS

Men,

1. Daniel C. Andreasen, Phast Club 26:05.

Women

1. Catie Davis, Southeast Pa. AC 27:45.

2. Camille Creary, Clifton RR 37:24

RACEWALKING JUDGES:

Bruce MacDonald (IAAF Emeritus) Chief.

Ron Daniel (IAAF), Maryanne Daniel (IAAF), Elliott Denman

(IAAF Emeritus), Roberta Eisner (USATFNJ),

Bill Eisenring (USATFNJ), Wayne Baker (USATFNJ.)

STATES REPRESENTED:

New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire,

Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana,

California, Oregon. DC (And Quebec, Canada.).

CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS TO ALL WHO TOOK PART.

and made it a success once again !!!!!