THE SHORE ATHLETIC CLUB of New Jersey

THE SHORE ATHLETIC CLUB is one of New Jersey's, and America's. most diverse and inclusive organizations dedicated to all the specialties within the great sport of track and field.
The Shore AC is truly a club for all athletes and all seasons. We field "varsity" and local men's and women's teams competing in every event within the sport, and on every level, youth to juniors to "open" to Sub-Masters and Masters.
   We are dedicated to the vision of track and field as a wonderful "lifetime sport". We do every event there is to do, meaning everything from the sprints to the middle distances to the marathons and even ultra-marathons; the hurdles, all the jumping events, all the throwing events, all the multi-events; racewalking and cross country and relay racing and road running. Some of our Shore AC folks have done all this at the highest level - our members have been Olympians, World Champions, National Champions, and a lot more.
   The Shore AC's official birth year is 1934. The club went through its earlier eras of the 30s and 40s marked by some incredible feats - began anew in the late 40s and endured to the early 50s. In 1964, the "new" Shore AC was born and we've been doing so many great new things ever since. We have over 500 members. Most live in New Jersey but quite a few reside far beyond NJ. and some quite far beyond. In addition to competing in all these events, the club itself puts on an incredible array of events for all to take part in and enjoy to the utmost. And we cap each year with a wonderful awards banquet each January.
   At last count, Shore AC was scheduled to put on at least 75 events in the 2002 calendar year. All of these - and the administrative work of the club - get done with through the team efforts of an amazing group of volunteers and good friends. Whatever your goals in the sport, whatever your level of participation, we extend a cordial invitation!!!
   This website is a project in continuous construction. Updates are posted on a regular basis. Enjoy! Take Part! Just Do It! (And help others Just Do It - as a volunteer at any of our events - as often as you wish.

RECENT POSTS

SHORE AC ATHLETES PLAY MAJOR ROLES AT THE HISTORIC 105TH EDITION OF MILLROSE GAMES AT THE ARMORY TRACK CENTER - FEB. 11, 2012.GOLD MEDAL PERFORMANCES BY PAUL WAGNER & MYASIA JACOBS LEAD WAY.
Reports from Elliott Denman, Tim Brennan, John Kuhi, Janet Wagner and team.

    NEW YORK CITY - The Millrose Games found a great new home at The New Balance Armory Track and Field Center on Saturday, Feb. 11th, 2012 - after nearly a century at Madison Square Garden - and Shore Athletic Club competitors played major roles in the festivities.
     Leading the way for Shore AC were Millrose Games champions Paul Wagner and Myasia Jacobs.
    Paul Wagner got things rolling with a victory in the men’s 35-pound weight throw with a heave of 67 feet, 7 ½ inches (60.61 meters), winning by over two feet from Jake Basher of the Syracuse Chargers..
   “Paul won the 35lb Weight Throw at Millrose with a season's best 20.61m and represented Shore AC in style; he was the first champion to receive the Championship watch and was highlighted on Facebook,” reported his proud Mom, Janet Walker, herself a star thrower in the Masters ranks.
Shore AC’s Amy Thayer added a sixth place in the women ‘s 20-pound weight throw with a toss of 60-1 3/4. Both weight events were held at Manhattan College on Friday, Feb. 10th.
   Once action resumed Saturday at the Armory, Shore AC athletes were in the thick of things.
   Shore AC member Ms. Myasia Jacobs, a senior at Paramus Catholic and already a gold medalist in the World Youth Olympics and World Youth Track Championships, ran off with the high school girls 55-meter dash title in 6.91 seconds,
    A close second place in the men’s Club Championship sprint medley relay highlighted Shore AC performances in open racing on the track. Shore AC ran with Charles Cox (47.9 400 leadoff), Emmanuel Freeland, Alan Laws Jr and Donte Holmes (1:50.8 800 anchor) to clock a club-record 3:24.73, as Holmes’ powerful closing rush just failed to catch the winning Zenith Velocity team (3:23.93.) Placing third in 3:25.09 was the Hampton University team anchored by Shore AC member Larry Ramirez.
     Shore AC’s men’s 4x200 team of Tim Boeni, Matt Bernardo, Kyle Hayes and Steve Benedict ran 1:32.65 to place fourth in a race won by Zenith Velocity at 1:29.75.
    For the first time in years, Shore AC was fully represented in the women’s open relay racing action at Millrose and the clubwomen were terrific. The foursome of Amber Williams (55.65 leadoff) Maurelhena Walles, Lindsay Thomas and Lauren Henkel (2:17.72 anchor) ran a club-record 4:07.90 placing second over-all in the Club Championship sprint medley. Shore AC led all club teams with only the Penn collegians ahead of them in 4:01.98.
   The same quartet - running in order with Williams, Henkel, Walles and Thomas, returned to the track to place a strong 1:46.40 third in the 4x200. Thomas rallied the team up one place around the final turn. It was another busy day for Lauren Henkel, who’d run an indoor-PR 2:12.51 800 at Boston University’s Valentine Invitational Friday night.
“Thank you once again for the opportunity to represent Shore AC,” said Walles. “I had a good time and look forward to continuing to be an ambassador for the club. “
    Not to be outdone by their younger teammates, Shore AC Masters team runners excelled in three separate sections of the 4x400.
   It was Rick Lapp (60.21), Harry Nolan (66.46), Przemek Nowicki (73.52) and Tony Plaster (62.83) a solid second in the 60-up race to winning Mass. Velocity’s 4:15.89.
“Great job to all for another exciting Millrose,” said Lapp.
   The men’s 50-up section saw Shore AC’s Rich Alexander (66.54 leadoff after an unfortunate baton mishap), Bob Andrews (57.73), Tom Pinzino (59.96) and Tom Cawley (57.25) run third in 4:01.82 back of Mass. Velocity’s winning 3:53.63.
“Good job, guys,” said Pinzino. “It says something about our attitude to fight our way back to third place after the rough start. That was a lot of fun, and I'm feeling pumped up about things to come. ‘’
Said Andrews: “Hey guys, very nice job last night.”
    Susan Sarn (70,33), Dianne DeOliveira (66.35), Christy Patla (84.32) and Christy DeFilippis (72.44) brought Shore AC home fourth in the women's 40-up 4x400 in 4:53.68, as Central Park Track Club won in 4:18.76.
   There was more, too, at Millrose.
   On Friday night, Neptune High School senior Ajee’ Wilson was presented the Johnny Hayes Memorial Award as Shore athlete of the year, at the gala annual Shore AC Awards Banquet. Less than 24 hours later, the World Youth champion continued her progress into track’s biggest time with a great 2:04.13 fourth place in the women’s 800 at Millrose, just 0.78 seconds back of winner Morgan Uceny, the Cornell alumna who was the world’s top-ranked 1500-meter runner in 2011.
   Erison Hurtault, Matawan Regional HS graduate and Dominica Olympian, ran a 1;02.27 third in the Mel Sheppard 500 meters back of Olympic 400 champion LaShawn Merritt’s winning 1:01.39.
CBA won the boys suburban schools 4x400 relay in a quick 3;19.61 and another CBA foursome was fifth in the 4x800 at 7:58.87.
   Red Bank Catholic’s Rob Napolitano ran a strong 4:17.92 fifth place in the boys high school mile, and the RBC girls added a 9:11.16 third place in the Metropolitan schools 4x800.
   Neptune grad Tyquan Brown anchored Delaware State to the Historically Black Schools men’s 4x400 championship in 3:12.23. Rutgers ran off with the women’s 4x800 title in 3:42.83.   /////////////////////
There were many brilliant performances in the Friday-Saturday Valentine Invitational in Boston, as well.
Shore AC member Kevin Thompson blazed to the 200-meter title in a quick 21.30 seconds, after placing fourth in the 60 final at 6.87. Shore AC teammate Steve Jussaume placed second in the 35-pound weight throw at 62-5.
   Former Shore AC and Seton Hall standout Tyrone Ross took the men’s 400 crown in 47.02, while the women’s 400 went to Sophia Smellie, another former Seton Hall star, in 52.65.

SHORE AC RACEWALKERS DO SUPER THINGS AT USA OLYMPIC TRIAL/NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP/ IAAF WORLD 50K QUALIFIER AT SANTEE, CALIFORNIA .. By ELLIOTT DENMAN

SANTEE, CALIFORNIA, Jan. 22 - Topped tremendously by Erin Taylor-Talcott's sensational all-time American best-ever performance of 4:33:22,Shore AC racewalkers played many starring roles in the biggest of all 2012 USA events in the longest and toughest of Olympic footraces. Erin - recently featured in a great NY Times story by Jere Longman - was just marvelous and she walked a great, well-paced effort to erase Susan Amenta's 2002 performance of 4:39:39 as the American women's record for 50K, or 31.1 miles. It was a PR by some eight minutes and represented major strides in getting the 50K recognized as a standard national and international event for women.

The media focus was rightfully focused on the vital battle for a place/or places on Uncle Sam's London-bound Olympic team -and it was a duel eventually won by San Diegans John Nunn over Tim Seaman (4:04:38 to 4:05:50), after an all-out, dramatic tussle that saw the lead swing back and forth seevral times in the final 5K.

With the Olympic A standard of 3:59 out of reach this early in the competiton year, and a nation allowed just one B qualifier per event, this became an all-out battle for first place and that lone Olympic spot.

And three others - new Shore AC members Ben Shorey and Erich Cordero, along with Patrick Stroupe - stayed in that hunt until the 25th and 30th K, along with Nunn and Seaman. All five reached midway around the 2:03/2:04 mark, well under B pace.

But when only Nunn and Seaman could continue at that clip - this is such an unforgiving event - the others' times slipped and were not really representatative of their true talents.

Shorey, the 2011 National 50K champion, held on for third in 4:17.40, Stroupe took fourth in 4:19:43 and Cordero hung in there for fifth in 4:28.04. Nearly a decade ago, Cordero and best pal/training partner Yandy Nelson Alvarez were two of the best walkers in Cuba, but left to seek the freedoms they knew they'd have as Americans.

The Cordero/Alvarez story is a truly inspiring one, and now Cordeo gets to represent USA in the IAAF World Cup 50K coming up May 11-12 in Saransk, Russia.Alvarez, unfortunately, was unable to finish after going 25K about 2:06 in a solid sixth place, and continuing on to 35K. But an injury problem then put him on the sidelines. Still, he will have a chance to make the USA World Cup team at the 20k Trials April 1 in Eugene, Oregon. Taylor-Talcott, too,will bid for a World Cup spot, in the women's 20K.

Hamstring troubles forced Dave Talcott, Erin's husband, out of the race after three laps of the 1,250-meter circuit up and down on Santee's Mast Boulevard. But he soon switched roles and joined Erin's aid station team.

This was an outstandingly produced event staged with all the Olympic Trials trappings by a hard-working commitee led by Santee's own Tracy Sundlun and race director Philip Dunn, the 2000-2004-2008 USA 50K Olympian who now serves on the USATF Board of Directors.

Special guests at the race included USATF Interim Director Mike McNees; newly-crowned Olympic Marathon Trials winner Meb Keflelzighi, headed for his third Games; and earlier Olympians Willie Banks and Dan Browne.

In a most poignant moment, Keflezighi looked back to his warm friendship with Olympic Trials 50K competitor Al Heppner, when both were pointing to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and training together at the USOC Training Center. Tragically, Heppner would take his own life three days after the 2004 50K Trial race in nearby Chula Vista.

"Al is still in my thoughts and prayers," said "Meb." "I will always cherish his memory. He will always be with us."

The athletes were greeted by Santee officials at a gala welcome ceremony on Friday, and then saluted all over again at a gala Carlton Oaks Golf Club post-race awards banquet.

Two-time Olympian Allen James (4:39:24), Ray Sharp (4:41:45), Michael Mannozzi (4:48:19) and Dave McGovern (5:24:18) also completed the distance. But unable to compete - stranded after flight cancellations in Salt Lake City - was veteran Jonathan Matthews.

McGovern - who was competing in his seventh Olympic Trials - a record distinction he now shares with hammer thrower Ed Burke - will now shift focus to his assignment as USA head coach at the World Cup walks in Saransk.

A big part of the 50K event, too, was former Shore AC president and national walking champion Ray Funkhouser, here as one of the seven members of the 50K judges panel.

And doing a great job, too, were Californians Darlene and John Backlund - who've both starred at the Shore AC-staged National 40k walk in Oakhurst, NJ - who were key members of the Shore AC aid station teams, along with Lauren Shorey, and the Oregon Taylors, Erin's mom and dad.

SHORE AC'S DAVE TALCOTT ATHLETE OF WEEK!!

INDIANAPOLIS - Dave Talcott (Owego, N.Y.) has been named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after meeting the qualifying standard for the men’s 50 km U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Race Walk at the Ohio Last Chance 50k in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Talcott finished under the standard of 4:45 with time to spare as he walked the 50 km (31.25 miles) distance in 4:42:21. Talcott finished second to Mike Mannozzi who already secured the standard.
Talcott qualified for his first Olympic Trials at the age of 51. Talcott’s wife Erin Taylor-Talcott made headlines earlier this year for meeting the standard for the men’s 50 km trials. Taylor-Talcott plans to walk in the men’s trials even though the event is not offered for women at the Olympic Games. When both Talcotts step to the line at the 50 km trials in Santee, Calif. in January, it will be the first time a husband and wife pair will compete in the trials.
   “It is really great,” Talcott said of training with his wife. “We train really well together even if we are working out separately. We have a nice rivalry. If she goes out and has a great workout, then I’ll try to go out and do just a little better - but it is a friendly rivalry.”
   Talcott has been race walking for more than 30 years and continues to see improvement in his performances. After not walking at the USA Outdoor Championships since 1983, Talcott qualified and walked this summer in the 20 km event. Talcott also donned the USA jersey for the first time this October as a member of the Team USA at the Pan American Games.
    Now in its tenth year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week and features the athlete on www.usatf.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
    Winners: January 5, Bill Tribou; January 12, Tyler Sorensen; January 20, Josh Cox; January 26,Ben Shorey; February 2, Ashton Eaton; February 9, Ashton Eaton; February 16, Bernard Lagat; February 23, Ryan Crouser; March 2, Jillian Camarena-Williams; March 10, Bill Collins; March 16, Miles Batty; March 23, Shalane Flanagan; March 30, John Nunn; April 6, Aries Merritt; April 13, Gunnar Nixon; April 20, Desiree Davila; April 27, Nolan Shaheed; May 4, Emma Coburn; May 11, Willie Gault; May 18, English Gardner; May 25, Kibwé Johnson; June 1, Khadevis Robinson; June 8, Carmelita Jeter; June 15, Lukas Verzbicas; June 22, Aisling Cuffe; June 29, Trevor Barron; July 6, Aldrich Bailey; July 13, Jillian Camarena-Williams; July 20, Johnnye Valien; July 27, Bernard Lagat; August 3, Marcus Krah; August 9, Leo Manzano; August 17, Magdalena Lewy Boulet; August 24, Brigetta Barrett; September 7, LaShinda Demus; September 14, Kasie Enman; September 21, Galen Rupp; September 28, Max King; October 5, Kathryn Martin; October 13, William Boland; October 19, Janet Cherobon-Bawcom; October 26, Michael Wardian; November 2 Sara Hall; November 9, Meb Keflezighi; November 16, Shalane Flanagan; November 23, Ryan Haebe; November 30, Dave Talcott. OST