SCLAFANI,
LINNELL,
SOUCHECK, GEER WIN
AT 48TH POLAR BEAR RACE
DEC. 31 IN ASBURY PARK
By ELLIOTT DENMAN
ASBURY PARK - Gerard Sclafani, who will do his future running for the
United States Army, made sure his last race as a civilian was a good one.
The former DeSales University of Allentown, Pa. track and cross country
star, a Rutherford resident, ran off with the men’s five-mile title at the
48th annual Asbury Park Polar Bear Races in 27 minutes, 33.07 seconds.
“I’ll soon be in uniform,” said Scalafani, “so this was a great way to end
the year.”
As Scalfani was racing to the men’s crown in the Dec. 31 event, hosted by
the Shore Athletic Club, Allison Linnell of Colts Neck was on her way to a
second consecutive win in the women’s race, completing the boardwalk event
in 30:19.10. She’s a University of Washington student and a member of the
nationally-ranked UW cross country and track teams.
The five-miler, which attracted a record field of just under 500, was
preceded by the 10-mile racewalk, and accompanying five-mile healthwalk,
which had 55 entries.
Some of the competitors took part in an optional post-run event - a quick
dip into the Atlantic Ocean.
Taking the men’s walk crown - for a record 11th time - was John Soucheck
of Little Silver, with a 1:29.08 performance that brought him home
decisively over the 2-3 finishers, New Yorkers Bill Vayo and Bruce Logan.
Leading all the women 10-mile walkers was Panse Geer of Hazlet, one of the
nation’s top-ranked Masters
racewalkers, with a 1:49.41 clocking, as Maria Paul of Long Branch and
Brigitta Graf of Middletown placed 2-3.
For the 48th consecutive year, Harold Nolan of Middletown played a
prominent role in the Polar Bear action. Nolan was there on the starting
line when the first Polar Bear run was staged in 1964 - this was a race won
by John McDonnell, who went to recognition at Arkansas as one of the most
successful coaches in American collegiate track and cross country history -
and Nolan was back on the starting line for this one, earning rounds of
applause from his fellow runners.
“This is an incredible tradition and I think it’s just great to see it
going so strongly after all these years; I’m always happy to be part of it,”
said Nolan who’d won it nine times in past years and won the men’s 60-69
divisional title in this one..
In addition to Nolan’s role as a racer, he is the Polar Bear event’s
official historian. And his archives remind us that the five-mile event
records are Ray Cerankowski’s 24:35 in 1982, for men, and Alicia Kelly’s
28:27 in 1995, for women. All-time 10-mile racewalking bests are Andres
Chocho’s 1:10.18 in 2009, and Dorit Attias’s 1:28:26 in 1991.
Chocho, of Ecuador, is a three-time Polar Bear champion, but couldn't
make it to Asbury Park for this one, He was back in his hometown of Cuenca,
Ecuador, training for the London Olympic Games.
A NICE RACE" (AT LONDON'S HYDE PARK) By RALPH GARFIELD
Visitors to London, England, who are also runners or walkers, might consider arranging their trip to include the last Friday of a month. The reason for that is that The Serpentine Running Club sponsors a 5K race on the last Friday of each month. The race is held in Hyde Park and includes a loop of the Serentine, an artificial lake in the middle of the park. The race is low-key, there are no rewards, there are no t-shirts, but the race has lovely scenery. The fee for the race is just two pounds, about three dollars. The race is organized in two sections - the first is for those who can do 5K under 22 minutes and the second section, which goes off two minutes after the first, is for the rest.
Each section is limited to about 100, so it is well to register in advance of the race because of the limitation on the numbers. I have run this race and registered on line at this website: www.serpentine.org.uk. The man in charge is Mr. Malcolm French. The race is quite competitive with a winning time often under 16 minutes, I did 25:29 and was 163rd out of 204 finishers. Curiously enough, out of the 204 finishers exactly 100 finished under 22 minutes !!
While your spouse in enjoying Harrod's (the world-famed department store), you can enjoy this race,
---- RALPH GARFIELD.
(Note, Shore AC member Ralph Garfield, certainly one of the top 70-up runners statewide and nationally, was born in England and came to the USA as a young man. Among his great memories: sitting in at a session of the London Olympic Games at Wembley Stadium as Etienne Gailly of Belgium entered the stadium first, only to wobble and see Delfo Cabrera of Argentina pass him in the final meters of the stadium track to claim the gold medal. A frequent traveler, Ralph has made many return trips to land of his birth. Needless to say, he welcomes the return of the Olympic Games to London in the summer of 2012. London, which first hosted the Games in 1908, thus becomes the first city to host the Games three times.)
NEPTUNE'S WILSON
NAMED YOUTH ATHLETE OF YEAR
INDIANAPOLIS - Ajeé
Wilson (Neptune, N.J.) has been named the 2011 Youth Athlete of the Year by
USA Track & Field’s Youth Committee. Wilson will be honored on Saturday,
December 3, at the Jesse Owens Awards and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in
St. Louis, Mo. The event is held in conjunction with USA Track & Field’s
2011 Annual Meeting.
The highlight of Wilson’s year came in winning the girl’s 800 meters at the
IAAF World Youth Championships in Lille, France. Wilson unleashed her kick
with 200m remaining and separated herself from the field to win in 2:02.64.
Wilson’s victory marked the first time Team USA medaled in the event at the
Youth Championships.
W ilson’s championship win not only netted
her a new personal best, but also rewrote the New Jersey scholastic record
books. Wilson bettered Hall of Famer Joetta Clark’s previous record of
2:03.67 in both the semi-finals and finals.
After winning both the 800m (2:09.73)
and 1600m (4:54.31) at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic
Association Group Championships in her school’s division, Wilson missed out
on the New Jersey Meet of Champions and other post-season meets due to a sprained
ankle.
But the time off did nothing to hamper
Wilson’s season as she came back to win the World Youth Track & Field
Trials in 2:09.39 to punch her ticket to the France. “At
first I thought I had won the award just for my association,” Wilson said.
“But when I learned it was the national award I was shocked. There were so
many great athletes nominated - a lot of my teammates from the World Youth
Championships in France.” "She is a great talent, not only on the track,
but also as a person," said USATF Youth Athletics Committee Chair Lionel
Leach. "She is very personable and an outstanding athlete. We look
forward to seeing her represent our country well in the future."
The Youth Athlete of the Year award
was established in 2001 to recognize an outstanding performance by an athlete
under the age of 19.
Dianne DeOliveira of Brick and James Segal of Holmdel led the way in
the 38th annual Shore Athletic Club
Open Cross Country Meet, staged Nov. 13 at Ocean County Park, Lakewood,
after severe storm-caused course conditions forced a two-week postponement
from the event's original date of Oct. 30.
Oliveira led all women in the featured 5,000-meter race with a 19;13
clocking. Segal paced the men in 20:06.
Runners-up were Jamie Liberti of Middletown (19:38) and Robert
Derringer of Jackson (20:36.) Taking thirds were Brianne Moran (20:17) and
Mike Dombrowiecki (22:05.)
In Youth Division features, Nolan Kus of Jackson (10:42) and Wyatt
Sorkowitz of Livingston (14:01) went 1-2 in the boys 9-under 1.5-mile race,
and Hannah Molloy of Levittown, Pa. (13:28) and Danielle DeSantis of Toms
River (14:42) placed 1-2 in the girls 12-13 two-mile event.
////////////////////////////////////////////////
The annual Shore AC Open Cross Country Series concluded a six-week schedule
with a 144-runner turnout at Holmdel Park on Nov. 5.
Ross Weller of the Hoboken Harriers won men's over-all honors in the 5K
event with a 16:31 win over Monmouth University's Chris DelFattore (16:41),
Ryan Gilmore (16:57), Kyle DeLeon (17:03) and Anthony Branco (17:04.)
Women's champion was Erin Lunny of Runner's High (19:02) over Shore
AC's Jamie Liberti (20:03) and Dianne DeOliveira (20:26), Hoboken Harriers'
Andrea Rothschild (20:28) and Lena Pyatkouskey (20:34.)
Top team honors went to the Shore AC squad led by Marc Altenau, Tim Ragan and
Greg Howe (open men), Liberti, DeOliveira and Shannon Gillespie (open women),
John Soucheck, Harry Nolan and Bob Haithcock (Masters men), Haithcock and
Kerry Gillespie (50-59), Dave Kaplan and Dr. Joseph Cudia (60-up), and Dick
Hill (70-up.)
"Kudos to all who took part," said Shore AC president Walter
MacGowan. "Shore AC won the Elf (trophy representing the team title) but
it was extremely close. The Hoboken Harriers, Jersey Shore/Green's Pond,
Freehold Area Running Club, Sandy Hookers and Princeton AC teams all
got stronger this year. We were also visited by the Monmouth University and
NYU teams, who ran well on tough courses."
"Season MVPs for Shore AC had to be Tim Ragan and Lindsay Thomas,
who scored well and held the team together each week. And John Smith, Amber
Hart, Jamie Liberti and Martine McGrath had individual wins in previous
weeks."
FIVE
SHORE AC RACEWALKERS
HOPE TO PLAY LEADING ROLES
IN USA OLYMPIC TRIAL 50K RACE
Let's all cheer for our Shore AC racewalking
stars: Ben Shorey, Erich Cordero, Randy Nelson
Alvarez, Dave Talcott and Erin Taylor-Talcott as
they take part in the USA Olympic Trial 50K
Racewalk Jan. 22 in Santee, California. Let's
all root for them to do their very best, produce
great performances, and take major strides on
the way to Russia (the IAAF World Cup in May)
and England (the London Olympic Games starting
late July.) (Erin will be competing as guest in
50k.) Athlete Spotlight - Erin Taylor-Talcott
You can compare Erin Taylor-Talcott to Danica Patrick, Annika Sorenstam or Michelle Wie. You can draw comparisons to Billy Jean King in the Battle of the Sexes II. Each story helped to shape the culture in their respective sports and that’s exactly what Taylor-Talcott has done.After reaching the qualifying standard, Taylor-Talcott’s initial intention wasn’t to become a pioneer for women’s race walk. Without an Olympic 50 km distance for women, she began seeking approval to compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials 50 km Men’s Race Walk January 22 in Santee, Calif. While it wasn’t by design, she quickly drew comparisons to the names listed above.Her story started small, but built into something fitting of an Agatha Christie novel or a made for TV movie. Not only the first woman to compete in the men’s race, but Taylor-Talcott will also have a second rare opportunity – competing next to her husband, Dave Talcott, who also reached the qualifying standard. It gives a twist to her story not seen with Patrick, Sorenstam, Wie or King.
“First, to be able to do this, second, to be the first woman to do it and, third, to be able to do it with my husband is so amazing,” Taylor-Talcott said. “I just wish it would hurry up and get here.”(Dave and Erin, of course, are very proud members of Shore Athletic Club)When the race does arrive in just over a week, it will be a significant mark on a whirlwind journey for Taylor-Talcott. She sought entry for two months into the men’s field before finally being allowed to compete. She will compete in these Olympic Trials with the stipulation that she cannot attempt to gain access into the 2012 Olympic Games. However, her chances of advancing are slim as her qualifying time of 4:41:36 sits significantly slower than the standard for the Olympic Games of 4:09.But being an Olympic athlete competing against the men will be the furthest thing from Taylor-Talcott’s mind during the race. Her thoughts will be about the progress she has made.“Look at what a girl can do,” she said with a laugh. “I’m not the first person to have gotten the standard. But I know I am the first woman to fight for it.
”Her reasoning behind her efforts are simple - many of the female race walkers prefer a longer distance than the 20 km event, the only race walk event offered for the women in the Olympics. It’s a group that obviously includes Taylor-Talcott as she won the past two U.S. 50 km Championships for the women. She was also the recent overall winner of the USA 40 km Championships and finishing ahead of the men’s winner, her husband. (The 40K, of course, was hosted by Shore AC and held at Joe Palaia Park, Ocean Tonwship on Sept, 11, 2011.) As the other women in similar positions have experienced, Taylor-Talcott has been met with a large amount of feedback, both positive and negative. She prefers to concentrate on the former.“The people who have been supportive have been fantastic,” she said.
“I chose to focus on the positive feedback. But once the gun goes off I will have all positive energy.”Likely much of the positive energy has been coming from her home from her husband. At 51 years of age, Talcott will be making his first appearance in the Olympic Trials. His qualifying time of 4:42:19 sits just under one minute slower than Taylor-Talcott’s. It adds a bit of a Battle of the Sexes element within the same household.“I can help him and he can help me,” Taylor-Talcott said. “It is so unbelievable to be married to your best friend and training partner. We try to do a lot of the training in the winter together but with his work schedule it gets tough.“I was there when he qualified and it was tough. I think it was tougher to be the wife on the sidelines.”The story for Taylor-Talcott is like few her sport has seen. The 50 km Race Walk Trials will represent an important point, but a point she hopes is only the beginning.
Jared Slinde
Communications Manager
USA Track & Field
CORDERO AND ALVAREZ POST GREAT 50K PERFORMANCES;
SHORE AC LIST OF 2012 OLYMPIC TRIALS QUALIFIERS ADDS 2 MORE !!! BOTH QUALIFY IN DIFFICULT CONDITIONS AT ROCKLAND LAKE STATE PARK.By ELLIOTT DENMAN
Many, many cheers go out to Erich Cordero and Yandy Nelson Alvarez, the two latest Shore Athletic Club
athletes to post qualifying performances for the 2012 USA Olympic Trials. And
they did it in the longest and toughest event on the Olympic Games program,
the 50-kilometer (31.1-mile) racewalk !!!! Theirs is really a wonderful story, It is a real
story of what America is all about, as a welcoming nation, as a nation of
opportunity.. A decade ago, they had both been
National Champions in Cuba, at early ages, full of great promise... Yandy had a 20K best of 1:24, Erich a 50K best of 4:01,
both super times.. Erich was able to leave Cuba
after competing in the 2000 Pan American Cup in Puerto Rico. Yandy was able to leave Cuba after competing in the 2001
International Walk Week in Mexico. Basic to it all was they wanted to live
lives of full freedom, of full expression, of full opportunity... So they
showed infinite courage and did this, leaving behind family and all else, to
start new lives... I first met them at the big 20K race in Manassas, Va, the National Invitation... They were in it and placed
well... I had a good talk with them after race, along with Dave Romansky (one of the six Shore AC racewalkers
who have been Olympians in past years) and invited them to come to NJ, I said
I'd try to help them out...and extended an invitation to join Shore AC.. So they came and were in Elizabeth, NJ for a little
while and I (with the help of some Shore AC people, and some members of the
NJ Cuban community) tried to help them out but there was little I could do at
that time... Acquiring English language skill became primary... And so I lost
contact for many years... At last, we regained contact and met them at the
Feb 2011 Pan Am Trials 20K race in Florida... They told me their story of
building new lives - both are now married and Yandy
has a young son; both are now USA citizens; both have homes and jobs in
Florida, and doing very nicely and living the American dream... And, best of
all, they are back in serious training and hoping to do well in many upcoming
races. In a race staged under extreme cold, windy conditions one day after
the brutal storm that lashed the Northeast USA, they came through with
excellent performances that qualified them for the USA Olympic Trial 50K, to
be held Jan. 22, 2012 in California. Erich posted a 4:28.57 clocking, Yandy a 4:32.26 in the first 50K of his life; he's
primarily a 20K man. The 50K was a division of the USA National 30K event
staged at Rockland Lake State Park outside Nyack, NY on Oct. 30th. Walking
astride, they passed 30K in 2:42.35 and got stronger as the race continued,
as others weakened and many failed to finish the 50K as they hoped. Now that
they have qualified for the Olympic Trials, this will open many doors for
them and gain the recognition they deserve....They have been training hard
for quite a while now and the times they achieved at Rockland Lake NY State
Park, in really difficult conditions, are just the start of much bigger
things for both. Both will be strong candidates for all future USA teams,
including the World Cup event to be held in Saransk, Russia in May, a major tuneup for the racewalking
events of the London Olympic Games 10 weeks later. That the 30K/50K race was
held at all was an incredible tribute to Mr. Dave McGovern and all his
committee, and all officials, and all support personnel, in view of the
staggering storm of the day before. Despite all this, so many super times
were achieved. Special cheers to one and all for all their achievements in
tough-tough conditions. And extra cheers for Gene and Panse
Geer, who comprised the Shore AC aid station team, providing vital assistance
to Erich and Yandy throughout the long, tough day.
And more cheers for Shore AC Masters star Dr. Pat Bivona,
whose 3:50 performance anchored Shore AC to third place in National 30K team
scoring. With it, Pat also placed second in Masters 70-74 individual scoring.
For Erich and Yandy their goal for the race was
simply to break 4:45 and qualify for the 50K Trials. Now they have done well
under that and they will get even more serious about their Olympic Trials
preparations ...where their goals will be to reach the Olympic Games
"B" standard of 4:09.00 or, better yet, the "A" standard
of 3:59.00. No athletes in the race will have greater motivation than they, that is for sure. Hopefully, they will do much
better things in the events just ahead and be major additions to the USA racewalking scene. Yes for sure, theirs is a wonderful
story