 This year, the 57th Annual Captain Zinn Memorial 5K races was a collaborative fundraiser for the club and our local catholic elementary school. Thank you to the Hill Family for bridging this partnership! We look forward to future years of working together. Save the date: Sunday, April 24, 2022.
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 VERY GOOD NEWS: Monmouth University will confer a truly major honor on Coach Joe Compagni with the decision to name its recently (well two years ago) reconstructed outdoor track and field facility at Kessler Stadium, and adjacent field event venues, in his honor, joining such existing campus facilities as The Bill Boylan Gymnasium and The Richard Steadman Natatorium..
Formal naming ceremonies will be announced for a date this fall... In 24 outstanding years at the helm of Monmouth men's and women's track and field and cross country teams, Coach Compagni (who formally retired as head coach in 2020) led his athletes to 58 conference team titles, a long array of brilliant performances, and vast revisions in the Hawks' record books, along with an outstanding academic record. The greater Shore Athletic Club community extends its most sincere congratulations to Coach Joe on this great honor !!i BUT THIS VERY UNFORTUNATE NEWS: News bulletin: The Monmouth University men's and women's track and field teams will not be competing in the IC4A/ECAC Championships May 14-16th. Due to positive Covid results among Tier 1 members of the teams, the decision has been made not to compete at the events. Elliott Denman Elliottden@aol.com Dear Elliott, Walter, and Committee and members of Shore AC,
I am honored- and surprised at being given the Shore AC Humanitarian Award. Working at our food pantry is very rewarding- actually, it is a lot like working the refreshment tables at Jersey Shore Half Marathon, and other large races! It involves lots of planning, ordering, and serving- just no medal ceremony! It also depends on a very loyal, hard-working group of people to make it work. (Sounds like Shore AC again). The volunteers have given their time two days every week since last March (Tuesday for set up, and Wednesday for distribution). They were serving up to 266 families each week last year- numbers have backed down to about 160 a week lately. Each volunteer has their specialty. We have one person who worked for a circus. He oversees the tent set up (alas, no elephant to assist). Volunteers come with many different backgrounds. There is one volunteer who is in charge of refrigerated foods and bread (bagging, sorting, and keeping records). He brings experience from his job- as Race Director of the Jersey Shore Gran Prix. That's right, Phil Hinck has been our chicken and egg man for more than a year. From March 2020 until January 2021, the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry at Christ the King Parish in Long Branch served 6,637 families. When looked at it that way, it was kind of a marathon of grocery bags. Sometimes we have sprints though, when it is almost closing, and we have run out of bags. For those interested in field events we have the 50 lb. potato shlep. I thank Shore AC for giving me the opportunity to be part of a great track and field organization, with so many good people and unforgettable experiences. I am honored that you recognized the non-track activities as well. For all of you, if the time comes to put aside the spikes, implements, or racing flats, just know that there is still an arena where you can compete- on a different level. Donna Cetrulo  SHORE AC FAMILY MOURNS PASSING OF LESTER WRIGHT JR.
It is with ultimate sadness that the Shore Athletic Club family announces the passing of illustrious teammate Lester Wright Jr. After a long, courageous and valiant battle with pancreatic cancer, Lester Wright Jr., a lifelong resident of Long Branch, NJ, passed away on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. Over at least four decades, he had played many major roles in the sport of track and field, and his Shore AC team, As a competitive runner, he was a key member of the Shore AC Masters relay teams that raced to many successes at locales from Madison Square Garden to Meadowlands Arena to the Penn Relays and major meets at widespread venues. As a top-notch track and field official, he was well known as one of the best in the sport. As a keen advocate for youth track and field development, he organized the Cosmic Track Club, and its many members from around New Jersey amassed an array of honors at local, regional and national Junior Olympic meets, as well as many others. But perhaps his successful - and praised - role was that of organizer and meet director of the annual Shore AC Youth Cross Country Series. These events, annually run on Sunday mornings, from early September to late October, typically at the classic Holmdel Park cross country course, attracted hundreds of young runners from around New Jersey, and sometimes neighboring states. invariably cheered on by their parents, coaches and friends. Multitudes of these runners were presented their medals after each race, and many more earned the coveted Shore AC trophies, awarded at the end of each season. "He did so much for so many; he played so many roles in our club's long success story," said Shore AC trustee Elliott Denman. "He was a very special gentleman." In keeping with the Wright family's wishes, all arrangements will be private. He is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Wright Sr. of Long Branch, NJ, and other family members. Mr. Wright Sr., now 99, is himself a Shore AC Masters star, with his epic triumph in the Penn Relays special Masters 100-meter dash for men 75 and over some two decades ago one of ihis many athletic successes. Lester Jr., of course, was there to see that happen, as were over 50,000 fans at Franklin Field and a worldwide television audience. There was no greater pride than that shared by father and son that well-remembered April Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. Friends, teammates and associates are invited to send messages to Mr. Lester Wright Sr. at 4 Chelton Way, Long Branch, NJ 07740; or by email to ledel581@msn.com, or by phone to 732-222-1934.  "Track and field lost one of its greatest advocates and fans with the passing of Ed Grant, a long-time journalist who covered the sport at all levels and was a regular at many of the Northeast's major events for seven decades.
Grant, 94, died May 4 in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, and he leaves a legacy as a widely respected writer who attended more than 140 editions of the Penn Relays and Millrose Games in his lengthy career. He was the unofficial historian of New Jersey track and field, with more than 80 years of involvement in the sport beginning in 1938 as he attended his first meet at age 12. After competing in track and field as a high schooler at Jersey City's St. Peter's Prep, Grant went on to St. Peter's College, and in 1946 he attended his first of 74 consecutive Penn Relays. Starting in 1945, he was present at more than 70 straight Millrose Games. His work as a journalist included stints at the Jersey Journal, Newark News and the Star-Ledger, and he also put in more than 30 years at the Archdiocese of Newark's paper, the Advocate. In addition to newspaper work, Grant was a regular contributor to Track & Field News magazine and he published the New Jersey Track and Field Annual and monthly newsletter for more than 40 years. An inaugural member of the National High School Track & Field Hall of Fame, Grant was honored by the Penn Relays with the Jesse Abrahamson Award, and the Armory in New York City presented him with the Stan Saplin Award, both of which recognize journalists who have shown a devotion to track and field. Grant and his wife, Catherine, were married for 63 years until her death in 2014, and they had four children. Services are scheduled for May 17 at Our Lady of Peace Church, 111 South Street, New Providence, New Jersey. Visitation will be held May 16 at the Ippolito Funeral Home, 7 Summit Ave., in Summit, New Jersey." written by the USATF national office  GABRIELE RAN A PB TODAY AT UVA. HE HAS BEEN TRAINING HARD AND PROMISED A PR AND HE DID IT! HE IS NOW #2 ON THE SHORE AC LIST BEHIND KEMEL THOMPSON 48.05 IN 2003 AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE.
 What a great day yesterday, a perfect track day, 70 degrees, sun and no wind. We had seven teams taking up all the lanes as the CBA track, and a great competitive masters 4 x 400 relay, followed by a five team 4 x 200 fun relay. Everybody ran great. Top highlights were Plaster and Nolan running times that equaled there age (a goal of most masters track runners), Diane DeOliveira's sparkling 66 second anchor for Bell N Motion, Bill Hughe's speedy lead off legin the 4 x 200, and great runs by the SAC women's 60's teams (most who never ran a relay before) and the men's 70's team, made up of mostly 75 to 79 year old's. All of this under the watchful eye of the old master himself, Elliott Denman. Special thanks to Mo Mozee for the timing and keeping track of all of the teams, and Coach Joe and Scott
for also getting times and working with the club women on handoffs. Also a great overall win by the Hazlet Track Club. Looking forward to the 4 x 800 in a few weeks. Harry The following are the team and individual times from Mo's timing machine tape: Shore A.C. "A" Shore A.C. "B" Shore A.C. 70's Keith McQuitter (68.54) Brian Hill (66.76) Tom Delisa (90.55) Tony Plaster (69.97) Harry Nolan (74.48) Prezemek Nowicki (98.54) Chris Monroe (88.86) Andy Hicks (72.85) John Kuhi (2:26.95) DanCampbell (66.72) Rob O'Rourke (92.67) Hugh Sweeney (91.86) Team Times: 4:54.4 5:03.46 7:07.54 Shore A.C. Women 40/50 Shore A.C. Women 60's Bell N Motion Karyn Baig ( 75.02) Sue Patla (89.89) Joan (71.06) Christine Hill (85.62) Kim Hart (99.83) Mercedes (71.42) Christie Nie (81.22) Kathy Packowski (98.50) Karen (74.41) Leslie Nowicki (91.87) Diane Rothman (99.45) Diane DeOliveira (66.91) Team Times: 5:36.42 6:29.27 4:43.08 Hazlet Track Club Paul Henry (71.06) Pete Chechel (63.68) Jamie McCarthy (68.84) Greg Calhoun (61.40) Team Time 4:24.98 Thank you to Harry Nolan for this write up and organizing the event for our club members!  PHOTO COURTESY LAURA DELEANew Shore AC member Roberta Groner continues to do what she has done for the past ten years: amaze and inspire the running world. A busy mother of three and full-time registered nurse, somehow she finds the time to engage in the sport of running at a near-Olympic level. Roberta owns the third-best time in the marathon among masters (age 40+) American women with her jaw-dropping time of 2:29:07 in the 2019 Rotterdam Marathon.
Roberta kicked off her 2021 competitive campaign with that same red-hot speed. On a windy March 22 in Florida at the USATF Open 15K National Championships, she shredded the tough course with a phenomenal 51:56 performance. This feat earned her the women’s masters crown with a margin of more than 2 minutes over second place. And get this: her time was a mere 4 seconds behind the top masters male, multi-year USATF champion David Angell. Read all about it here in an article by USATF Running Professor Paul Carlin. We look forward with great anticipation to see what Roberta conquers next in 2021!  Dear Friends and Teammates:
Mr. Michael Martin McDonnell (his full name) was a truly wonderful gentleman who did so much in his 85 years on this planet.(Sept 30, 1965 to March 5, 2021). He did so much for so many. He was there for all of us. He was a great family man. He was a great FBI man. He was a proud alumnus of St Benedict's Prep and Seton Hall University. He traveled the world. He was a proud Shore AC teammate. And he was much more It was good that several of us were able to attend the viewing Monday and some the service Tuesday morning at St. Mary's Church. I was there and, with tears still in my eyes many hours later, want to report to all that teammate Mike received the very best of sendoffs, with services conducted by his brother, Father Patrick McDonnell and a very eloquent address by eldest son Mike Jr. Let it be known now, thanks to Mike Jr,, that Mike was an Olympian in spirit. He did not compete in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games but served in the FBI security group there and, just as has happened to many who experience the Olympic Games for the first time. Mike quickly got caught up in the Olympic atmosphere of universality and total dedication to the visions of a better world through friendly health-building and lively competition. Soon as Mike returned from Los Angeles he embarked on the training programs he would follow all the rest of his days. He became a road runner and soon he was entering every race he possibly could, 5Ks to half marathons and full marathons, surely smiling through every step of them. Some days, when the time schedule allowed, he'd even run two races in one day. When a progressive illness precluded him from running these "long ones" in recent years, Mike - with coaching by his family - reinvented himself as a sprinter. And so one of his greatest recent joys was taking part in the Masters 80-up 100-meter dash at the Penn Relays, an event sometime seen by over 50,000 fans and a worldwide television audience, When some kidded, "Mike, don't let that 100-year-old woman beat you," his smile set a world record, too. Like so many of us, Mike loved the Lake Takanassee Races in Long Branch, where the "new" Shore AC was born in the early 1960s. Mike ran those 5Ks - every Monday night through the summer for years and years. When the 2019 "Lake Tak" season rolled around, Mike wasn't quite up to going the 5K distance. So - true to form - he set another great example for all of us, by volunteering to assist his fellow runners. There he was yelling out one-mile "split" times at "Lake Tak." When we gave him a stirring round of applause at the concluding session of the series, Mike's smile was again a record-breaker. How much did all this running and comraderies and years-long friendships and his favorite club team represent to Mike, dear wife Bunny, and the McDonnell family? Obviously, the world. The single photo chosen for the "official program" to the services showed Mike in all his glory, proudly wearing his Shore AC singlet ("Lake Tak" variety) striding to yet another finish line, hands raised in the "victory salute" every racer can experience at the end of a run well done. We were able to read Mike's goodbye message on the opposite side of the "program." Mr. Michael Martin McDonnell wanted to remind all of us that: "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always." That was our beloved Mike. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx These, of course, are very difficult days. A pandemic is still raging, We do not know "when this whole thing will be over." So are the debates centering on the challenges our proud nation - and our fellow occupants of this planet - must ponder. But, as we do, lessons are being taught. The most basic, of course, is that "we're all in this together," Let's continue making Mike proud of all we do. Most sincerely written, Elliott Deman: Elliottden@aol.com. |
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June 2021
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