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By ELLIOTT DENMAN
As over 58,000 jammed Tokyo’s National Stadium, ready to applaud the fittest, finest and fleetest of humanity on this penultimate day (September 20th) of the 20th World Athletics Championships, a much-much-much smaller group gathered, 13 time zones to the East, in Saratoga Springs, New York, ready to scream their lungs out far-far-far louder (per capita, of course) than those in the Japanese capital, the world’s largest city. Gathered in Tokyo were track and field royalty, from World Athletics chief/World record-breaker/Olympic double champion Sebastian Coe, to leaders and members of 198 competing national delegations; to a large array of visitors; to a host-nation fan base just loving this sport, even as their own beloved Team Japan members were being limited to two (bronze medal) invitations to that gloried stadium podium…to Mr. and Mrs. Robby and Josette Andrews. Gathered, meanwhile, in that Saratoga Springs holiday site were members of Team Andrews, a subset of Team USA, a subset of Team New Jersey. Robby Andrews had risen to brilliance at Monmouth County’s Manalapan High School; then University of Virginia; wife Josette (nee Norris) Andrews at Bergen County’s Tenafly High School, then the U. of North Carolina and Georgetown University. They’d already seen Josette’s USA teammates run up a stream of triumphs, medal-winning performances, and brilliant deeds earlier days at this biennial celebration of ancient Greek confidence in mankind’s ability to register Citius-Altius-Fortius (faster-higher-stronger) achievements on a regular basis. While Josette’s hubby, Robby Andrews (himself track and field royalty as a USA Olympian, USA national champion, national collegiate champion and national scholastic record-breaker) was in Tokyo, his dad and Josette dad-in-law Bob Sr. (himself a star middle-distancer at Penn, now coaching heaps of youngsters, “the next generation of Olympians,” with golden aspirations of their own); his sister (and doctor) Kristin Andrews Fitzgerald (who’d had a superb track career at St.Joseph’s University) , and several of their nearest and dearest, gathered before a TV screen in Saratoga Springs. Lining up for that women’s 5,000-meter final that moment in Tokyo were 16 brilliant racers, a stellar group topped by greatest-of-all-timers Beatrice Chebet and Faith Kipyegon of Kenya. Each had already proven golden in Tokyo, Chebet in the 10,000 (Sept. 13) and Kipyegon in the 1,500 (Sept. 17.) With them were two Americans, Shelby Houiihan and Josette Andrews, and a dozen more. The two qualifying heats two days earlier had been fast; the final would be slower and entrancingly strategic. The global pundits guaranteed us Chebet and Kipyegon would run 1-2. Or 2-1. And they were right….but, oh, the drama along the way. Let me now pass the baton to Mr. Bob Andrews. Take it away, Bob: “We saw an Incredible, incredible performance by both Americans.” “ Josette (who was in the front pack along with Houlihan for over 10 laps) showed so much poise and courage to lead the race and knowing the world record -holder was in the field. “As the race progressed ,JJ (Josette) used tremendous self-talk to continuously re-set her effort and stick with her commitment to remain in the front of (or right up with) the pack, to stay in contention to achieve her dream. She knew that she finally had full health and a solid training regimen to compete at this level. “The race was a progression, with each 1000 meters faster than the previous. “Josette showed savvy competitiveness , protecting her spot in (first or) second place, on the inside lane, many times, from other runners trying to cut in on her. This paid off as she boldly took the lead (again) with 800 meters to go, as all of New Jersey (most loudly, most excitedy so. those Garden Staters on holiday in the Saratoga Springs enclave) rose to their feet cheering, as she summoned her flight to the finish line. “My hairs stood on their ends as we excitedly watched, jumping up and down, cheering on from Saratoga Springs, Kristin, grandson Reece (2 years old, in his high chair) and granddaughter Frankie (4 months old ) being held by her grandma. Lolli (Bob's wife Mary Fregosi). “As I reflect on the courage and grit of my talented daughter-in-law I am so grateful that God has blessed me with two global caliber athletes to cheer for, long after my own career in the sport has ended. (But not really, folks, since Bob has been a top-notcher in the Masters ranks.) “They (Robby and Kristin) have been frequent visitors to the Gone Running/Shore AC youth running program taking place in Central NJ that has been that starting point for so many of NJ's talented young runners. “Kristin screamed, ‘Go Aunt Josie’ leading her young family of supporters and (hopefully) preparing the next generation of Team USA members.” Said Kristin: “ Watching Josette stand on that starting line is emotional for me. I know what it takes to get to this moment: a world championship finalist, hours and hours of sacrifice, time, mental, and physical preparation; sacrifices that hundreds make and yet only the rare few make it here (to the Worlds level.). “Before she even makes one more step, she is victorious in my eyes. “It was the same feeling I felt for my brother (Robby), with whom I got to experience the highest of highs (all those wins, all those records) and the lowest of lows in his career (most notaby a still-controversial DQ call in the 2016 Rio Olympic 1500 semifinal, just as he seemed poised to run the final, likely as a strong gold medal challenger.) “More than me, as he stood in the (Tokyo) crowds, he (Robby) knew exactly what Josette is feeling. “ Back to Bob: “ With all of that in mind, and even though I am forever biased in favor of her, Josette ran the best race of her life in the biggest race of her life. She showed grit, guts, talent and desire. Aunt Jojo (Josette) is the real deal and it was an honor to watch her with my babies today!” For the record: Chebet (who’d run 14: 45:59 in her heat), outkicked Kipyegon (14:56.71 in her heat) to take the gold in 14:54:36 over Kipysegon’s 14:55.07, as Nadia Battocletti of Italy surged late to snare the bronze in 14:55.42. Houlihan, running sizzlingly after a gut-wrenching, still-controversial four-year suspension, was a sterling fourth (14:57.42), fighting off Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay (14:57.82.) And, in this race of her life, in sixth place, Josette Andrews clocked in at 15:00:25, ten more of the world’s finest trooping in behind her. This Worlds final wasn’the swiftest 12 and a half laps, not even close, any of them had ever run. But it sure was enthralling. Chebet (13:58:06) owns the world record with Tsegay (14:00:21) second and Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich (14:01:29) third on the all-time list. The American record has been in the books since Alicia Monson’s 14:19:45 in 2023. it’s trailed by Houlihan’s 14:23.92 in 2020, with Andrews’s brilliant 14:25:37 in Rome this June third on the list. All-time world-wise, Monson ranks 17th, Houlihan 26th and Andrews 29th. So this immediate conclusion: Houlihan and Andrews surely punched far-far-far over their weight in Tokyo.
They’ll guarantee that, if you listened quite carefully. that Bobby Thomson could still be heard in Tokyo, Japan; in Saratoga Springs and Staten Island, New York; in Manalapan and Tenafly, New Jersey, and perhaps-perhaps-perhaps, in the old Walter Winchell-ism, “all ships at sea.”
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 BY ELLIOTT DENMAN
Ten very differing challenges. Twenty-four multi-talented challengers. Representing 15 different nations. Big, strong guys Tall, tough guys. Performing over two straght days. Before a packed stadium. All competing in the greatest test of mankind’s ability to determine the finest athlete on earth. Plenty of mathematics. Numbers into the multi-thousands. Additions every minute. A few unfortunate subtractions, Guts and glory on non-stop display. That’s the World Championships decathlon. And my good friend and teammate Mr. Frank Harrison knows the event’s intricacies as well as any of us. He’d been a brilliant athlete at New Jersey’s Madison Central High School, then at the Universty of Pennsylvania, then for Shore Athletic Club. He’d competed in two Olympic Deca-Trials. He’d won three IC4A silver medals. He’d won the USA-Canada-Japan tri-meet. He’s a major New York corporate executive these days, But like so many of our sport’s most dedicated souls, he was glued to the TV last week, specially so the final two days of the 20th Worlds at Tokyo’s National Stadium, most certainly on the decathlon. World-class coaches had guided his way. Roland (Rollie) Kok at Madison Central, Irv “Moon” Mondschein and Fred Samara – each a USA Coaching Hall of Famer, USA Olympian and National Champion - at Penn. They were his "incredible pedigree." Just getting to a deca-starting line is a major achievement. "When I woke up on the day the competition was to begin, I already had massive adrenaline flowing, “ Harrison knew. “ I felt extremely nervous and anxious. So much so, that eating breakfast was a massive challenge. "The more that I could eat at breakfast produced my best performances. You need the energy over a long physically, mentally draining day to come. I ingested as much as I could: pancakes or waffles, scrambled eggs, toast and orange juice. "The amount of training that goes into a decathlon is astounding. It is quite common for top athletes to train between 6-8 hours per day, always working on the events, drills, drills and more drills, running, lifting, film review, flexibility work and on and on the list goes. The point being that . when a competition came along, massive preparation has already been put in. It is quite natural for these athletes to be highly wound up and ready to explode!” That said, on to Day One at the Worlds: "The meet was largely holding to the Form Chart," he saw. " It looked like Kyle Garland (USA), Sander Skotheim (Norway) and Leo Neugebauer (Germany) would separate themselves from the field with Niklas Kaul (Germany) as a dark horse for a medal. “To me, Kyle Garland looks to be a reincarnation of the late, great Milt Campbell “ (The Plainfield, New Jerseyan who'd won the 1952 Helsinki Olympic deca-silver medal as a high schooler, then the 1956 Melbourne Olympic gold, by a record margin.) The ailing Damian Warner of Canada withdrew before it even started, and it was on with the show – 100, long jump, shot put, high jump.. 400. Garland was off to the races: a solid total of 4707 first-day points, good leads over Skotheim (4543), Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme/AOD (4487) and Neugebauer (4455.) With four 900-plus event scores, “Garland was simply amazing,” said Harrison. “Day One is a highly, highly physical day. There is a lot of pounding and all- out sprinting. Each of the those five events involves being explosive. And it’s almost a cruel joke to have the day end with a 400. It’s a war against the build up of lactic acid , knowing that you still have five more events to go the next day. It’s, well, flat out cruel! But that’s the deal. “You cannot totally relax - you must rest, yet you must simultaneously maintain your edge, your focus. It’s a mental thing. And it is not easy.” But Day Two? “It’s a whole new ballgame; no wonder there is always carnage in major decathlons. “ Disaster loomed early on Day Two. Paris Olympic champion Skotheim crashed a hurdle and was out. AJEE WILSON'S 1:58.76 800 STEALS THE SHOW AT DENMAN/NJ INTERNATIONAL MEET AT MONMOUTH UNIVERSITY6/27/2025 WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - None of the 700-plus competitors at Monmouth University last Sunday (June 22.2025) went home happier than Ajee Wilson. The two-time USA Olympian, 12-time USATF National champion, World Indoor champion and Diamond League champion, a graduate of nearby Neptune High School, and Philadelphia's Temple University,who continues to live and train in Philadelphia, ran her fastest 800 meters in over three years and was totally delighted. Her 1:58.76 triumph. in the Joetta Clark Diggs women's 800-meter run at the Elliott Denman/New Jersey International Meet at Monmouth's Joe Compagni Track at Kessler Stadium, sent a clear signal that she was again ready to run with the national and global elite.
"It's been three long years, my body was just not responding (to workouts and racing)," she said.a few minutes after the confidence-building triumph. "But everything went great today. And, best of all, it was back home (in Monmouth County)."/ McKenna Keegan (1:59.73) and Kassidy Johnson (2;00.78) ran 2-3 in a race that, on a sun-splashed, steamy late afternoon, saw all of them better the meet record that had been in the books for 35 years. Joetta Clark (now Joetta Clark Diggs) had run 2:01.50 in 1990. NJ International events are named for prior greats of the sport - almost all of them New Jersey products - And this two-lapper was titled the Joetta Clark Diggs women's 800. And, in an interesting happenstance, Clark Diggs (the four-time Olympian and National Track and Field Hall of Famer) was not only on the premises - and competing in the women's Masters 100-meter sprint - but was there to cheer on Ajee Wilson and all those in "her event," too. Another Olympic 800-meter runner cheering from the sidelines - but not competing - was Monmouth University alumna Allie Wilson (no relation to Ajee), who ran the two-lapper at the 2024 Paris Games. It was thus a five-ringed gathering. All told, the three Olympians at the meet ran for this nation at seven Games from Seoul1988 to Barcelona 1992 to Atlanta 1996 to Sydney 2000 to London 2012 to Rio de Janeiro 2016 to Paris 2024. With the 1:58.76, Ajee Wilson climbs to fourth on the USA list for this 2025 season which will be capped by the USA Nationals in Oregon in August and World Championships in Tokyo in September. There's still a long road to travel but the 1:58.76 gives Wilson, who continues to live and train in Philadelphia, her home (following her Neptune High School stardom) for the past dozen years, the confidence she has the ability to make that journey as a member of Team USA. For the third consecutive year, the meet was named for Elliott Denman, the West Long Branch resident who'd been a 1956 Olympian in the 50-kilometer race walk and twice a National champion, before moving from New York to New Jersey and starting a 35-year run as Olympic and all-sports writer and columnist for the Asbury Park Press, then continuing to write for an array of other newspapers, magazines and websites. Along the way, he found time to be a founding father of the "new" Shore Athletic Club in 1964, and saw the club gain major state, national and international prominence in the years since. The New Jersey International Meet was staged by Shore AC in cooperation with Monmouth University, and directed by Shore AC officers Joe Compagni, Dave Friedman and Erin O'Neill and a team of volunteers Its history began as the Bob Roggy Memorial Meet at Holmdel in 1987,following the tragic death, in an accident following the 1986 Olympic Sports Festival in Houston, of the brilliant Holmdel athlete who'd risen to World Number One in the javelin throw. Back on the track, fans were treated to a sizzling Dr. John Connors men's 1500-meter race won by Ben Allen of the Westchester County-based Empire Elite Club in 3:37.80 over Camden Gilmore (3:38.92) ,with four others under 3:44, representing sub-four minute mile pace. "Great meet," said Allen, a former Minnesota collegiate star at Concoridia-St. Paul. "Thanks to everybody here for putting it on. We need more meets like this.". Other top men's track performers were Jonathan Farinha (10.47) in the Frank Budd Memorial 100, Jeff Chen (21,41) in the Andy Stanfield Memorial 200, Alex Amanywah (46.97) in the Larry James Memorial 400, and Will Culbertson (1:48.03) in the Rich Kenah 800, which saw eight more sub-1:50. Other leading women's racers were Rachel Taylor (12.01) in the Fred Thompson 100, Zoe Goldstein (23.79) in the Stanfield 200, Jane Underwood (53.79) in the Aliann Pompey 400, and Abbe Goldstein (4:13.69) in the in the Chrissy D'Alessandro Shaheen Memorial 1500. Edward Williams sped the men's Renaldo Nehemiah men's 110 hurdle in 13.86; Sophia Myers claimed the Dawn Bowles women's 100 hurdles in 14.03. The Bob Roggy Memorial men's javelin throw continues as a feature event in the meet and was won this time by Chris Fredericks with a toss of 231-10... Claiming the Barbara Friedrich Parcinski women's javelin title was Julia Campezato with a 146-3 throw, with Parcinski, the famed Manasquan High School and Newark State (now Kean University) graduate and 1968 Olympian. on hand to cheer her on. Numerous brilliant peformances were recorded in the other throws. Going 1-2 in the Ira Wolfe men's hammer were the nationally ranked Tyler Williams (239-0), Jordan Crayon (233-11.) Jordan West muscled out a 64-11 1/4 win over Chris Van Niekirk (64-5)t in the Al Blozis Memorial men's shot put. Paris 2024 Olympian and Princeton graduate Obi Amaechi took the Art Swarts women's discus throw with a near meet record toss of 189-9; Noah Kennedy-White led the Swarts men's discus at 170-11. Princeton senior star Greg Foster Jr. extended the Herb Douglas Memorial long jump record to 26-0 1/4 in a duel with ex-Rutgers star A'Nan Bridgett (24-11 1/4.) Mike Pascuzzo Memorial high jump ttitlists were Isaiah Harris (6-8) in the men's event and Grace Campbell (5-10) in the women's competition. Paul Richard Memorial men's and women's pole vault champions were Dalton Yeust (15-3) and Sydney Horn (13-11 1/4.) Tops in the Norman Tate triple jump were Matayo McGraw (49-0 1/4), men and Kayla Woods (43-2 1/4), women. Leading rthe way in the Elliott Denman one-mile racewalk were Shore AC's Ryan Allen, a Villanova senior, in 6:43.57, over Canada's Dmitry Babenko. Dorit Attias of Lakewood led the women's racewalk. .. Numerous other men's and women's events were staged in the Open, Masters and Youth categories, , providing action on all levels. Perhaps the busiest athlete all day was Shore AC's tireless. Masters Division international star Rick Lee, 64, of Bayville, Ocean County. He won the meet's first event, the Horace Ashenfelter 2,000-meter steeplechase in 7:31.36, took his division of the Dr, Harry Nolan/Dr, George Sheehan Masters Mile in 5:34.73,, and was still running as the meet reached twilight, winning his Masters 5000-meter division in 19:00.12. Oh, and he added a little earlier speedwork with a 1:06.03 400. "Not bad for the day," said the stamina-laden Lee. It's just another chapter in his amazing career. He's just back from a 60-64 divisional win in the famed and ultra-grueling Comrades Double Marathon in South Africa. The Mary Conry Memorial women's masters mile went to Josiah Tanner (6;04.55.) A special feature once again was the Community Mile, in which over 30 took part, running, jogging, walking or strolling, in a benefit event for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and Shore AC Development Fund. In mid-meet ceremonies, scholarship awards were presented to scholastic senior stars May Hanlon of Toms River North (the Dick and Pat Hill Memorial Award) and Cleatus Oakes of Point Pleasant Boro and Liliah Gordon of Northern Burlington Regional (Shore AC Development Fund Awards.) Hanlon, just back from raising her personal high jump record to 5-7 1/4 placing sixth in the New Balance Nationls in Philadelphia, then took second in the Mike Pascuzzo HJ in this one. Inducted into the Shore AC Hall of Fame were noted coaches Aliann Pompey (St. John's University), Leroy Hayes (Asbury Park High School) and Caleb Morris (Neptune High School), and 400-meter standout Maurelhena Walles, now excelling in the Masters ranks. Earning the Chester Bowman Memorial "Chariots of Fire" award was Shore AC charter member and former Monmouth (then-College) coach John Kuhi. Full results at Vipertiming.com. By ELLIOTT DENMAN
GOOD ON Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. Good on Kenny Bednarek. Good on Grant Fisher. Good on Gabby Thomas. Good on Alison Dos Santos. Good on all of them for earning a pair of one-hundred-thousand-buck paychecks over the first two three-day weekends of Grand Slam Track. They deserve it. They earned it. They’ll (hopefully) put it so such good purposes as mortgage payments, grocery bills and building real lives. Especially good on Michael Johnson for translating this Grand Slam vision into reality, for snagging the sponsors, for building a three million–plus dollar budget, for snaring the TV deals and the venues and everything else involved into putting the whole show onto the track and into the consciousness of track fans around the planet. From one man’s TV room (mine), at the Jersey Shore, Grand Slam Track’s kicking-it-all-off Kingston visit looked OK and the second stop Miami a whole lot better. And now it’s on to Philadelphia and what better site can there be but storied Franklin Field ? We all know it’s the nation’s most continually-running collegiate venue and home of the classic Penn Relays and an array of other events – National AAUs. Dream Miles, IC4A, Heps, etc etc etc. Obviously, it will be a collision of track and field’s past and future, and let’s just see if it really gets there. Michael Johnson & Team are already telling us the answer will be “yes.” Others say “maybe.” Chopping the slate from three days to two is a good move. Even the most intense fans must have felt three days was a stretch. Two days of action will surely deliver more bang for Philly fans’ bucks. So let’s just wait and see where all this leads. BUT AT THIS SAME MOMENT in track and field time, let’s also take a look back at the long list of occasions where dollar bills represented not reality, progress and enlightenment, but the exact opposite. There were long and dark years in the sport’s amateurism-clinging history when an array of track’s all-time greats (and lots other not-really greats) saw their careers called to the finish line long-long before they coulda-woulda-shoulda delivered a heap of hugely remarkable deeds. Money meant the end, not the beginning. SO THE FOLLOWING is aimed at all you later-comers out there. (And as a nonagenarian, almost everybody I see these days is a later-comer.) Today’s Grand Slammers may have trouble grasping all these happenings of antiquity. But good on them if they even try. At the top of my head, here’s my list: BOSTON UNIVERSITY’S Thomas Burke won both the 100 and 400 (a still unmatched feat) at the historic Athens Olympic Games of 1896, but “voluntarily” – a point many still doubt – gave up his amateur athlete’s status. Burke went on to a career in law and military heroism as a World War One aviator. The 1900/1904 Games? Definite possibilities for him – but just weren’t. STATEN ISLAND’S Abel Kiviat was the world one-mile record-setter, the first man to beat four minutes for 1500 meters, and 1912 Stockholm silver medalist. But he was tossed from the sport “for life” by the AAU at age 24 – his alleged crime: accepting “a moderate amount of money” and never to reach his amazing potential, He did gain reinstatement at age 32 – but his best years were gone. THE IMMORTAL JIM THORPE was Abel Kiviat’s roommate in Stockholm. After he won both the 1912 decathlon and pentathlon, he was called (by King Gustav V) “The World’s Greatest Athlete.” But that world collapsed after they discovered he’d played minor league baseball for a minuscule sum under an assumed name. He never lived to see the day those medals were eventually rescinded. FINLAND’S PAAVO NURMI was the absolute king of the distances, with 22 world records, nine Olympic gold medals and three silvers to his credit, before his planned finale on the Olympic stage as a marathoner at the 1932 LA Games. But it never happened – he was tossed a week before the Games for taking “excessive expenses.” MILDRED (BABE) DIDRIKSON was the great home heroine of the 1932 LA Cames, taking golds in the 80 hurdles and javelin, and a silver in the high jump - but soon made the mistake of getting her photo into an automobile ad and her Olympic days were done. Instead, her future turned to golf, where – as Babe Didrikson Zaharias - she carved out a career as a queen of the LPGA tour, at one point winning a record 14 straight tournaments. JESSE OWENS’ four Olympic gold-medal spree at the 1936 Olympic Games was a well-deserved spit in the face of Adolf Hitler and his crackpot Aryan supremacy visions. But Owens never ran another real race after those Games – tossed by his federation (the stodgies of the AAU) after nixing a potentially lucrative (to the AAU) European tour. THE USA (AND CANADIAN) indoor track circuit was big business all the way until the mid-1990s, filling major arenas with big meets, big stars and large headlines. Many of the greats excelled in both the indoor and outdoor versions of the sport. But a few – such as Martin McGrady, John Borican and Jimmy Herbert, had their best days on the undercover circuit. Legendary is this era of under-the-table payments is the story of Jimmy Herbert, the multi-time National 600-yard champion from NYU and the Grand Street Boys Club. “My price is a dollar a yard,” Herbert is said to have told a promoter on the eve of a big 600- yard race. “I can only pay $500,” he was told. Herbert reluctantly agreed, then “pulled up” after the 500-yard mark. HIS UCLA EXPLOITS – as brilliant performer in track, football, basketball and baseball – never got Jackie Robinson the national attention they deserved. After winning the 1939 NCAA long (then broad) jump tItle, he’d have been considered a top candidate to succeed Owens in the LJ at the 1940 Games. But WWII cancelled them and Robinson waited until 1946 to make his biggest off all marks, signing the Brooklyn Dodgers contract that changed the face of major league baseball – as well as every other pro sport – forever. WITH WORLD WAR TWO and its horrors raging in Europe, Gunder Hagg and Arne Andersson took turns lowering records in neutral Sweden. Andersson got the world mile record down to 4:01.6 in 1944, then Hagg ran 4.01.4 in 1945. Would either one or the other have been the first to break four minutes? Almost surely. But both were tossed by the Swedish federation and it was nine more years before Dr Roger Bannister finally ran his epic 3:59.4, May 6, 1954. ELMORE HARRIS of Morgan State and Shore AC was a premier great of the mid-1940s who was picked by many to win the 400 (or even the 400 hurdles) at the first post-WWII Olympics, at London 1948. But the impoverished Harris never got there; his track career ended with a very brief, unsuccessful fling at pro football with the new All-American Conference’s Buffalo Bills. SAN FRANCISCO’S Ollie Matson ran off with the silver medal in the 400 (plus a relay silver) at the 1952 Helsinki Games, but his track career ended the day he signed with the NFL Cardinals (then finishing a Pro Football Hall of Fame career with the Rams.) TULARE, CALIFORNIA’S Bob Mathias was the boy wonder of the decathlon, taking gold medals at 17 at London 1948 and 21 at Helsinki 1952. He surely had the prowess to go on and on and on, and as a US Marine officer was breaking inter-service meet records, only to be AAU-bounced for accepting an endorsement contract. WITH Andersson and Hagg out of the picture, the assault on a four-minute mile took a respite for eight or nine years. By the spring of 1954, three men from three nations oceans apart – England’s Bannister, Australia’s John Landy and Kansan Wes Santee – seemed to have it within range. But Marine officer Santee’s bid was abruptly halted when he was tossed by AAU officials for accepting extra travel money – which had been dealt out by AAU officials themselves. Santee did set a world 1500-meter record before his dreams were extinguished. PLAINFIELD, New Jersey’s Milton Campbell took the deca-silver back of Mathias as a high schooler in 1952 and then the gold as a US Navy man by a record victory margin at Melbourne in 1956. He’d easily have added to all those scores in the years ahead – until signing the Cleveland Browns contract that ended his track career. TEXAS A&M’s Walter (Buddy) Davis was the first man to high jump seven feet – but it came in an unofficial exhibition. He did win the gold at Helsinki 1952, but never got that official seven-footer, instead going on to a productive NBA basketball career. USC’s Charley Dumas finally got that first 7-plus at the USA Trials and then Melbourne 1956 gold. WODBURY, NEW JERSEY’S and Villanova’s Brownng Ross had been a 1948 and ’52 Olympc steeplechaser, and 1951 Pan Am champion, and beginning to make his mark as a marathoner. But he made the mistake of trying to to sell track shoes from the back of his van, as a way to solvency, a “crime” that got him burned by th AAU. But “Brownie” still had the spot’s best interests at heart, launching the Road Runners Club of America and “Long Distance Log,” America’s first running publication, and bringing all of LDR into its modern age. OHIO STATE’S GLENN DAVIS was the first 400-meter hurdler to break 50 seconds and won Oly golds at Melbourne 1956 and Rome 1960. But his signature on a Detroit Lions contract prematurely ended his track days. ASBURY PARK, New Jersey’s and Villanova’s Frank Budd, after running at the Rome Games, reached amazing world-record 100 and 200 heights in a sizzling spree – topped by history’s first 9.2 100-yard dash at Randall’s Island in 1961. But the moment he signed wth the Philadelphia Eagles (and then the Redskins and then in the CFL) meant his track days were over. NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL’S Lee Calhoun was one of the lucky ones. After winning the 110 hurdles at Melbourne 1956, he commtted the crime – as the AAU viewed it – of collecting a few wedding gifts on the “Bride and Groom” TV show. But somehow he regained his AAU status, and thus took another 110HH gold at Rome 1960. FRUSTRATED AT JUST missing Olympic teams in 1948 and 1952, Detroit racewalker William Mihalo launched his own “Professional Walking League” in the late 1950s. And soon proceeded to set a long list of “pro walking records” – and hit the Associated Press wires weekly - at a dizzing array of distances. But Mihalo was to fade from his uphill chore as popularizing racewalking itself became an uphill chore, too. FOREVER remembered – and now revered – for his podium stance at the 1968 Mexico City Games was San Joe State’s Tommie Smith. But he’d never run another race – instead, like so many others – taking a brief fling at pro football, as a Cincinnati Bengal. BY LATE 1972, PRO BASKETBALL/HOCKEY promoter Mike O’Hara was ready to launch his International Track Association circuit – complete with pacing lights and other bells and whistles. And he lured such greats as Jim Ryun, Kip Keino, Bob Seagren, Brian Oldfield, Larry James. Lee Evans, and a lot more to his brave new world of play-for-pay track and field. It was to last until 1976, gone after a few highlights (such as Oldfield’s WR shot put) and a heap of unpaid bills. Years later, Larry James would tell you, “Mike O’Hara still owes me some money.” THE STAWELL GIFT has been raging as a big-time professional happening in Australia since 1878. Its distances have ranged from 70 to 3000 meters and have attracted some of the speediest-ever Aussies, along with such late-in-their-career Olympians as Mel Patton, Barney Ewell and Herb McKenley. But just think of the great things some of those early Gift-winners might have achieved in the Games,if they'd stayed "amateur." Australia’s Olympic record is superb. It could have been superb-er. (And similar pro events have long been held in Scotland snd England.) THE AUTHOR OF THIS PIECE HAS HAD a few run-ins with the system himself. WITH ITS PICTURE-PERFECT campus at the Jersey Shore, Monmouh College (now University) began to be a presence in the sports world in the 1960s and athletic director Bill Boylan offered the first track head coaching job to yours truly. It was happily accepted – with a reservation. Still competing as a national-level racewalker, 1956 Olympian Denman couldn’t accept the $1000 annual salary, which would have been a big help to the family budget. But he took the job anyway and got Monmouth started in track – it would later produce national stars and Olympians. His total “salary” for those two years amounted to one stopwatch but lots of kind memories. GUIDING A SHORE AC TOUR though Scandinavia in 1971, Denman’s lads got to the famed Bislett Games in Oslo. Scotch Plains-Fanwood’s Vince Cartier had set the national indoor mile record that winter and his reputation had reached Norway. But when Bislett promoters offered him a few bucks for his running services, Denman in clearest possible words insisted Cartier tell them “no.” “I could have used a few extra dollars way back then; no one would have known,” Cartier still tells you. But I still tell Cartier “I saved your amateur status and your four-year free scholarship to the University of Florida. You should thank me.” The friendly debate rages on to this day. BOTTOM LINES: (1) Good on those who fought these early battles, almost always with unfortunate results. They coulda-would-shoulda in track and field. And then it was taken away.(2) Finally, a suggestion: Between events at Grand Slam Three at Franklin Field (and all those to follow), take a moment out to honor the struggles of these noble predecessors. They got you where you are today. Our Shore AC teammates are rounding into top form.
Elisia Lancaster won the women's hammer throw at the Princeton Elite Meet May 17 with a brilliant toss of 67.85 meters (222 feet, 7 inches.) Jack Shea ran eighth in the Princeton men's 5000 meters at 14:20.38.. Jean Udo took fourth in the women's triple jump at 11.27 meters/38 feet. 6 3/4 inches. Kelly Fisher placed 24th in the men's 100. Kelly had run a powerful 10.65 placing third - against top college competition - at the Rutgers Relays. The Widener College Last Chance Meet on May 12 saw Shea run one of the quickest 1500-meter races in club history, placing third in 3:47.79, just back of Haverford's Reza Eshghi (3:44.37) and NYU senior Ryan Tobin of Toms River (3:46.38). Back of Shea, SAC teammate Kyle Spector ran a 3:56.51. Past Penn Relays shuttle hurdles gold medalist Calvon Bowden made his Shore AC season 110HH debut at Widener in 15.46../ ----- ELLIOTT DENMAN  By ELLIOTT DENMAN
COLTS NECK – The Captain Ronald Zinn Memorial Races have been staged by the Shore Athletic Club since 1966. They honor the memory of an illustrious USA Olympic athlete, a gallant West Point graduate who gave his life for his nation in Vietnam combat on July 7, 1965, as well as all Vietnam veterans. Zinn himself had been a frequent winner of Shore AC racewalk events in Long Branch, Asbury Park and Seaside Heights. He’d made his Olympic debut in the 20-kilometer racewalk at the Rome Games of 1960, placing 19th as a young cadet, and improved to sixth place in the 20K – best-ever finish by an American to that point in Olympic history – at Tokyo in 1964. Interred at West Point – along with numerous other American military heroes – Captain Zinn’s name has served as an inspiration to latter-day athletes ever since. The names of Kyle Spector and Katie Desiere, Bruce Logan and Dorit Attias, have now been added to the long rollcall of Capt. Zinn Memorial 5K champions after their wins at Dorbrook Park on April 13, 2025. Manalapan resident Spector, a multi-time Central Atlantic Athletic Conference champion in his his days at Georgian Court University (15:48), and Desiere, an Ocean Township resident (18:44), took top honors in the 5K run. New Yorker Logan and Lakewood resident Attias led the way in the concurrent 5K racewalk. Top Masters racer was Nora Cary of Moorestown, newly crowned National and World women’s 70 division bracket record-setter, with her 23:53 finish. Once a racewalk-only event and staged on the Asbury Park Boardwalk – where Zinn had been a winner –the event program added the run I967. Zinn had been an outstanding runner – and NCAA and IC4A cross-country championships competitors, too, at West Point. Following Zinn tradition, the races – sponsored by New Jersey Natural Gas Co, for over a half-century, along with other community supporters, also honored all Vietnam veterans. And leading them again was former Army staff sergeant Joe Renzella of Neptune City, twice a Purple Heart winner in Vietnman, proudly carrying the American flag to a 39:48 performance in the 5K run. The next edition of the Captain Zinn Memorial Races is again slated for Dorbrook Park, in April 2026. Stay tuned for details.  Shore AC throwers and friends gather before shot put event at NJ-NY-Ct USATF Championship Meet at Ocean Breeze, Staten Island.
This was first section....Many teammates competed in other sections of SP, as well as weight and super weight events. Photo courtesy of Ralph Bischof BY ELLIOTT DENMAN On a brilliant LIX Super Bowl weekend, XXIV Shore Athletic Club athletes
performed Superb-ly, too, at the CXVII edition of the classic Millrose Games at the famed Nike Armory Track Center, CLXVIII Street and Broadway in the upper reaches of The Big Apple. A day before Philadelphia’s Eagles stunned Kansas City’s Chiefs, XL-XXIV, in the Big Game in New Orleans, our guys displayed plenty of gusto, as well. The Millrose festivities actually began on the Thursday before the Saturday main events, and the Shore AC delegation – just as the Eagles, a franchise that once played at Franklin Field, home of many a Shore AC triumph over the years – got off to a great start, too. It beganwith Elisia Lancaster’s rousing toss of 21.97 meters/ 72 feet, 1 inch - that won the women’s weight throw by a decisive margin. It continued with Paul Brennan’s PR throw of 20.10/64-11 1/2 (for Manhattan University, where in graduate school he’s extendng his college career after h isgreat years at Princeton) which was good for third place in the men’s weight event. And then the Millrose Games really got going with Saturday’s full slate of action. We’ll now take things in order as things unfolded. Kicking it off was a solid fourth place in the mne’s distance medley – just seconds out of medal range - as the quartet of Brian Hill (3:03.58 1200 split), Michael Twist ( 51.12 400), Kyle Spector (1:57.76 800 ) and Jack Shay (4:09 ??1600 anchor) checked in at 10:02.32 a club all-time record clocking. How’s this for dedication to the club cause? Brian Hill came in from Ann Arbor, Michigan and Jack Shay from Flagstaff, Arizona for the privilege of carrying the club’s colors in the biggest invitation indoor meet in the world. And then our master-ful Masters delegation came through with a series of great races. The quartet of Steve Guillen, Scott McGhee, Greg Calhoun and Ron Brock carried the baton around in 4:09.87 to win the men’s 50-up 4x400 title. SAC’s Kerry Gillespie, Harry Nolan, Spider Rossiter and Ivan Black raced their eight legs in 5:47.87 for an excellent second place in the M70 category. Shore AC really did “win” the M60 4x400 title,too, as Bill Hughes, Rich Alexander, Rick Lee and Matt Wallack finished far ahead of for what appeared as a solid win. (For amazing Rick, it was a little speed work for his upcoming schedule of major marathon and ultra-maraton races!!) Moments later, the controversy began. Did leadoff man Bill Hughes, running in lane one, actually cut in too early, as some thought. Or was he perfectly fine – and as his teammate felt, “how can you have a “cutting in” violation when you’re already running from lane one? Well, the apparent “win” stayed as official for about 48 hourss, before it was rescinded – by that mystery DQ verdict – and the win given to the Greater Philadelphia AC – who actually finished a lot farher back in 4:32.48. Yes, it’s likely that this one will be debated for years and years and years. Next, it was Shore AC’s turn to run the men’s 4x200 relay. Remember, this is an event that a Shore AC quartet had run the meet record time of 1:27.01 back in 2014. Back in fine form for SAC was the terrific Kelly Fisher – now a member of the SAC varsity unit coaching staff – and he anchored the team home with a 22,3 split for a team clocking of 1:34.87 in fifth place. Preceding him were Brian Dominguez, George Alexandris (a few years back the NCAA Division III long jump champion for Montclair State, and Anthony DiMaulo.) The Millrose show, of course, raged on until 6 pm, and the featured segment (4 to 6 pm) was seen by a nation-wide (NBC and Peacock) audience and a global viewership (supplied by Wordl Athletics.) When all results were in, just past 6pm, spectators filing out of the Armory knew they’d seen one of history’s greatest indoor meets, by a cast of magnificent athletes, many just half a year from glories at the Paris Olympic Games. Consider these: Notre Dame grad Yared Nuguse (third placer in the Paris 1500 final), lowered the world indoor mile record to a sizzling 3:46.63 over Hobbs Kessler (3:46.90) and Cam Myers ( 3:47.48 for a world junior record. ) Get this: seventh place Andrew Coscoran (3:49.26) even bested the classic then-world record 3:49.78 in 1983 by Eamonn Coghlan, to set an all-time Irish record. And Coghlan –the famed Villanovan and Chairman of the boards- was there to see it happen. The top eight broke 3:50 and three more ran sub-3:56. Two-event (5,000/10,000) Paris medalist Grant Fisher came through with a WR 7:22.9 in the men’s 3000, outdueling Olympic 1500 champion Cole Hocker (7:23.14.) Josh Hoey – the standout of the Shore AC-hosted Monmouth Mile at CBA last August – delivered a brilliant American 800 record of 1:43.90, fighting off Olympic furth-placer Bryce Hoppel (1:44.19). Hours earlier, Ever Palma of Mexico steamrollered an all-star global pack of rivals in the men’s William Pollinger one-mile racewalk, with a world best-ever clocking of 5:24.50 (and passed the muster of the closely-watching panel of judges). Perseus Karlstrom of Sweden (5:32.34) was also under the world mark (5:33.53 by USA’s Tim Lewis at Millrosein 1983). The Millrose mile walk, of course, is an event near and dear to all Shore AC fans, Todd Scully won it three times (and his 5:55.,8 in 1979 made him the Roger Bannister of racewalking as first man under 6 minutes) and SAC teammate Jonathan Hallman then followed with four wins of his own – 2013,2015-2016-2017. Said four-time racewalk Olympian Ron Laird, based in Buchanan, Michigan, when the results were in: "Holy Cow.” (Ron is a happy man these days, knowing that his glittering, record-size display of 65 National AAU gold medals) has found a winter home at the Armory-based National Track and Field Hall of Fame, and a rest-of-the-year base at the NY Athletic Club. (The medal-display handover was made, Laird to Curt Clausen / now president of USA Track and Field) at the Shore AC-hosted “90’s Gala” at McLoone’s Pier Village, Long Branch, on Nov.24.) Lots of dear Shore AC friends competed superbly at Millrose, too. NCAA pole vault champion Chloe Timberg of Rutgers placed fourth in the women’s PV at the Armory. Josette Andrews (beloved wife of famed Shore AC Olympic star/national 1500 champion Robby Andrew ) ran a quick 8:29.77 for second place in the women’s 3000 meters. Toms River High School North’s blazing quartet of Mordecai Ford, Camryn Thomas, Tayshaun Winslow and Amadia Diawara ran a brilliant 3:14.91 for second place in the Invitation HS 4x400 relay, just back of IMG/Florida’s 3:14.39, but ahead of top squads from North Carolina, Michigan and Maryland. And there was lots and lots and lots more. Just check your local listings (Track and Field News, Runblogrun.com, MillroseGames.org, NJMilesplit.com, ete etc) for full details. And a day later it was the Philadelpia Eagles turn to monoplize the headlines . Jumping off to a XXIV-to-zero lead on the KC Chiefs, they coasted in for the XL-XXIV win. For sure, there was glory in it for all this Super weekend. A group of Shore A.C. runners excelled on Sunday, September 8th at the running of
the Annual 5th Avenue Mile in NYC. Led by master’s stars Hugh Sweeny and Suzann La Bert, club runners accounted for six of the medals awarded to the top three finishers in the various masters age group categories. Sweeney, a newly minted eighty year old ran away with the 80-84 age group race in a quick 7:31, winning by almost a minute over the second place runner in his age group. La Bert stepped down from her usual LDR events to claim first in the women 60-64 age group also in a quick 5:44. Two seventy plus runners also ran well with each picking up second place medals in their age groups. Ken Wilson, 71, ran head to head with the eventual winner of the 70-74 age group placing second in 6:28. Dr. Harry Nolan, 77, running in the 75-79 age group, was unable to duplicate his 2023 winning title, but did place second in his age group in 7:08. Running in the 60-64 age group, the two time defending 5th Avenue champion Rick Lee landed a fourth place this year in 5:19. Lee was hampered by a hamstring issue which developed while competing in the 2000 steeplechase event at the World Masters Championships in Sweden in August, and is still on the mend. In the open elite professional mile, involving some of the best milers in the world, Brian Hill Jr. ran a very credible race, clocking in with a quick 4:11. Another shore area runner who did very well was Joan Totora of Toms River, who claimed the 50-54 women’s title in 5:42. Over 8,000 runners competed in a variety of age group and special title races which began at 7:30 am and lasting into the early afternoon. By ELLIOTT DENMAN
As four-time Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs told her audience, “to me this is just a dream come true.” And her dream is just perfectly located. It was “Joetta’s Day” at the gala gathering recently held at the all-new and sparklingly-inviting New Jersey Hall of Fame Entertainment and Learning Center. Just where exactly is this new attraction located? At The American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, of course. For far too long, “New Jersey jokes,” have been material for entertainers seeking an easy target. The American Dream Mall tells them “you’re all so very wrong.” It’s a short hop, step and jump away from the stadium that is home to the New York Football Giants, the racetrack that has been site of an array of top-line thoroughbred and standardbred racing events, and the former arena where she delighted crowds with her middle-distance track and field racing feats. In her long and brilliant track and field career, at Columbia High School, the University of Tennessee, and far beyond, she was a 1988-92-96-2000 800-meter USA Olympian, 12-time USA champion and, most amazingly, a star competitor for 28 consecutive years. Joetta and the Clark family are track and field royalty. Dad Joe Clark was a distance runner at Montclair State, then the famed educator of tough-love “Lean on Me” film fame. Sister Hazel Clark and sister-in law Jearl Miles-Clark were multi-Olympians and record-breakers, too. Famously, the trio comprised the full USA 800-meter team at the 2000 Olympic Games. Brother J.J. Clark, now head coach at Stanford and one of the most honored mentors in college track, is a Villanova grad and 3:41.5 1500-meter runner (3:59 mile pace.) They have been inducting – the finest of the fine in sports, enterprise, arts/entertainment, historical and general categories – into the New Jersey Hall of Fame since 2008 – but at last/at last their talents and achievements have a permanent home. Joetta Clark Diggs’s class of 2013, was saluted that year along with President Grover Cleveland, and the music world’s Dionne Warwick and Whitney Houston. Mobile Hall of Fame exhibits had toured the state for years before “this dream came true.” The American Dream Mall is an enterprise that its developers, the Triple Five Group, tell you is “ an unparalleled mix of world-class entertainment, retail and dining,” a three million-square foot home to such leading attractions as DreamWorks Water Park, Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park, The Gameroom Powered by Hasbro, Sesame Street Learn & Play, The Dream Wheel 300-foot observation wheel overlooking the New York City skyline, and an array of leading shopping and dining opportunities. And, oh yes, The Big Snow indoor skiing hill. Itching to slalom in mid-August? Here’s your spot. Now the New Jersey Hall of Fame joins that roster of attractions. A few questions: Where exactly is the New Jersey Hall of Fame located at American Dream? It’s on the third floor, near the the Nicelodeon theme park, the new Toys R Us, and DreamWorks Water Park. What’s one of the the first items you see on arrival? The historic Model T. Ford car that charter Hall of Fame inductee Thomas Alva Edison received from Henry Ford in 1933. Stepping inside, you see that the spacious New Jersey Hall of Fame, termed the first such state-focused facility in the nation, is fully inter-active, and loaded with immersive activities and virtual-reality tours. Governor Phil Murphy said he was “incredibly excited” at recent Grand Opening Ceremonies. Thomas Alva Edison, of course, had to be a charter-class inductee back in 2008. So many basics of 2024 electro-life were first turned to realities at his West Orange and Menlo Park laboratories. That brilliant Class of 2008 also included Albert Einstein, Clara Barton, Buzz Aldrin, Malcolm Forbes, Robert Wood Johnson, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Meryl Streep, Toni Morrison, Norman Schwartzkopf and Harriet Tubman. Beyond those immortals of “the real world,” they were joined by the sports world’s Bill Bradley, Yogi Berra and Bill Bradley. The very first USA Olympic Team (1896 at Athens) primarily consisted of New Jersey guys – Princeton trackmen recruited by Professor William Milligan Sloane. So it’s totally appropriate that the state’s fastest and mightiest track people have found their Hall of Fame niches. That list now includes Carl Lewis (2010), Milton Campbell (2012) and Joetta Clark Diggs (2013.) Oh…and such famed Olympians (of other sports) as Christie Pearce, Heather O’Reilly and Carli Lloyd (soccer), Anne Donovan and Patrick Ewing (basketball), Dick Button (figure skating) and Laurie Hernandez (gymnastics.) There’s some “over-lapping” here, too. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin had been a West Point pole vaulter. Baseball Hall of Famers Larry Doby and Monte Irvin had been high school trackmen, Entrepreneur Peter Cancro (of Jersey Mike’s fame) is well known for his lifetime dedication to track and field. And 2018 enterprise category honoree Tim McLoone is well recognized as a Seton Hall Prep/Harvard University/Shore Athletic Club distance running great. The non-stop, forever multi-tasking McLoone still finds time today to coach the champion track and cross country athletes of Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. Wisely, the Hall of Fame creators at American Dream have left plenty of room for further expansion. Ladies and gentlemen of the selection committee may I thus nominate for the future honors list such thoroughly qualified fellow Garden Staters as: Renaldo Nehemiah, Johnny Hayes, Horace Ashenfelter, Tom Flemlng, Andy Stanfield, Dave Sime, Ron Freeman, Marty Liquori, current superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone…and some more. So stay tuned. As Hall of Famer Joetta Clark Diggs reminds, the American Dream and its hallowed Hall of Fame "did not happen overnight." And only the best of the best of the best have “made the cut.” #### |
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October 2025
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