SHORE A.C. MASTERS SPRINTERS WIN AT PENN RELAYS, MASTERS AND OPEN RELAY TEAMS RUN WELL

Led by both a masters men’s and women’s 4 x 100 relay winning teams, the Shore Athletic Club scored well in the 2023 annual Penn Relays Carnival. The men’s 65-70 4 x 400 composed of Rick Lapp, Keith McQuitter, Dave Gritz and Ivan Black sped to an early morning win on Thursday in 1:01.43.  Also claiming a famed Penn Wheel was the 40 and over women’s team of Diane Essilfie, Andrea Collier, Maurella Walles,and Eusheka Bartley who clocked in with a fast 55.19.   Essilfie and Walles returned to the track on Friday and teamed with Katie Schramm and Tatlyana Cooper to place third in the women’s open 4 x 100 meter relay in 52.44.  In the mid-day men’s 70-75 one hundred meter dash, it was Rick Lapp returning to the track to place fourth in 14.90.
In the late afternoon of Thursday, it was the masters 4 x 400 meter relays, and the club had teams entered in the 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and 70-Over division races.  The best finish for the club was in the men’s 70-Over race, with the club entry of Rick Lapp, Harry Nolan, Kerry Gillespie and Ivan Black placing second behind the all-star team of the Houston Elite in 5:07.73.  While not finishing in the money, the club's other 4 x 400 teams distinguished themselves in their various races. The 60-69 team of Bill Hughes, Matt Wallack, Keith McQuitter and Rick Lee finished a very close fourth in 4:29.98, while the 50-59 team of Ron Bork, Chris Rinaldi, Paul Henry and new club member Harris Gibson landed a well fought battle in sixth place in 4:36.16.  For Nolan, at 76, it was his 55th year of running at Penn, while for Lee, at 61, it was his first year ever running in the relays, after winning his age group at the Boston Marathon a week earlier.  
For the first time in a number of years, the club also had a 4 x 400 relay team entered in the 40-49 race. This was not only a Shore A.C. team, but a team made up of four former CBA runners competing as a relay team for the first time in over twenty-five years. The team of Matt Coleman, Dan Campbell, George Kochman and Tom DiChiara also landed a sixth place in their race in 4:09.76. Not to be outdone, on Saturday, it was the club open men’s 4 x 400 team of Alan Laws, Isaac Clerk, Syteek Farrington and Michael Twist landing seventh place in a fast 3:28.27.