TULSA, Oklahoma – Despite earlier forecasts of rain and wind, the weather pushed through early; conditions were generally favorable during the race, with mid to upper 40’s temperatures, cloudy skies, and winds at 7-10 mph. Masters athletes pushed each other over the Tulsa terrain, competing for National Championships and, in one case, an American record. Despite the ups and downs, Edie Stevenson bettered the current American 15K record for Women 70-74 set by Norma Thomas six years ago in California. Her 1:13:16 lowered the record by almost 4 minutes! That is a tremendous accomplishment on this challenging course.
Fiona Bayly and Melissa Gacek renewed their 15K rivalry. Despite Gacek’s best efforts Bayly completed the three-peat. After Gacek’s win in 2016, Bayly has taken three straight victories, this time in 57:58, eleven seconds faster than her winning time last year. Gacek took 2nd in 59:50, enjoying a podium finish once again. Alice Kassens had an uneven year with injuries and rehab but enjoyed solid fall training. She had a fine race on Saturday, one of the few runners to achieve negative splits; she enjoyed a half minute edge over Brooke Bray in claiming the final podium spot in 1:00:41. The Men’s race featured David Angell, current 8K and 10K Masters Champion, going after his first win at the 15K distance. He’s been on the podium the last three years but each year the win has eluded him. This year he was tested by a newcomer to the circuit, Chris Naimoli, who recently won the Cow Harbor 10K in 32:16. Despite Angell’s best efforts, Naimoli took it out right from the gun, hitting the 5K mark in 16:14, and never looked back. Naimoli won in 48:37. Angell was able to get his course PR so was not too disappointed; his 49:51 was his first sub-50 on this course, over half a minute faster than his previous best. Aaron Totten-Lancaster stayed with Angell through the first two miles but then saw Angell gradually pull away. Totten-Lancaster was tough the rest of the way, holding off Craig Godwin to round out the podium in 51:11.
Age-Grading provides a way to judge the relative performance of athletes across all age divisions, rating them relative to the projected best time in the World for a person of that age and sex, with 100% matching that projection. It was tight at the top for the Women with Edie Stevenson, 70, Suzanne Ray, 65, and Fiona Bayly, 52, and the defending Champion, finishing within 1.35 percentage points. Stevenson, the record-breaker with her 1:13:16 time, took the honors with 93.65%, followed by Ray at 92.96% and Bayly with 92.30%. That was the podium. Andriette Wickstrom, 64, and Jeanette Groesz, 70, claimed the 4th and 5th place cash prizes with 89.69 and 89.68—You do not get much closer than that! Craig Godwin, 52, dominated the Men’s results with a 51:37 and 90.33%. He was joined on the podium by the two 65-year old’s who fought it out for dominance of the division this year, Joseph Reda, with 87.36 and Reno Stirrat with 86.96. The two who fought it out for the Overall win took the final two Age-Grading cash prizes with Naimoli, 40, in 4th at 86.91 and Angell, 43, in 5th with 86.75.
AGE DIVISION NATIONAL 15K CHAMPIONS were crowned: WOMEN 40-44 Gacek 59:50, 45-49 Jodi Buyyounouski 1:05:06, 50-54 Bayly 57:58, 55-59 Mary Sweeney 1:07:09, 60-64 Patrice Combs 1:08:07, 65-69 Suzanne Ray 1:10:30, 70-74 Stevenson 1:13:16, 75-79 Irene Terronez 1:43:57, 80-84 Madeline Bost 10:56. MEN 40-44 Naimoli 48:37, 45-49 Brian Sydow 52:19, 50-54 Craig Godwin 51:37, 55-59 Michael Collins 57:38, 60-64 William Enicks 59:28, 65-69 Joseph Reda, III 1:00:12, 70-74 Dave Glass 1:09:42, 75-79 Jan Frisby 1:12:30, 80-84 David Turner 1:29:36.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS (scored as the cumulative time of first 3 finishers on each team) MEN - The Garden State Track Club-New Balance [Elliott Frieder, Jonathan Frieder, Shawn Williams], totaled 2:40:32 in 40+ over the Atlanta Track Club (Atlanta), with 2:41:42 for a difference per runner of less than 25 seconds. That is close! In taking the victory in Tulsa, Garden State also claimed the 2019 Masters Club Grand Prix title; there was a lot on the line! In 50+ it was another close battle, this time a win for Atlanta [Mike Anderson, Lester Dragstedt, Kirk Larson, Matthew Whitis] at 3:04:34 to 3:06:40 for the Kansas City Smoke. The Shore Athletic Club [Kevin Dollard, Scott Linnell, Ren Stirrat] took the 60+ title in 3:12:35 over the Boulder Road Runners at 3:31:03. The Atlanta Track Club A team [Sam Benedict, Dave Glass, Jerry Learned, David Turner] captured the final 70+ Championship of the year in 3:50:24. Atlanta’s B team finished 2nd in 4:40:27. WOMEN – The Impala Racing Team [Broke Bray, Jodi Buyyounouski, Alexandra Newman] claimed 1st prize unopposed, with 3:12:24, in the 40+ contest. Atlanta [Kris Huff, Mary Sweeney, Robin Tanner, Laurie Wharton] ran 3:24:43 for 1st place unopposed in 50+. Atlanta [Patrice Combs, Mireille Silva, Cynthis Williams] held off a strong challenge from Team Red Lizard 3:36:35 to 3:43:58.
This event concluded the 2019 USATF Masters Grand Prix series. The Awards will be presented at a ceremony at the USATF Club Cross Country Championships in Bethlehem, PA on December 14th. The Masters races at those Cross Country Championships also kick off the 2020 Masters Grand Prix competition.
Submitted by
Paul Carlin
USATF Masters LDR/Media Coordinator
Running Professor LLC/runningprof.com