May 10, 2023 Team contests at the USATF Masters 10 Km Championships are hotly contested. The top teams from New England often show up, partly to repel the challenges that teams from other regions present, but also to obtain or retain local and regional bragging rights. And, of course, there are always several teams actively pursuing points for the Masters National Club Grand Prix. In the Team Contests, each team can declare up to five runners; the team score is the cumulative time of the top 3 runners for each team, lowest time score wins.
WOMEN
40+ The recent history in this division has been that one of the strong teams from outside New England comes into Dedham and takes home top honors. In 2016, it was the Atlanta Track Club ATC; in 2017 and 2018 the Genesee Valley Harriers GVH out of Rochester NY; and in 2019 and 2022 it was the Impala Racing team Impala out of the San Francisco Bay area. Maybe it was time for a team from New England to win it. Impala did not send a team. The only team from outside New England was the West Valley Track Club WVTC, also from the San Francisco Bay area. Strong teams entered from New England included the Boston Athletic Association BAA; the Greater Lowell Road Runners GLRR; the HFC Striders HFC; and the Liberty Athletic Club Liberty AC. Would WVTC be able to extend the dominance of outsider teams? The BAA tapped Karolyn Bowley, their strong 50's runner, to drop down and run with the 40's team. It paid off; Bowley took 5th overall and was the first runner to score in the team 40's competition at 38:21. Christina Campbell kept HFC in the game with her 39:15 and WVTC got on the board with a 40:03 from Alyson Barrett.
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| Alyson Barrett crosses the line first scoring runner for West Valley, finishing 3rd in the team competition and helping her team to the W40+ Team bronze medal position at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales. |
It was anyone's game at that point. the BAA got the edge when Amanda Watters sped across the line a minute later in 41:08. Diana Bowser put an end to the suspense, finishing as the BAA's 3rd scorer in 41:36. At a cumulative time of 2:01:05, no one could top them.
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| Diana Bowser closes off the scoring for the BAA W40+ team as they win the W40+ team competition at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales. |
Jessamine Lee got Liberty AC on the board with her 45:00. WVTC looked like it might be headed for 2nd place when Shawnessy Dusseau finished in 45:15, giving them 1:25:18 on two scores. But Eileen Cakouros turned in a 45:56 to keep HFC seven seconds ahead of WVTC at 1:25:11. Kathy Moloy finished a single second behind Cakouros giving her Liberty AC team 1:30:57 on two scoring runners. They were over 5 minutes behind but it's not final until the 3rd runner scores. Lee Petersson took care of that for HFC, adding 46:27 to their total for a cumulative score of 2:11:38 and the silver medals. WVTC wound up in the bronze position when Angela Knott clocked 50:28. Caitlin Sweeney closed out the scoring for Liberty AC at 53:06, leaving them in 4th with a 2:24:03. GLRR finished 5th, with Liberty AC's B team in 6th. The BAA finally threw their hat in the ring and came out on top.
Club Grand Prix implications: West Valley enjoyed their third score of the year. The 80 points earned vaulted them into the lead ahead of the Garden State Track Club, 200 to 170. The 70 points acquired by the BAA, HFC, and Liberty AC do no look significant now. Should any of those teams choose to compete in 2or more of the final 3 events, they could move up into podium contention.
BAA 2:01:05 40:22 average HFC 2:11:38 43:53 WVTC 2:15:46 45:16
50+ It has been the same story in this division. Willow Street Willow St won in 2016, followed by the powerful Athena team taking top honors from 2017 through 2019. Athena disbanded and most of their athletes joined the Greater Philadelphia Track Club GPTC. There was no Athena team to contest the 50+ division last year and GPTC did not enter. The Shore Athletic Club Shore AC ran away with the win last year, winning by 5 minutes. To my initial surprise, GPTC did not enter a team this year either, despite having the 50-54 winner, Abby Dean on their team. But one of the biggest racers in Philly is the Broad Street Run. In most years it is held the week after the 10 Km Championships. This year it was on the exact same day. That conflict meant that it would again be Shore AC and GVH from outside New England going up against the BAA, GLRR, Liberty AC, and the Tri-Valley Front Runners7 TVFR from Greater Boston and eastern and central Massachusetts. Shore AC's Suzanne La Burt was again this year the first runner in the W50+ team competition to cross the finish line, posting a 41:10.
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| Suzanne La Burt kicks to the finish and that all important first place in the W50+ Team Competition; she leads her team to the silver medal position at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales. |
Liberty's Mimi Fallon gave her team a 42:06, and GLRR's Trish Bourne posted a 43:15.
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| Trish Bourne finishing in the #1 spot for Greater Lowell, leading her team to the bronze medal finish in Team W50+ at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
Four seconds later, Jacalyn Lembo gave GVH their first score.
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| Jacalyn Lembo crosses the finish line in the #1 position for GVH, leading her team to W50+ victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
The #1 runner from each of the top 4 teams was in. Now it was up to #2. It was starting to look like a repeat for Shore when Alexandra Marzulla turned in a 45:10 to be the first #2 runner across the finish line. They had a cumulative time of 1:26:20 on two runners.
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| Alexandra Marzulla, 2nd runner to finish for Shore AC, scored important points as Shore finished 2nd in W50+ at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
But GVH burst that bubble when their #2 and 3 runners, Brenda Osovski and Cassandra Crane, finished within 9 seconds of each other in 46:12 and 46:21. That gave GVH 2:15:52.
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| Cassandra Crane closes off the scoring for GVH in the W50+ Team competition, ensuring that her team enjoyed the victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
Shore still had a shot at the win. Their third runner had to come across the line in 49:31 or better. GLRR got their 2nd runner, Natalie Browne, across the finish line in 48:32. When the clock kept ticking for another minute with no other 50+ runners crossing, the shouts could go up for GVH. They had the win! A minute after that, Debbie Brathwaite closed off the scoring for Shore at 50:31, giving them 2:16:51 and ensuring a 2nd place finish. Twenty seconds later Jill Lohmeier gave GLRR their third scorer and a cumulative time of 2:22:39. Liberty AC's 2nd and 3rd runners finished within a second of each other, clocking 52:03 and 52:04. The team had a total of 2:26:43, finishing in 4th but 2 minutes ahead of the BAA and 23 minutes ahead of the TVFR. Each of the top four teams had #4 and #5 runners for insurance. GVH Carol Reif, Carol Geiger; Shore AC Susan Stirrat, Leslie Nowicki; GLRR Marisol Garcia, Amy Breen; Liberty AC Melanie McFarlane, Helene Sussman. GVH's last podium finish herein the 10 Km Championships at Dedham was in 2017; they moved up from bronze to gold!
Club Grand Prix implications: The points earned by GVH and Shore, 100 and 90 respectively, provided them a lift int he Club GP standings. GVH moved up to 2nd, now just 20 points behind the Impala Racing team. Shore moved into 4th, still a hundred points behind Greater Philadelphia, but 20 points ahead of Garden State and Sirius Athletics of Athens GA.
GVH 2:15:522 45:18 Shore AC 2:16:51 45:37 GLRR 2:22:39 47:33
60+ Impala took the division honors in 2016, followed by three consecutive years of Atlanta claiming the gold medals. Last year it was GPTC. This year the only teams entered were from eastern Massachusetts, the Liberty AC and the GLRR, guaranteeing a New England win. In fact Liberty AC entered an A and a B team and they had no trouble going 1-2 in the division. The first three runners across the finish line were from the A team, Mary Cass, Victoria Bok and Shahdokt Reeder clocked 41:45, 47:51, and 52:19 respectively for a winning cumulative time of 2:21:55.
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| Mary Cass not only captures the individual win in Women's 60-64, but she also finished first in the W60+ team competition, leading her Liberty AC team to victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
Thirteen seconds after Reeder finished, Anne Shreffler gave the B team their first score, 52:32.LRR's Julie Haynes was able to break up the B team's 1st and 2nd runners but there was no stopping them. Liberty B's #2 and #3 runners, Drusilla Pratt-Otto and Brenda King scored at 55:53 and 58:57. The B team had a total of 2:47:22 and the silver medals. GLRR's Barbara Kendall split Pratt-Otto and King with her 58:47, but Liberty's B team could not be denied. Denise Piekos clocked 1:00:37 to give GLRR a complete set of scoring runners and the bronze medals.
Club Grand Prix implications: Liberty AC enjoyed their 2nd straight 100-point championship. Between Syracuse and Dedham, Liberty is now at 370 points. The Impala Racing is in 2nd at 240.
Liberty AC 2:21:55 47:19 2:47:22 55:48 3:01:51 1:00:37
MEN
40+ The Boston Athletic Association BAA has done extremely well in this division. They won here in 2016, 2017, and 2019. They finished 2nd to regional rivals the Central Mass Striders CMS in 2018 and could not overcome the 1-2-7 finish of the Indiana Elite AC Indiana last year, finishing 2nd again. In 2019 they bounced back from a 2nd place finish the year before. Would they come loaded this year? Indiana achieved all their goals last year, winning at Club XC and taking the 40+ Masters National Grand Prix. They took the title at Club XC again but have not sent a team to a championship since then. Their main competition, as in 2018, would come from a local team. The HFC Striders HFC has moved past CMS to challenge the BAA. In 2019 they finished 3rd behind the BAA and CMS but were just 2:19 out of first. Last year they finished 3rd behind Indiana and the BAA but were just. 1:22 behind the BAA. T.J. Unger again led the way for HFC, claiming team first in 33:43. Any HFC joy was short-lived though, as the blue and yellow of the BAA flashed across the line in 2nd through 5th, with Jason Reilly, Tomas Folch, Justin Maloney, and Larry Aller getting the job done in 34:14, 34:51, 35:10, and 36:07, respectively.
Jason Cakouros and Brian McCarthy were not far back in 36:31 and 36:56 but the damage had been done. 
Justin Maloney finished 3rd in the M40+ team competition, helping his BAA team to the win at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales
Jason Cakouros crossing the finish line and helping his HFC Striders team to the M40+ Team silver medals at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales
HFC took 2nd, a minute and a half behind the BAA. As it turned out, the BAA's victory was not quite as dominant as it first looked. A BAA coach brought the matter to the race officials after the race that their 2nd runner, Folch, is apparently a resident but not yet a citizen. A glitch was identified in the transition of information from the USATF membership database to the Simply Register system that did not flag Folch as a Non- Citizen. That glitch is being fixed. USATF rules prohibit non-citizens from winning prizes & awards and from scoring for teams. Luckily, in this case, no damage was done. The BAA had an insurance runner who took his job seriously. Aller's time was sufficient to retain the win, but it was closer than originally thought. The BAA took the win by 1:39. There was not as much drama in the contest for third. GLRR took that with Matt Theodoros, Dan Guttenplan, and Brian Studer finishing close together in 38:08, 39:06, and 39:39. Their total of 1:56:53 was well ahead of the TVFR team in 4th.
Club Grand Prix implications: Four of the top 5 finishers have no other Grand Prix points, suggesting they are not contesting the Club GP. The only club with prior GP points is the BAA which also picked up 35 points at Clubs. In recent years, the BAA has only sent teams to Clubs and defended the home roads at Dedham. Hence the most significant effect may be that GVH got their 2nd event on the Club GP books. The 55 points from their 6th place finish give them 155 points, vaulting them into 2nd place behind West Valley. Last year was the first year that a West Valley 40+ team contested three events. But those three were Clubs, the 10 Mile at Sacramento and the 5 km XC in Boulder CO. Will West Valley get a third event this year? The 2023 5 Km XC championship is not west of the Mississippi.
BAA 1:45:31 35:11 HFC 1:47:10 35:40 GLRR 1:56:53 38:58
50+ The Greater Springfield Harriers GSH were dominant in this division, winning each year from 2016 to 2018. But interest wanes and runners age. In 2019 GSH finished 3rdd behind GVH and HFC. Last year they were 4th as the Garden State Track Club GSTC took top honors with CMS second and Atlanta third; just 46 seconds separated those three teams. In a couple of years, two more runners from GSH will age up, and then the 60+ division will have to watch out for GSH! In the meantime, they would compete in 50+. It would be a mistake to ignore them. Twelve teams, including just one 'B' team would contest the division championship; the defending champion was not among them. The team that finished just a half minute behind them was ready to roll though. Gregory Putnam got CMS started at 34:21 but their rivals poured across the line after him. Nat Larson was 4 seconds back for GSH, followed 12 seconds later by Atlanta's Steve Bell. A half minute later, CMS scored again with Arthur Besse at 35:15. But now it was GVH's turn. Marcus Gage clocked 35:37 to give them their first score.
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| Marcus Gage crossing the finish line in 5th place in the M50+ Team competition, helping his GVH team to 4th place at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
After another half minute lull, the race for the win was over. Putnam's training partner, Joseph Shairs, closed things off for CMS with a 36:10.
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| Joseph Shairs closes off the scoring for his Central Mass Striders team, ensuring their Men's 50+ victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
With three runners scored and a total of 1:45:46, just 15 seconds slower than the winning time in 40+, no one would catch them! But it was still wide open for 2nd. Three teams had their #1 runner in but no one other than CMS had a #2 runner in. Four seconds after Shair finished for CMS, the Manchester Running Club Manchester, out of Connecticut, enjoyed their first score, courtesy of David Guzik at 36:14. They were pouring in now. Six seconds later, Brent Fields gave Atlanta their 2nd score at 36:20. At 1:10:57 they were looking good for silver! Or were they? It took Manchester a while to get their first runner in, but three seconds after Fields, they had their 2nd runner in, Brett Stoeffler at 36:23.
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| Brett Stoeffler, #2 runner for the Manchester Running Club helps his team to the 6th place finish at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
At 1:12:37 on two runners, they were behind Atlanta but where was #3? Michael Dunlop gave the BAA their first score at 37:05, and then Mark Hixson gave GSH their 2nd score at 37:14, moving GSH back in front of Manchester with two runners and 1:11:39.
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| Mark Hixson, 2nd runner across the finish line for the Greater Springfield Harriers helped his team to a bronze medal finish in the men's 50+ competition at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
Brad Slavens made sure Atlanta had no more worries. He slammed the door with a 37:21 time! That gave Atlanta three runners in and a cumulative time of 1:48:18. No other team could match that; Atlanta had the silver medals. The bronze medals were still up for grabs. Mike Nier kept GVH in contention by scoring as #2 with a 37:38; they were at 1:13:15. After Jeff Conston put Shore AC on the board with a 37:50, another minute went by with no one scoring any team points. Then it was Alejandro Heuck giving GSH their third score at 39:10. At 1:50:49, Manchester could not reach them. Their best possibility was almost a minute over that. As it turned out, Manchester would not score next. Paul Davies and Chris Lawrence sped across the line in 39:36 and 40:20 to give the BAA a final total of 1:57:01. But GVH moved back ahead of them into 4th almost immediately; Michael Mertens was just two seconds behind Lawrence, giving GVH a total 1:53:37 and 4th place. The BAA was 5th, followed by Manchester in 6th.
Club Grand Prix implications: The 2nd place finish of Atlanta was significant. The 90 points they earned kept them ahead of GVH and Greater Springfield. The 70 points GVH earned from their 4th place finish raised their total to 260, fifty points behind Atlanta. Greater Springfield, off to a slower start, got their 2nd set of GP points and are 80 behind GVH.
Central Mass Striders 1:45:46 35:16 Atlanta 1:48:18 36:06 Greater Springfield Harriers
60+ The Boulder Road Runners Boulder claimed consecutive championships in this division in 2016 and 2017, falling to 2nd behind Atlanta in 2018. Atlanta had a similar 2-year run with wins in 2018 and 2019. Shore AC's best finish in the 2016-2019 period was a 4th place in 2017. Nonetheless, they were able to take the win in 2022 with a mix of old and new blood. The teams are the same, but the athletes are often different from one year to the next, depending on age profile, injury and non-racing commitments. Mark Zamek got the team race started with a 36:13 for Shore.
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| Mark Zamek takes first in the Men's 60+ Team competition, helping his team to their silver medal finish at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
Less than a minute later, Steve Schmidt gave the Ann Arbor Track Club AATC their first score at 36:54.
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| Steve Schmidt, 1st runner to finish for his Ann Arbor team helped them to a 4th place finish and 70 Grand Prix points in Men's 60+ at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
A little over half a minute after Schmidt scored, the first of Atlanta's runners, Davd Black was across the finish in 38:35.
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| David Black crosses the finish line first for the Atlanta TC Men's 60+ Team. Joined by his teammates in the next 44 seconds, Atlanta rolled to the Team win at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
Atlanta's strength this year has been their tight pack of three, and it was on display. Atlanta's Lester Dragstedt finished just 8 seconds behind Black in 38:43. Casey Hannan, Atlanta's #3, was 36 seconds behind Dragstedt in 39:19, but allowed no runner from another team to get past him into that slot. Boom! Just like that, finishing 3-4-5 in the team competition, Atlanta took the win with a 1:56:37. The action doesn't stop though! Three seconds later David Westenberg put GLRR on the board with his 39:22. Less than a minute later, Larry Sak gave Ann Arbor its second score of 40:17. They were at 1:17:11 on two scoring runners.
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| Larry Sak finishes in the #2 position for Ann Arbor TC helping his team to a 4th place Men's 60+ team finish at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
GVH's #1 runner, Michael Gardella scored next at 40:28. He was followed across the line by two HFC runners, Robert McCormack and Chris Kelly in 40:33 and 40:49, giving HFC a 2-runner total of 1:21:22. Tim Riccardi gave GVH a 2nd score; their 2-runner total was 1:22:26.
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| Timothy Riccardi, #2 runner for GVH helped his team to an important 5th place finish in Men's 60+ at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
Twelve seconds later, John Barbour, despite a gimpy quad, turned in a 42:10 for GLRR; they had 1:21:32 on two runners.
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| John Barbour, #2 runner for Greater Lowell played a critical role in their 6th place finish which gained them important Grand prix points, at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
It was getting down to crunch time for the silver medals! Gary Weisinger scored a 42:37 at #2 for Shore, followed twenty seconds later by HFC's #3, Jimmy Fallon. Did that mean the HFC got 2nd? Not necessarily! HGC's final total was 2:04:19. Shore's total on two runners was 1:18:50. They needed a 3rd runner to finish under 45:30! Reno Stirrat was out on the course, running with a piriformis muscle that acted up enough at the Half Marathon championships he had to stop and walk 7 times. Would it and he hold up today!? The clock kept ticking. GVH's #3, Wayne Crandall, crossed the line at 43:23. GVH now had a final score of 2:05:49; they were behind HFC but still might grab the bronze medals. But who was that coming up the hill? It was Stirrat, well under 45:30 at 43:48! Just like that, Shore had the silver medals with a final total of 2:02:38. Ordinarily I would end it there but just to show how tightly contested the 60's division was, let's just stick with it a little longer. Once Stirrat crossed the finish line, it was Atlanta, Shore, HFC, and GVH in 1st through 4th among the teams with all 3 scoring runners in. But Ann Arbor was at 1:17:11 on their two, and GLRR was at 1:21:32 on two. Where they wound up depended on #3. GLRR's 3rd runner needed to finish in the next 39 seconds for them to move ahead of GVH. Despite their best efforts, it did not happen. GLRR's next two runners, John Hadcock and Ken Goodin arrived at 44:21 and 44:4GLRR's final total was 2:05:53. When Ann Arbor's Aaron Pratt, soon to enter the 70-74 division, crossed in 48:23, the cheering could begin for Ann Arbor. They had not caught HFC for third but, with a total of 2:05:34, they edged GVH for fourth by 15 seconds. GLRR was just 4 seconds back in 6th! Every second counts! Matt Lynch for HFC, Paul Carlin and Michael Mester for Ann Arbor, and Goodin and David Penn were insurance runners for their teams.
Club Grand Prix implications: Four of the first five teams in this division championship are in the thick of the Club GP race. Atlanta's 100 points meant they cemented their lead. They are at 440, 45 points ahead of Shore. Equally important, they now own the head-to-head tie-breaker should that come into play, against their three closest rivals. Shore's 2nd place finish kept them in 2nd at 395 points. Ann Arbor's 70 points from 4th allowed them to keep pace; they are 80 points behind Shore and 80 points ahead of GVH. The race for third could be the tightest contest in this division. All of the points from GVH's next score will count toward their total. All but 20 points of Ann Arbor's next score will count. The standings after the next championship they both contest will tell us more.
Atlanta 1:56:37 38:53 Shore AC 2:02:38 40:53 HFC 2:04:19 41:27
70+ The New England 65 Plus Runners Club NE65+ won the division in 2016 and finished 2nd in 2017. Since then they have not been on the podium. They did not enter this year. GVH took top honors from 2017 through 2018, with Atlanta in 2nd place the last two years of that run. Atlanta gained the win in 2022 ahead of GVH. Both teams were back, Atlanta going for a 2nd straight win, GVH hoping to reverse the tables and start another run. Kirk Larson got things rolling for Atlanta with a 44:07.
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| Kirk Larson crosses the finish line first in the Men's 70+ Team competition, leading .his Atlanta TC team to victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
The Syracuse Track Club Syracuse answered with Jim Foster's 44:58. Dave Glass, despite being in the 75-79 division, scored next at 46:56, giving Atlanta the early lead: two runners scored for a total of 1:31:03.
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| Dave Glass, #2 runner for Atlanta's Men's 70+ team played an important role in their victory at the 2023 USATF Masters 10 Km Championships, hosted by the James Joyce Ramble in Dedham MA. Photo Credit: Pam Fales |
Just over 20 seconds later, Doug Wood, Syracuse#2, answered with a 47:17. They were at 1:32:15. Five seconds later, Jim May crossed the finish line for GVH, their #1 runner at 47:22. Glenn Stewart gave GLRR its first score at 48:38. Less than half a minute later, Atlanta got their third score when Ward Irvin clocked 49:05. That closed the door on the other teams. Atlanta had a total of 2:20:08; Syracuse's total clock was already over 2:21. Atlanta enjoyed its second consecutive win. But silver and bronze were still up for grabs. Walter Mann gave GLRR its second score with a 49:42; their two-runner total was 1:38:20. After a momentary lull in the action, Ted Larison closed the scoring for Syracuse with a 51:10. Syracuse had a total of 2:23:25 and no one could deny them the silver medals. Shortly thereafter, Edward Burns provided the third score for GLRR. His 52:34 ensured they had the bronze medals at 2:30:54. Tony Gingello was just a second back from Burns. Once Jack Kasperski joined him on the other side of the finish line, GVH had its 2:35:51 for 4th place and 70 Grand Prix points! It was good to see Tony Gingello, a key member of the 2017 and 2018 winning GVH teams, back in action. Just out of rehab for broken foot bones, Gingello confided before the race that he was not fully trained up yet; he needed to put in more speed work. I recall Gingello kicking past me in 2017 to take the M70 championship away in the final 300 meters. I am guessing that the lack of speedwork meant he could not quite catch Burns this time with his closing kick! Watch out for Gingello next year!
Club Grand Prix implications: Atlanta got the win and the 100 points. That is significant because they are now in the lead with 440 points from their best 5 events. They are not home free because the Boulder Road Runners can vault ahead of them if they contest a 4th event and finish either 2nd or first. If Boulder contests the 1 Mile championship in Indy, that could tell us more. Alternatively, Boulder could wait for the Masters 5 Km XC in Boca Raton FL to roll the dice. Syracuse obtained 90 points for their 2nd place effort, leaving them in 3rd place, a hundred points behind Boulder, but based on just 3 events instead of four. They could be in the hunt for one of the podium spots if they choose to contest some additional events. In recent years they have competed at Clubs and in the northeast. Will they show up at Indy for the Mile or on the Jersey Shore for the 12 Km Championships? If not, GVH is best positioned to take the third GP spot. They obtained 70 points for 4th in these championships. They are 4th in the GP, fifty points behind Syracuse.
Atlanta 2:20:08 46:43 Syracuse 2:23:25 47:49 Greater Lowell 2:30:54 50:18
That concludes the recap of the team championships.
**** ****Huge Kudos & Thanks to Pam Fales for not only doing all of her Masters LDR Liaison work at Dedham but also sending me some fantastic photos!!!**************
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