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 | THE CLUB EMAIL
Some pretty decent track races on this week. |
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| | Two Weeks Until The Season Starts
Fall Racing in Here! 1. 8/28 5k Cross Country Championships (Thompson Park) (team picnic/potluck afterward) 2. 9/18 Half Marathon Championships (Jersey City) 3. 10/2 Little Silver 5k (women only) 4. 10/23 8k Cross Country Championships (Natirar) 5. 11/24 Ashenfelter 8k (Glen Ridge)
Non-USATF-NJ Championships 6. 11/6 USATF East Region XC Champs (Philly; GSTC hosts) 7. 12/10 USATF Club National XC Championships (Tallahassee, FL)***
2. Enclave Selfie Contest Run with your enclave, take a picture, and post it on the enclave page!!!
3. Fall Training Plan
If you are a dues-paying member, you should have received a fall training plan from our coaching staff. If you haven't received it yet, please email us ASAP! Sorry!
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| | Team Results [please email us your results! we don't see everything posted on facebook!]
Wallis, Viola PR in Napa After a long spring of prepping for medical school exams, Adrienne Viola has dedicated the better part of her summer to fitness...and it's showing. On July 17, she dropped a serious PR at the Napa to Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon of 1:26:32. Finishing 5th overall and 1st in her age group, hence the free wine, she averaged 6:36 in a race that Sara Hall eventually won.
Steve Wallis, rocking his black and gold, also PRed and also finished 5th. Averaging 5:42/mile, the teacher on summer break rolled to a 1:14:51 result- just two minutes behind Ryan Hall!
We also found it fascinating that there were five other Violas from New Jersey in the 5k race, of no relation to Adrienne. And yes, she was the fastest one!
Wiegers PRs in 5k in 27:03 Wild West Enclave Captain Rachel Wiegers ran her best 5k weeks ago, crossing the finish line at 27:03 at the Branchburg National Night Out.
Big Results in Asbury Park Myriad club members somehow ran the Asbury Park 5k yesterday, despite the crazy heat and humidity index resulting in trees fighting over nearby walking dogs.
Steve Mennitt was the team's top finisher in 15:56, good for fourth. On the women's side, Alyssa Douma was 6th overall in 19:37. John Montgomery, pictured above, was the team's top masters finisher, winning his 50-54 age group with a solid 18:53 effort.
Other finishers included Wismith Francois (17:10), Ted Doyle (17:19), Kyle Clonan (17:33), Adam Nalven (18:41), Amanda Tripodi (21:50), and Anthony Velasquez (23:56).
Editor's note: this race has a special place in our heart... results from 2006. Here was the lead pack at mile one from ten years ago. Yes, hard to believe. Gold is the new red.
Two Run Three Bridges Karl and Aya Leitz ran the Three Bridges 5 Miler in some rugged conditions: hilly, humid, and hot. Aya was the seconf female overall, and Karl was third in his age group!
Roberts, Redden Finish IM Triathlons Training partners Leah Roberts and Jessican Redden competed in two big races recently. Roberts finished 7th in her age group at the Lake Placid Ironman with a total time of 11:02:47. After breaking 60:00 for the first time on the 2.4 mile swim (59:08), she then finished the 112 mile bike in 6:05:18, and then covered the marathon in 3:49:06.
Redden, weeks later in the Poconos, finished a half-ironman (women?) in 5:19:40. Her splits were 31:38 (swim), 3:00:02 (bike), and 1:47:09. Finishing 7th overall and second in her age group, she is prepping for Ironman Wisconsin in September.
Rissell Rolls 4:34 Ethan Rissell, in the middle of summer base training, ran a fine 4:34.15 good for 12th in the elite section of the Harrisburg Mile.
Edwards, Balfour Win AG Awards Masters ladies Stephanie Edwards and Anne Balfour, above, have both run well this summer. In the Team Bloke 5k, Edwards was 4th in her AG in 27:56, with teammate Balfour 4th overall, and first masters women, in 21:22. Earlier in the mont, on August 6, she also won the MCS Summer Series XC 5k race in 21:20!
Callan, Mennitt Win T4T Chelsea Callan and Steve Mennitt won the Toys for Tots 5k in the first weekend of August. Steve-O won in 16:10, and Chels ran 19:12 for the $100 prize money. Or maybe they showed up and raced to give a toy for a tot. We do not know.
Burt PRs in Minnesota HM Santana, Marantz Run 4:01 Mile in Pursuit of Magical Sub-4:00
Cameron Marantz and Alfredo Santana continue to battle over club records in 2016, and the battling continues this summer with each passionately pursuing a sub-4:00 mile on the track. Santana currently has the upper hand, as he won the Men's Elite Mile at the Showcase Invitational in 4:01.41. On the right, meet director Dave Alfano interviews him after beating a stacked field.
| | | Santana crushing his heat at West Chester. |
Marantz, left, was second in the Ryan Shay Mile on July 23rd, blitzing the race with a 4:01.72 final time. The two were supposed to lock horns at the West Chester Mile on Thursday, but unfortunately Cam was sick for days beforehand. Santana won his heat in 4:01.92, yet again just shy of his sub-4:00 goal.
aGSTC DOMINATE USATF CLUB NATIONAL TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS Club Becomes 4th in USATF History To Sweep Three Team Titles In late June, only three clubs in the history of the USATF have won all three team titles: men, women, and combined. Not only did the adidas GSTC make that number four this summer, they did it with serious conviction.
The women dominated the field, outscoring defending champ Central Park Track Club 272-153, and twenty-five other participating clubs. The men racked up 235 points, out-distancing the other thirty-six male clubs.
| | | Hilton wins the first event of the day: the women's 5k |
In the combined team score, the aGSTC finished with a whopping 508 points, more than double Central Park's silver medal finish of 240 points.
The club employed a balanced attack all day long, piling on points in all event areas. In fact, the day started with Skylair Hilton winning the women's 5k in 17:49.53, with Emi Perry running a gutsy 18:26.80 to finish a surprise 5th. Moments later, Alfredo Santana (14:14), Matt Gillette (14:50), Eli Howard (15:14), and Matt Lutcza (15:27) went 1-4-6-8 in the men's 5k, spotting G-State nineteen points out of the gates.
| | | Santana, Gillette, Howard, and Lutcza after the men's 5k |
Jessie Gaines had a huge day, winning both the 100 hurdles (13.68) and the long jump (6.52m/21-4.75), qualifying for the trials by .02m. Sprinter Haisha Bisiolu also scored big points for the black and gold, finishing 1st in the 200m (24.99), 3rd in the 100m (12.00), and anchoring the winning 4x100 relay in 47.00--a club record.
| | | Odrine Belot, a UConn grad, finished 2nd in the TJ to Olympian Epps. |
That said, the women won the meet in the jumping events. After sweeping the top four spots in the pole vault (29 points), the Women In Black went 1-3-4-5-7 (27 points) in the long jump, 1-2-3-5-6 in the triple jump (31 points), and 2-3-4-6 (22 points) in the high jump to ensure the team victory.
| | | The scoreboard says it all after the women's 4x100 relay |
Latosha Wallace won the 400IH (58.26), and Laura Cummings, Corinne Fitzgerald, and Chelsea Callan went 2-3-4 in the 3000m steeplechase to add points in the hurdling events. | | | The pole vault sweep: Emily Shipley (1st), Abby Klein (2nd), Lauren McDonald (3rd), and Paige Vadnais (4th). |
In the throws, Alexis Appezzato finished 2nd in the javelin, as teammates Lia Negra (4th) and Kelsay Hay (5th) added to the team's best throwing event.
| | | Lequan Chapman finished 6th in the long jump |
The men also scored big points in the jumping events. Pole vault veteran Craig Van Leeuwen had a redemptive win, as he no-heighted in 2013 when the club won its first national title. Ronald Woodley and Kris Joint went 1-2 in the triple jump, but the big windfall of points came in the long jump. Carlton Lavong and Herman Kirkland lead a huge 2-3-4-6-7-8 team finish, with all six aGSTC athletes between 24-9 and 22-9 despite the deep field of sixteen qualifying competitors.
| | | Bing blasts out of the blocks in the 400m final. |
The club's two best sprint events were the 400m and the 400h. Former NY Giant Brandon Bing (47.05) was third, with Tommy Kalieta (6th/48.06) and Tyrone Ross (7th/48.10) just behind him. In the hurdles, George Empty was the silver medalist in 53.59 as teammates Charles Wulff (3rd/53.90) and CJ Bailey (5th/57.59) ran well.
Thrower Mike Cameron had a great day at the office, finishing 3rd in the shot put (57-03) and 6th in the discus (162-04). Tyler Williams and Tresley Dupont went 1-3 in the hammer throw, with Tim VanLiew (1st/238-10) leading a 1-4-6 finish in the javelin. | | | Hunter Heaton leads off the distance medley relay. |
Kyle Price and Stewart Jones went 2-3 in the steeplechase with Yakabu Ibrahim grabbing bronze in the 110HH in 14.44. Ken Goglas, Will Appman, and Steve Rathbun finished 4-5-7 in the 10k, helping secure the team win in the meet's final individual running event.
Santana, who won both the 5,000m and 1500m (3:48.22), received the men's Athlete of the Meet honor. | | | Ibrahim, the club record holder from Franklin, finishing 3rd |
TWELVE aGSTC'ers COMPETE AT OLYMPIC TRIALS | | | aGSTC elite coach Carl Blickle, left, shadows Olympic coach Jeremy Fischer in Eugene. |
in Dramatic Fashion On paper, it looks easy. Christina Epps is the defending indoor and outdoor national champion, so of course she would qualify for the Olympics. Right?
Not at all.
After finishing second in the preliminaries on July 4th with a 14.08m (46-2) jump, it was on to the finals on July 7th. She only trailed Keturah Orji, a fellow Morris County jumper who now owns the US record, and things looked very promising--except the fact she still did not have an Olympic "A" standard mark of 14.15m. So without that mark, it wasn't a certainty she would be accepted into the Olympics if she did, in fact, finish in the top three days later.
On July 7th, after six days of picture-perfect weather, it rained. At times, very hard. Despite being in t-shirts and shorts in 90 degree days throughout the week, athletes now had full warm-ups, tights, and even hats and gloves. This, indeed, changed the game drastically, as anything can happen with a slippery board. Twelve athletes qualified from the preliminaries, and only eight would qualify for the final that day. Each jumper gets three jumps, and the eight finalists receive three more.
It should be noted that Epps pops the big jumps early; last year, she won the US title on her very first jump. And it makes sense, as fatigues sets in quickly with the triple jump. Rarely do you see an athlete jump farther in the final jumps. It's just a demanding event.
With that in mind, she soared beside the 47' marker on her first jump, and the crowd gasped. Sure enough, the red flag went up. Fifteen minutes later, on jump two, she lands in the same place--a monster jump, easily the farthest one of the field--but it, too, it a foul, as her toe crossed the board by an inch.
So, here we are. The two-time defending national champion, on a rainy day, has fouled her first two attempts. She gets just one more, and if she can't get into the top eight, there is no Olympics. She goes home, empty handed.
Thankfully, on her third jump, she mustered a 13.48m jump, putting her into 5th place and buying her three more jumps in the finals. But alas, far way from the top three, and very far away from the A Standard.
In the finals, her first jump was even shorter than her third jump--a 13.38m effort. With rain and fatigue setting in, things were not looking good. Until, of course, she popped a personal best of 14.17 in her fifth jump...surpassing three athletes into second place and the A Standard by .02m! Her final jump, 14.89, wasn't an improvement, but she didn't need it to be, as only Orji was left witha sixth and final jump.
Epps was going to the Olympics!
Smith 4th in HJ...One Jump Away! This didn't have the same level of drama as Epps' jumps...but it was pretty darn close. Amina Smith, signed by the club in May, didn't qualify for the Trials until mid-June. Two weeks later, she was one jump away from making the Olympic team.
The qualifying height was 1.85m- or about 6'.5". In the preliminaries on Thursday, June 30th, Smith cleared 1.84m, along with nine others. The best two jumpers who cleared 1.79 were taken for the final for July 3rd. To be sure, the point wasn't to jump as high as you could; athletes just needed to finish in the top twelve to advance to the final.
In the first two heights, Smith looked fantastic. Clearing the bars at 1.79m and 1.84m on her first attempts, she clearly brought her A Game. But the third height, 1.89m, was higher than her PR of 1.85m, and she struggled, missing on the first two attempts. But on her third attempt--she cleared it, and suddenly, there were only six ladies left.
The bar now moved up to 1.91m, a good bit when you're tired from jumping and you just PRed moments ago. That said, the craziest thing happened on her first attempt--she cleared it, to the amusement and excitement of the Hayward Field crowd! Two ladies failed in all three attempts, and suddenly, there were four ladies left...and three were going to Rio. They included a three-time HJ Olympian, the daughter of famed Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham, and a drug cheat whose 21-month doping ban ended on March of 2016.
Unfortunately, Smith failed to clear 6-4, but she put on one heck of a show for the crowd in Eugene, representing the black and gold quite honorably.
Tim VanLiew 7th in Javelin 
Tim VanLiew came in as the #7 seed, and sure enough he finished 7th in the final. On Saturday, July 2nd, VanLiew finished 8th in the preliminaries with a 72.40m throw, thus qualifying for the twelve-man final. Two days later, on Independence Day, he threw 72.15m to finish 7th.
Ronald Woodley 13th in Triple Jump Ron Woodley, one of the club's most likeable elite athletes, had a tough Olympic Trials. After round one of the preliminaries, he sat in 9th place with a 52-1 jump in the rainy, cold conditions. He improved to 52-11 on his next jump, but slid to 10th place. He could only muster a 52-10 on his third attempt, and was bumped in 13th place in that final round. Since they take the top twelve to the final, Woodley missed by just four inches. His season best was 54-0, which made it a little bit more heartbreaking.
Lutolo Boyce 16th in Long Jump Lutolo Boyce has been with the club since 2013, helping the club win their first club national title. This year, fresh out of college, he was a last-minute acceptance due to other athlete injuries. Seeded last at the 24th position, there's only one direction to go.
And up he went. Like all other events, he was fighting to crack the top twelve to advance into the final a day later. Although he came up short, he sure did come darn close. His first jump of 24-7 put him at 13th; his second jump of 25-1 saw him get bumped to 14th; his final jump was a foul, allowing two other to pass him in the final round.
Tyler Williams 17th in Hammer Throw
Like Boyce, Tyler Williams had only one direction to go as he, too, was the 24th and final qualifier in his respective event. A recent Widener graduate who is now a full-time engineer in Philadelphia, Williams is also one of the most affable, down to earth elites on the club. But we digress.
His first round toss of 194-4 put him at 16th, and despite improving to 214-5 on round two, he got bumped to 17th. Despite fouling his third throw, he held on to his 17th position...beating seven athletes who had better seed marks than him.
Jessie Gaines 20th in Long Jump Jessie Gaines qualified for the Olympic Trials during club nationals by .02 in the final day of the qualifying window. So, in some respects, she was just happy to be there--although she has placed as high as 3rd at a US Championship back in the 2015 indoor season.
She fouled her first two jumps, putting her is a tough place to make the top twelve final out of the prelims on July 1. She mustered a 6.01m jump, good for 20th out of 25 qualifiers, but well short of her 6.52m jump the weekend before.
Lisa Barber 24th in 100m The legendary Lisa Barber, the fastest woman on Earth in 2006 when she won the indoor world 60m title, finished 24th of 33 athletes in the always-uber-competitive 100m. In heat three of the prelims, she finished in 11.32--good for 6th in her heat.
Latosha Wallace 23rd in 400IH Latosha Wallace was also a late qualifier, barely dipping under the standard during the USATF East Region Championships. And, the 400h preliminaries had the worst weather of any event, as it absolutely poured during almost all the heats, making fast times hard to come by.
She finished fifth in heat three with a 58.22 time.
Kelsey Hay 24th in Javelin Like a few of her aGSTC teammates, Kelsey Hay learned just days before the Trials started that, due to a last-minute scratch, she was now accepted into the field.
The UPenn graduate, who competed for the aGSTC in both the USATF East Regions and USATF Club Nationals, threw 114-6, 138-7, and 137-8 in her three attempts during the preliminaries on July 7th.
Miki Barber 33rd in 100m
Miki Barber, twin sister of Lisa, qualified for the Trials with a sizzling 11.10 time in the 100m--but things didn't go as planned in Eugene. Trying to shake off a nagging hamstring injury, she pulled up in the final ten meters of her preliminary heat, thus explaining her 12.51 clocking.
Carmen Graves 35th in Steeplechase 
Although she was a 2014 US finalist in the steeplechase, Carmen Graves was another last-minute qualifier for the aGSTC. She ran tough for most of the race, sitting in the middle of the pack for most of the race, but she cramped up in the final 600m.
EPPS FINISHES 15th in OLYMPIC GAMES The aGSTC's first Olympian finished 15th in the preliminaries of the triple jump. After her first jump of 14.01m, she fouled in her final two attempts. This left her at 8th place in her flight, and 15th overall. As always, they take the top twelve to the final.
Fonder Returns to Teaching Men's co-captain Mike Fonder returned to his teaching job this month after a long summer break. However, he walked into his first day wearing his July 4th racing outfit, above, with tongue out and all, forgetting he was no longer on summer break.
"Ugh, gym teachers," the principal allegedly mumbled under her breath, looking the other way. "At least he's wearing his long shorts." Aya, Karl Leitz Lament Banana Tech After abandoning their 1-800-RUN GSTC hotline weeks ago, the Leitzes continue to utilize their banana phones as their primary form of communication. However, only the "talk" function is currently available with this technology. "We are waiting for the Smart Banana to come out, as we can't even text or catch Pokemons on these things," Karl shared last week. "Then again, who would ever call a major tech company after a fruit like banana, pear, or apple? What we were thinking--we should never have invested in this company."
Facebook Action: Morgan Reviews Godfather III Tim spent the better part of last Monday watching, reflecting on, and writing an unsolicited review of the movie . While encouraging his FB friends to "read all five paragraphs," he does admit this movie is "the most conflicting one" in the trilogy. |
SUNDAY TEAM RUNS
Start Time 8:00am | | Yes! the Sunday team runs are always this fun!!
Upcoming Sunday Team Runs
July 3: Buccleuch Park July 10: Princeton- Turning Basin July 17: Blackwell Mills/Canal Road July 24: Columbia Trail July 31: Forbidden Drive August 7: River Road August 14: Patriot's Path August 21: Manasquan Reservoir August 28: USATF-NJ XC 5k September 4: Loantonka
Please contact our women captains Nicole Salge and/or Bri Teichmann with any questions regarding our team Sunday runs. |
The Anis Angle Please meet Mike Anis, one of the original founding members of the GSTC. The only man who has competed at every club XC nationals over the past five years, he has a penchant for sharing, oversharing, pontificating, overpontificating, complaining, and overcomplaining. And he wears this from time to time, as well, which the ladies seem to love. "So guess where they wanted me to take them. OLD BRIDGE! That's twenty minutes away!"
Dr. Anis reflecting on his first night as a Lyft driver.
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| | Kyle's Kubicle Kyle's Kubicle has been on vacation. So, instead of his usual interview installment, today we want to introduce you to a distant relative of Kyle Price, a gentleman who competed in the pole vault in the Olympic Trials. What do you think? Who wore the better mohawk?
2015 aGSTC HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
Paid Your 2016 Dues Yet? Please do so. It keeps the lights on!
FROM OUR COACHING STAFF
Here is week one, this week, with the preface:
aGSTC Fall 2016 Training Plan
This is meant to be a comprehensive training document that focuses on preparation for all team races and a planned peak between Thanksgiving and Dec 10th. The plan is meant for use by any aGSTC team member.
Overview:
The season will be broken up in 2 halves, with the halfway point being the Half Marathon championship on September 18th. The first part of the first half will be focused on building weekly mileage, building up the long run and maintaining speed through strides and hill sprints. We will hold that mileage for a while, so your target mileage should be something you can comfortably hold for 12-16 weeks. It is not a target for something you can hold for 2-4 weeks and then back down. If you need any guidance in this, contact one of the coaches. We will then transition into shorter intervals to build the speed back in your legs and doing work at threshold pace to continue to develop your aerobic base.
After the Half Marathon the women's team will move towards 6k pace work as a goal and the men will move towards 10k pace in order to prepare them for their respective national championships. Even though there is a slight difference, both should prepare you well for a season ending 5k or 8k. As was the case before the Half Marathon, we will attack the training from both ends where the shorter side gets longer and the longer side gets shorter, at the end of the season this will meet in the middle at race pace. Those who will not be competing at the national meet will be aiming towards Ashenfelter 8k thanksgiving.
Here are a couple of important notes about training paces:
It is imperative that you do workouts at your current fitness. Not to be confused with goal fitness (where you want to be at the end of the season). The reasoning behind this is as follows: If you run slower than your goal pace for a workout, the lack of effort will not solicit the necessary stimulus your body needs to cause the physiological gains one requires to become a faster and stronger runner. However, running a workout too fast, above and beyond the prescribed pace will most likely leave you feeling overly fatigued for your next session of hard running and will eventually leave your body vulnerable to injury. Of course, running a workout a little too fast or too slow on occasion will not hurt you as it does happen, providing you don't make a habit of it!
What is threshold pace?
This is something that you will see many times in this document and is an extremely important pace to figure out in training. There are a couple of ways to describe threshold pace. Theoretically it is the pace you can hold for a 50-60 minute race (try to think about a race distance you ran in or around that 50-60 min window, for example a 10k, 15k, 10 mile or 20k). It can also be described as "comfortably hard" and if you went any faster it would cease to be comfortable. Most workouts done at threshold pace for 20-30 minutes will have you somewhat tired, but by the time you finish the workout you still feel ok. If you have to lie down or are gasping for air after the workout, you went too fast. Threshold pace is best when you understand how it feels, don't be a slave to the numbers. There are resources that can help you ballpark what your threshold pace is, it is best to use a recent race to estimate what your pace is.http://www.attackpoint.org/trainingpaces.jsp
The team schedule has an early 5k, while you might not be ready for a 5k it will be treated as a fitness test and a way to help set the correct paces in training. You can still run fast times in these races, but these races are not what the focus of this plan is.
I also encourage you to come to our team runs on Sunday. They are a great way to meet members of the team and have people to run with on the long days that are crucial to success
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Two Weeks Until The Season StartsFall Racing in Here!IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, PLEASE EMAIL US AT GARDENSTATETRACKCLUB@GMAIL.COM WITH THE RACES YOU CAN ATTEND. THANK YOU!
1. 8/28 5k Cross Country Championships (Thompson Park)(team picnic/potluck afterward)2. 9/18 Half Marathon Championships (Jersey City)3. 10/2 Little Silver 5k (women only)4. 10/23 8k Cross Country Championships (Natirar)5. 11/24 Ashenfelter 8k (Glen Ridge)Non-USATF-NJ Championships6. 11/6 USATF East Region XC Champs (Philly; GSTC hosts)7. 12/10 USATF Club National XC Championships (Tallahassee, FL)***2. Enclave Selfie ContestRun with your enclave, take a picture, and post it on the enclave page!!!3. Fall Training PlanIf you are a dues-paying member, you should have received a fall training plan from our coaching staff. If you haven't received it yet, please email us ASAP! Sorry!
Training partners Leah Roberts and Jessican Redden competed in two big races recently. Roberts finished 7th in her age group at the Lake Placid Ironman with a total time of 11:02:47. After breaking 60:00 for the first time on the 2.4 mile swim (59:08), she then finished the 112 mile bike in 6:05:18, and then covered the marathon in 3:49:06.Redden, weeks later in the Poconos, finished a half-ironman (women?) in 5:19:40. Her splits were 31:38 (swim), 3:00:02 (bike), and 1:47:09. Finishing 7th overall and second in her age group, she is prepping for Ironman Wisconsin in September.Rissell Rolls 4:34Ethan Rissell, in the middle of summer base training, ran a fine 4:34.15 good for 12th in the elite section of the Harrisburg Mile.Edwards, Balfour Win AG AwardsMasters ladies Stephanie Edwards and Anne Balfour, above, have both run well this summer. In the Team Bloke 5k, Edwards was 4th in her AG in 27:56, with teammate Balfour 4th overall, and first masters women, in 21:22. Earlier in the mont, on August 6, she also won the MCS Summer Series XC 5k race in 21:20!Callan, Mennitt Win T4TChelsea Callan and Steve Mennitt won the Toys for Tots 5k in the first weekend of August. Steve-O won in 16:10, and Chels ran 19:12 for the $100 prize money. Or maybe they showed up and raced to give a toy for a tot. We do not know.Burt PRs in Minnesota HM
This didn't have the same level of drama as Epps' jumps...but it was pretty darn close. Amina Smith, signed by the club in May, didn't qualify for the Trials until mid-June. Two weeks later, she was one jump away from making the Olympic team.The qualifying height was 1.85m- or about 6'.5". In the preliminaries on Thursday, June 30th, Smith cleared 1.84m, along with nine others. The best two jumpers who cleared 1.79 were taken for the final for July 3rd. To be sure, the point wasn't to jump as high as you could; athletes just needed to finish in the top twelve to advance to the final.In the first two heights, Smith looked fantastic. Clearing the bars at 1.79m and 1.84m on her first attempts, she clearly brought her A Game. But the third height, 1.89m, was higher than her PR of 1.85m, and she struggled, missing on the first two attempts. But on her third attempt--she cleared it, and suddenly, there were only six ladies left.The bar now moved up to 1.91m, a good bit when you're tired from jumping and you just PRed moments ago. That said, the craziest thing happened on her first attempt--she cleared it, to the amusement and excitement of the Hayward Field crowd! Two ladies failed in all three attempts, and suddenly, there were four ladies left...and three were going to Rio. They included a three-time HJ Olympian, the daughter of famed Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham, and a drug cheat whose 21-month doping ban ended on March of 2016.Unfortunately, Smith failed to clear 6-4, but she put on one heck of a show for the crowd in Eugene, representing the black and gold quite honorably.Tim VanLiew 7th in Javelin
The aGSTC's first Olympian finished 15th in the preliminaries of the triple jump. After her first jump of 14.01m, she fouled in her final two attempts. This left her at 8th place in her flight, and 15th overall. As always, they take the top twelve to the final.Fonder Returns to TeachingMen's co-captain Mike Fonder returned to his teaching job this month after a long summer break. However, he walked into his first day wearing his July 4th racing outfit, above, with tongue out and all, forgetting he was no longer on summer break."Ugh, gym teachers," the principal allegedly mumbled under her breath, looking the other way. "At least he's wearing his long shorts."Aya, Karl Leitz Lament Banana Tech
After abandoning their 1-800-RUN GSTC hotline weeks ago, the Leitzes continue to utilize their banana phones as their primary form of communication. However, only the "talk" function is currently available with this technology. "We are waiting for the Smart Banana to come out, as we can't even text or catch Pokemons on these things," Karl shared last week. "Then again, who would ever call a major tech company after a fruit like banana, pear, or apple? What we were thinking--we should never have invested in this company."Facebook Action:Morgan Reviews Godfather IIITim spent the better part of last Monday watching, reflecting on, and writing an unsolicited review of the movieThe Godfather, Part III. While encouraging his FB friends to "read all five paragraphs," he does admit this movie is "the most conflicting one" in the trilogy.
