| Spring Results Final Spring Season Club Results
Men's Teams Finish 1-2-3-4-5-9-12-19 at USATF-NJ Men's 5k Champs The GSTC men's road crew finished off a strong spring season with a monster day in Glen Ridge, racking up 45 points in the Grand Prix with their eight teams finishing 1-2-3-4-5-9-12-19 out of 36 scored teams. This equates to a point value of 12-10-8-6-5-2-1-1.
While not much beats free beer and pretzels at the end of a race, the late-June Lager Run makes the season drag long into the early summer. So, despite most running on fumes, many toughed it out knowing their times would be far from PRs.
Josh Izewski finished off a brilliant spring with a dominating win in 14:27. Aaron Leskow was third in 15:05, Nick Crits 4th in 15:10, Alex Izewski 6th in 15:19, Rob Nihen 7th in 15:34, and Sean Stetler 9th in 15:47. | | | Mike, Joe, Dan, and Jaris roll down the track in the final stretch of the Lager Run. |
Overall, the club put 6 in the top 10 and 23 in the top 50. The top five GSTC teams had 5k averages of 16:30, 16:35, 16:43, 16:48, and 17:00. The other three teams had averages of 17:58, 18:49, and 21:34.
Several runners made their Black and Gold road racing debuts, including Mike Zanfardino (17:07), Dan Brodhead (17:25), Jason Timochko (17:55), Dan Sewnig (18:42), Tyler McDewitt (19:05), Jarrett Dewelde (19:55), and Lefan He (20:28).
Masters 40s Women Go 1-2-3 at President's Cup | | | Cherylann, Anne, Prudence, and Cathy after the P-Cup |
In 2014, the masters women 40s team finished 4th at the USATF National XC Club Championships. In 2015, they were in a tight battle for first place all season long, ultimately settling for second. But some tough times hit in 2016, and they have carried into 2017. But alas, those tough times seem to turning around.
At the uber-competitive President's Cup, arguably the best race in New Jersey, the Black and Gold masters ladies swept the three podium spots. Anne Balfour was the top finisher, running a very solid 20:53. In her second race with the club, Cathy Mersereau was second in 21:14. Cherylann Dorsey, in full-blown triathlon season, was third in 21:54.
Watch for this speedy trio to take home several gold medals this coming fall as the top masters 40s women's team in New Jersey.
Izewski Wins & Drinks From the President's Cup The weather was far from ideal as rain, thunderstorms, and humidity kept many people away. But that didn't prevent Josh Izewski from bringing the heat, resulting in him drinking from the most coveted cup in New Jersey: The President's Cup.
This was his first race back from an early May injury sustained at Broad Street. Seven miles in, rolling with the lead pack, his nagging hip pain flared up to a point he needed to stop. After taking a few weeks off, he began slowly building back up, and this was his first test back.
Although far from his best or a club best on the course, Izewski coasted to an easy win in 15:16. The next three finishers were all his teammates: Rob Nihen (15:30), Steve Rathbun (15:59), and Sean Donohue (16:24).
Several other GSTC'ers also had strong races: Ryan Degregorio (17:39), Gary Leaman (17:51), Mark Minervini (18:25), Wesley Cole (18:48), Kevin Jang (19:29), and Charlie Groll (21:25).
| | Kate Ashley had a season of PRs and
also ran well at P-Cup |
The women finished 2-3-5-8, as Aimee Chegwidden (18:26), Alyssa Vassallo (18:35), Robyn Evangelist (19:02), and Kate Ashley (20:03) finished their season on a good note. Kaitlyn McTernan (20:30), Janissa Delzo (20:55), Kristen Prazenica (21:22), and Prudence Jones (36:19) also ran well and braved the weather.
GSTC President's Cup History 15:16 Josh Izewski 2017 (1st) 15:04 Steve Mennitt 2016 (2nd) 14:49 Kyle Price 2015 (1st) 14:50 Chris Johnson 2014 (1st) 15:08 Ken Goglas 2013 (1st) 15:02 Jeff Perrella 2012 (1st) 14:50 Jeff Perrella 2011 (1st)
Women's Team (and Jim) Celebrate Salge's Birthday at Hair of Dog 5k Women's co-captain Nicole Salge celebrated her birthday with her team at a 5k race, the Hair of the Dog 5k. Held at the Working Dog Winery, the ladies celebrated her special day with sweat, speed, and wine. And Jim.
Treating it more as a fun run than a race, the ladies in attendance were Jessica Redden (21:19), Nicole Salge (20:35), Cheyenne Goglas (21:35), Alyssa Douma (21:36), Kristen Prazenica (21:42), Brianne Teichmann (22:33), Erin Lacosta (23:28), Kristina Petillo (24:01), Shannon McKenna (24:03), and Megan Cafferty (24:03).
Funny enough, three GSTC men did join in on the fun as well, sweeping the top three spots: Kyle Price, James Codianni, and Ryan Degregorio.
Masters Men Rock Ridgewood The masters men continued their strong spring, mustering two silver medal finishes for the 40s and 50s teams. The 60s team finished 11th, just one place out of scoring.
Averaging 37:22 a man, Thom Knowles continued to lead the charge with a fine 35:45 finish. From there, a legion of 50s guys swept the next three spots: Gary Leaman (37:13), John Hendy (37:24), and Nick VanLangen (38:14). Rob Liberto, (38:16), Wesley Cole (38:38), and Matt Baker (40:03) rounded out the scoring.
The 50s team had a team average of 40:01 and consisted of Leaman, Hendy, VanLangen, Baker, and Peter Auteri (47:09).
The 60s team, just twenty-nine seconds from scoring a point, included Auteri, Jack Skydel (50:31), and John Bergacs (1:05:22).
The 40s team will have a small influx of former Rutgers teammates joining the fray this coming fall including Steve Geiger, Chuck Schneekloth, and Mike Spellman.
Team Victories at USATF-NJ 15k Team Championship The GSTC open men continued their six year undefeated streak in the USATF-NJ, sweeping the top two team spots at the Clinton Country Run 15k.
Perhaps the coolest thing about the race, except the free ice cream afterward, was just how close the two men's teams finished. The B Team had a 4:44:27.68 total time for the top five runners, whereas the A Team had a 4:44:28.38 total time. You have to admit- that's pretty crazy.
The victorious B Team enjoyed the 1-2 punch of Jon Sewnig (56:53, 2nd) and Alex Izewski (54:234th), while Josh Izewski (52:21, 1st) and Sean Donohue (54:15, 3rd) were the A Team frontrunners. | | | The Izewski Bros: Josh and Alex |
The open women experienced a perfect storm resulting in a second place finish. Between last minute cancelations and two women getting sick on the course, it was certainly not one of the team's finest moments. Aimee Chegwidden (60:36) and Adrienne Viola (67:05) were the team's top two finishers.
Masters Men Sweep; Picture Brings USATF-NJ Controversy Former Princeton teammates Thom Knowles (57:16) and Chris Sallade (57:32) were a great 1-2 punch for the 40s team, helping them finish atop the 40s results.
The 50s team also won handedly. Gary Leaman (58:11), Nick VanLangen (60:17), Yuki Negoro (64:53), Matt Baker (65:50), Karl Leitz (70:31), and Brian Harris (71:26) teamed up for the winning performance.
The 60s team grabbed 9th place, as Fran Beideman (81:56), Jack Skydel (83:37), and John Bergacs (103:37) were the three finishers.
But controversy soon began swirling around the above picture the GSTC published on Facebook. Running side by side with John Hogan, Knowles swerved around a slower 5k runner, as the 5k and 15k share the same final 400m and finish line, while Hogan slammed right into her.
Although the GSTC has long complained about the Indian Trails race which has an identical finishing set-up, it appears that, after a lengthy Facebook dialogue under this exact picture, the USATF-NJ is rallying around not having championship races with multiple races finishing at the same time. Thank goodness!
GSTC Goes 3-5-9 at Penn Relays Olympic Development 4x400 It gets harder and harder every year, but this year the GSTC Sprint Squad outperformed any prior one by putting three relays in the top ten at the Penn Relays Olympic Development 4x400 race.
It was also the first time the A and B 4x400 teams broke 3:20.
The A Team finishing third in 3:17.14 consisted of Tyrone Ross, Sadiki White, Charles Wulff, and Tom Sippie.
Degregorio Makes GSTC Social Media Post of the Year #tracklife #halfmiler
GSTC Hops in Hillsborough Steve Rathbun set a new course record at the Hillsborough Hop 5k. In town for the weekend, he rolled to a 15:30 with Kyle Price, playing the pacer, finished 2nd. Newcomer Sean Lynch finished 6th in 17:12, as 50 year old masters Nick VanLangen ran 18:08 for 12th. Jeff Donlon ran 19:49, and Mike Terruso shows off his 2nd place AG award for his 20:52 effort.
Amy Williams won the women's race in 19:18.
Open Men, Women Run the Table at 10k Championships The men's teams finished 1-2-3, and the women's teams went 1-4 at the Newport 10,000 in early May. The men's teams averaged 35:05, 35:31, an 35:51, while the women's teams averaged 40:27 and 44:46.
Rob Nihen (32:46) and Kyle Price (32:53) were the 1-2 punch for the top team, as was Aaron Leskow (31:28) and Evan Ward (32:53) for the second team, and Jon Sewnig (33:09) and Sean Donohue (33:46) for the third team. For the women, Aimee Chegwidden (37:44), Katie Govatos (38:00), Alyssa Douma (40:44), Jackie Lemme (42:43), and Christine Rabadan (43:03) teamed up for the win. Shannon McKenna (42:35) and Aya Leitz (42:54) lead the fourth place team.
GSTC Volunteers at NJ Marathon For the fourth straight year, the GSTC volunteered at the NJ Marathon, doing baggage for the 10,000 runners of the marathon and half marathon.
The streak of "never losing a bag" was in serious jeopardy for most of the day. A woman hovered over the group for hours as we couldn't find her bag, and she went home empty handed. Crazy enough, she learned later that some dude from North Carolina took her bag by accident, never checked its contents, and drove all the way home. Phew.
Cox Wins Wild HM Marquis Cox won the Wild Half down in Wildwood in late April, making for a great picture! He ran 1:23:45, while teammate John Montgomery was the top masters runner in 1:28:59.
Price Just Misses Half Marathon World Record in Suit Yes, there is a world record for fastest half marathon run in a suit, and yes, Kyle Price has now run the second fastest time in human history. He averaged 5:31/mile, and had friends Charlie Groll and Brendan Conway ride bikes beside him, taking pictures every mile as per the world record rules.
And yes, it feels like this Guinness World Book of Records created this record just for Kyle Price. Hopefully he'll break it next year!
Big PRs at New Jersey Marathon While some team members worked the baggage, others worked the streets of the NJ Marathon.
| | | Forlenza and Mckenna after the race. |
Four ladies did a great job, as Sarah Schillaci (3:09:00), Jessica Redden (3:22:12), Shannon McKenna (3:22:24), and Jen Sapienza (3:24:11) finished 6th, 23rd, 24th, and 32nd, respectively. Ted Doyle was 8th in 2:40:46.
McKenna, shown above with Sapienza, ran a twelve minute personal best!
In the half marathon, Rob Nihen finished 6th in 74:47, and John Hendy was 15th in 81:20. Hendy is 56 years old and averaged 6:13 pace!
On the women's side, Erika Meling was 4th (88:12), Suzanne Forlenza was 6th (89:59), and Jackie Lemme was 15th (90:56).
Tracksters End Season With Big Races As Edsel, Mike, and Steve suggest here at the Swarthmore Last Chance Invite, the GSTC tracksters ended the season with many PRs and solid performances.
The last several four meets with the TCNJ Lion Invite, Swarthmore Last Chance, Garden State Twilight, and the Ursinus Last Chance.
You're going to have to just trust this group of 25-30 athletes had a great season, as I just don't have the time to painstakingly tell you all about it. If you have any doubt, just look at this above picture. Smiles, thumbs up, and hang loose. Enough said.
Aya Arrives to Race in New Wheels
Ross to Make Masters Debut at 2017 USATF Masters Championships Since turning 35, we've all wondered when the ageless wonder, Tyross Ross, will decide to compete in a USATF Masters Track and Field Championships.
Well, his debut will be this year, as he is set to compete in the 400m and 200m in the 35-39 division down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. With an all-time best of 45.93, his season best--at age 38--is 48.11.
Tyrone is pictured, above, running on the GSTC's 4x400 A Team 4x400 at Penn Relays...for the seventh straight year.
As a sophomore in high school, Tyrone split 48.4 on Metuchen's 4x400 that finished 3rd in New Jersey in 3:16.65. The lead-off runner, two full seconds slower, was GSTC president Chuck Schneekloth.
Evangelist Ruins A Perfectly Good Picture at GSTC Practice She actually really had to jump perfectly for this, so props to her!
Four GSTC Youth Qualify for AAU Regional The GSTC Youth Team have competed in eleven meets this spring, and four have qualified for the AAU Regional Championships. This includes Varan (200, 400, 800), Madison (400), Aanya (200, 400, 800), and Justin (100).
GSTC at Broad Street! Several GSTC'ers took to the streets of Philly for the always fun Broad Street 10 Miler. Nick Crits was the club's top finisher in 52:55 (right), while Alex Izewski (27th, 53:18), Adin Mickle (56:48), and Tom Visicaro (59:23, left) all ran great races under sixty minutes.
On the women's side, Tess Gallegos and Corinne Manela finished 32nd and 33rd, running 63:19 and 63:33, respectively.
Rathbun, and All His Hair, Returns to Jersey After spending a few months in Seattle for work, Goldie Locks Rathbun missed New Jersey and his teammates. We welcome him back with open arms, as he'll he joining the Jersey City Enclave come July 1st!
New Jersey Throwing Legend Nick Vena Joins GSTC Although we typically don't mention the all-star tracksters that join the club in the team email, we were just so excited about this one...we just couldn't resist.
Nick Vena is one of NJ's all-time greatest track athletes, and he very recently signed with the GSTC. Among many other goals, this is one major one of the club: to support New Jersey stars like him.
Vena was a perfect 8 for 8 at the Meet of Champions, won 4 National Scholastic Indoor titles, 4 Penn Relays titles, threw a U.S. high school record 96 throws over 70 feet, and set the state indoor (71-9 1/2) and state outdoor (75-10 1/4) records. He also holds the American shot put records for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors!
While at Virginia and Georgia, he was a five-time All American. Now, he is a middle school teacher in the Morristown area while training to be one of America's best throwers.
If you don't believe us, read this article here. As it's very hard to include all his accolades and do his career justice, we are honored to have Nick on the club!
Leitzes, Dewelde Shine at Superhero Jarrett Dewelde continued a great season, as he PR'ed in the Superhero Half Marathon with a 1:33:05. Teammate Tyler McDevitt was 5th overall in 84:40, and as for Aya (1:35:19) and Karl Leitz (1:57:50): the above picture from the race says it all.
Other fine times were posted by Jessica Byrne (1:38:36), Sheera Siegel (1:38:37), and Anne Balfour (1:39:31).
Three Compete at USAs Twelve GSTC'ers competed last year in the Olympic Trials, and this year's US Championships in Sacramento just didn't have the same prestige. Regardless, three club members qualified and competed at the 2017 USA Outdoor Championships.
Amina Smith, who was 4th last year, was 6th in the high jump in 1.85m. Jessie Gaines, who was 2nd in the Indoor US Championships, was 9th in the long jump in 6.41m (21-0), just missing the final by one spot and 1.5 inches. And Miki Barber, after a fantastic spring season, including running 49.9 on the winning sprint medley relay at Penn Relay's "USA vs The World" was disqualified in the 400m.
Several Win at Club Nationals Last year, the GSTC won the men's title, women's title, and combined title at the USATF Club National Championships.
Months later, in explicit response to this big day for the GSTC, two rival clubs pushed through a change in a long-standing rule that allowed all athletes on state borders to compete for clubs within that state. So, the GSTC will no longer make this a focus event.
That said, several GSTC'ers performed well at the event. Shanice Grant and Jessie Gaines (above) went 1-2 in the high hurdles (13.24 and 13.42), Mariah Toussaint won the high jump (1.70m), Gaines, Toussaint, and Raquel Jones went 1-2-4 in the long jump, Odrine Belot won the triple jump (12.56m), Kashef Daniel won the high jump, Peter Roach won the pole vault, and Shane Green won the triple jump.
Mooney Medals in Javelin Lee Mooney won the javelin in 101-4 at the USATF-NJ Masters Track and Field Championships.
Z-Mart Graduates Ohio State...
...Flashes Number of Job Offers Since Graduation
Club's Creepy Van Keeps Getting Creepier
Facebook Action: Morgan Gets Unnoticed Haircut & Is Hacked by Vietnam
Facebook Action: Anis Finds Long-Lost Water Bottle You are no longer uninformed.
If All We Had Were Karl and Aya Leitz, the Team Email Would Do Just Fine
Govatos Drops a BIG PR Katie Govatos ran a huge marathon PR weeks ago, dropping a 3:08:46 in the Run for Red Marathon. She won her age group, and is pictured above showing it off!
Chuck Just Can't Remember So I've had this picture in my phone for weeks. I can't remember what race it is, and I just don't have the time to find out. But appears that things went well for Gary Leaman (middle) and Charlie Groll (right). Way to go guys!
Chefitz Running With Nice Hair Okay, really he is finishing 7th in the Highland Park 5k with a fine time of 17:44. The closer you look at this picture, the more you can't help but wonder: what looks better, his hair or his quads?
Sorry If We Missed You! The team email works best when members send us results and pictures in GSTC gear. Otherwise, we just have to cobble things together through Facebook, Compuscore, secrets, rumors, and the Pony Express.
We know this doesn't capture half of the awesome things our members do. But help us out and email us information the day it all happens!
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