The Official Blog of the GSTC: June 2015

THE WEEKLY EMAIL

It's been a while...club HQ has been a little busy

For the fourth year in a row, the adidas GSTC hosted the College Ave Mile. For the second year in a row, it was the USATF-NJ One Mile Road Championships. Thanks to another dominating team performance, the aGSTC has built a strong lead in the USATF-NJ Grand Prix moving into the summer break.

1. adidas Garden State Track Club (334 points)

2. Clifton Road Runners (177)

3. Garmin Runners (167)

4. North Jersey Masters (142)

5. Raritan Valley Road Runners (137)

6. Shore Athletic Club (128)

7. Do Run Runners (104)

8. Central Jersey Road Runners (27)

9. Pearl Izumi (22)

10. Breakneck Track Club (17)

11. Rose City Runners (14)

12. Geezers (14)

13. Morris County Striders (10)

14. Essex Road Runners (5)

15. TMB Racing (3)

Neyhart Wins

College Ave Mile

Neyhart breaks the tape in his historic win on College Avenue

After requesting the day off months in advance, he was in limbo just two days prior to the race. United Airlines has him scheduled to work the night shift, and he was desperately trying to find someone to switch his schedule.

What a difference one phone call makes.

After a pedestrian opening lap of 2:16, Josh Neyhart pushed into fifth gear, dropping a 2:04 final circuit to crush the field at the 4th annual College Ave Mile, the USATF-NJ One Mile Road Championships. His 4:21.76 was the third fastest time ever recorded on the spectator-friendly course, known for its tight turns and scenic finish. Chris Johnson, in 2014, still holds the course record with his 4:20.90.

Kevin D'Emic, the Manhattan grad making his club debut on the road, stayed with Neyhart for much of the race--but ultimately couldn't cover his final push; he finished 2nd in 4:24. Kyle Price won the battle for the final podium spot, as he mohawked Youssef Rochdi at the line: 4:28.32-4:28.54.

D'Emic, Neyhart, and Price on the awards podium after their race

As expected, the adidas GSTC open men dominated the event, finishing teams 1-7, 9, and 10. The top seven teams had five-man averages of 4:41, 4:42, 4:43, 4:46, 4:48, 4:48, and 5:08, as many of the club tracksters swapped their spikes for flats in the season-finale event.

The aGSTC put 23 in the top 24 finishers, as Tyler Corkedale (4:30), David Fett (4:33), James Rivers (4:33), Matt Eder (4:34), Ted Doyle (4:35), and Brendon Confer (4:37) rounded out the top ten for the club.

Women Go 1-2-3-4

Evangelist finished 3rd overall in the women's elite mile

The ladies of the adidas Garden State Track Club closed out their spring road season in style, as they swept the top four team spots at the College Ave Mile. The top ten, however, was quite competitive. Esther Erb, the 2014 USA Marathon Champion, won the event, and three out-of-state athletes were in the mix as well, resulting in the club putting just five in the top ten.

Robyn Evangelist was the team's top finisher with a 5:09 effort--good for 3rd overall. Others in the top ten were Alyssa Douma

(5:14), Chelsea Callan (5:15), Cheyenne Ogletree (5:20), and Nicole Salge (5:22).

The club's top four teams had a five-woman average of 5:38, 5:40, 5:43, and 5:42. They also added a 6th place team that averaged 6:28.

Lisa Jones winning the Emerging Elite race

The winning team consisted of Ogletree, Salge, Meghan Bruce (5:31), Christina Chafos (5:49), and Sarah Hersey (6:11). Lisa Jones, above, won the Emerging Elite race in 5:30.31.

Sallade Wins M40s

Much like last year, the aGSTC's Chris Sallade battled Mark Williams stride for stride in the men's 40s mile. But unlike last year, Sallade was the one hitting the finish line tape this year.

The former Princeton University standout didn't pull away until the final straightaway, stopping the clock in 4:42.72, besting Williams' 4:43.29 effort.

His effort boosted the masters team to 2nd overall, as the top five averaged 5:16.02.

Newly minted masters Chris Weiss

was the team's #2 man (5:11), as Justin Feil (5:20), Ken Huryk (5:29), and Steve Warren (5:35) rounded out the scoring five. Nick Van Langen, who's had a banner spring, was the #6 man in 5:39.

The 40s B Team finished a surprising 4th overall, as Yuki Negoro (5:35) was the team's top man. Brian Harris, Matt Baker, Karl Leitz, and Franklin Reed

filled in the other scoring spots, as Beach Captain Josue Gonzalez was the 6th man.

The 50s team, thanks to front-running Negoro, were fourth overall. Harris (5:38), Matt Baker (5:40), Reed (6:31), and John Bergacs (9:00) chipped in for the team finish.

W40s Win

The masters 40s women, despite not having any of the three athletes who helped them finish 3rd in America at last year's USA Club National XC Championships, won the USATF-NJ One Mile Road Team Championship.

The trio averaged 6:25.19, enough to squeak out the team gold over Clifton, who averaged 6:29. Sandi Kaspszyk was the group's top finisher, as the 49 year old rolled in at 6:05. Sarah Hersey, shown above with Sandi at the 800m mark, finished second with a huge PR of 6:11. Newcomer Lucinda Warren rounded out the team's scoring three with a 6:58.

The B Team of Pat Butcher (6:45) and Jenny Poherence (7:03) would have easily finished in the top five, but their third runner didn't finish due to injury.

The C Team of Stephanie Edwards (7:58), Prudence Jones (8:23), and Lori-Ann Woodard (8:41) finished 9th.

All results can be found here.

"Weekly Email"

On May 16, 2011, the first weekly email was recorded on the aGSTC Blog. For four straight years, or 208 weeks, there was a weekly written that summarized the team's past results, welcomed new and old members, and explained upcoming events. Let's face it. It's easily one of the top five spam emails you get all week long.

However, that streak came to a screeching halt weeks ago. Between preparing for the adidas Grand Prix Youth Qualifier Track Meet, adidas Garden State Twilight, College Ave Mile, the USA National Championships, and the adidas Grand Prix at Icahn Stadium, whereas we bring 110+ volunteers every year...the aGSTC headquarters have never been so busy. Truly.

We deeply apologize to the thousands of people who, every week, have been scratching their head wondering what to do on the toilet without the weekly email to keep them occupied.

We are excited to start our next four-year streak today,

CAM 2013:

A Look Back

The Elite Masters Men are off

Kyle Price wins the first annual Andrew Capizzi Elite Men's Mile

The New Brunswick police look on in awe of whatever is happening here during the relay

The women's race begins

aGSTC PLAYS HOST TO TWO BIG EVENTS

1:

Olympic Medalist

Lalonde Gordan

Highlights

adidas Garden State Twilight Open

After four years of being a track club, the adidas Garden State Track Club finally hosted a track meet. After the youth meet went from 12-5, the adults rolled into town for the "adidas Garden State Twilight Open." The meet went from 6pm to 10pm, as athletes from all over the eastern seaboard flooded Highland Park HS.

The biggest name to compete was 2012 Olympian Lalonde Gordan, who won a bronze medal in the 400m for Trinidad and Tobago. He scorched the 200m in a time of 20.93, holding back World Championship competitors George Winstom (21.14), Joel Redhead (21.55), and Akheem Gauntlett (21.60).

Gordon, right, with his Olympic bronze

Various other national caliber athletes won their events, including Monique Morgan in the high hurdles (12.97), Dennis Long in the 100m (10.76), Derek Holdsworth in the 800m (1:49.90), Cabell Willis in the 1500m (3:53.94), Ada Udaya in the 200m (23.76), and Breanna Norman in the 100m (11.78).

For GSTC results, see below!

2:

Twelve Youth Teams at

aGP NJ Youth Qualifier

For the first time in New Jersey, the state held an "adidas Grand Prix NJ Youth Qualifier," and the adidas Garden State Track Club played host.

On May 30th, twelve youth teams congregated to Highland Park High School with hopes to qualify in the 4x100, 4x400, one mile, or 100 meters. Athletes came from Florida, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to compete in the event.

From the meet clerk, announcer, and meet management, aGSTC members staffed and organized the meet. Below, Ezra Chefitz and Ricky Garcia hold the finish line tape for the 10-11 year old mile winner. Combined with the adult meet, the club raised $700.

Based on the success of this idea pushed by the club, next year Global Athletics and adidas plan to extend their youth qualifier series, having one in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.

While the kids and coaches loved the day of racing, it wasn't easy on the club and its volunteers to spend the entire day at the track. Kyle Mahoney, who announced both track meets, checked-in to the local emergency room following the race, claiming "I'm gonna go crazy if Chuck gives me any more instructions today!" We later found out he actually just stubbed his toe and didn't have money for a hotel room that night.

Kyle's

Korner Deli

by Kyle Price

Kyle's Korner is a segment of the Club's weekly email that will focus on reacquainting you with a different current club member each week. We will catch you up on how they are doing with regards to their training, their lives, and other general nonsense. This segment intends to be informative and educational while attempting humor in a purely inoffensive way. Mostly.

This week we spoke to the handsome Jack Lewis. Actually it was a few weeks ago but Chuck has been a little busy with College Ave and Grand Prix dealings. But so was Jack! Though he is a regular a Highland Park sprinting practices, he is no stranger to distance running. A real life Jack of All Trades!

Kyle: Hello Jack! Thank you for joining us.

Mr. Lewis: Thanks for having me Kyle!

Kyle: So what brought you to the Black and Gold Army?

Mr. Lewis: It was actually our excellent recruiting process haha, I was just browsing the involvement fare and Erin called me over. It ended up being the only club I stuck with.

Kyle: It was the snazzy car magnets wasn't it?

Mr. Lewis: Oh absolutely, caught my eye from across the room! Also the fact that I would've drown if I stuck with the triathlon club helped.

Kyle: Yes I'm only a fan of 1/3 of that event. Did you run in highschool?

Mr. Lewis: Yeah I ran all four years and even did cross country for two years. I missed most of my junior year because of an avulsion fracture in my hip though, it was awful.

Kyle: That injury sounds just lovely. Cross though huh? Have you thought about stepping up to half mile Mike group and being a distance hybrid like Mark and Jaris?

Mr. Lewis: It's definitely crossed my mind, that was freshman and sophomore year though so not too seriously. I respect the guys in the 8 just on the race itself let alone the workouts they get in so it's something I would be proud to be able to do. I think I enjoy sprinting too much right now but I am doing the college ave mile and relay this year so maybe it'll go well and I'll have a reason to move up.

Kyle: It is a beast of a race. But college ave is a great event! Good place to try a longer event.

Mr. Lewis: Yeah the distance guys will laugh but I'm trying the hit below 5:30. I have no idea what to expect but I'm excited to see what happens, I'll definitely have to get a trial run in after this twilight meet if anyone wants to pace me!

Kyle: Hey it's all for fun anyway. But I'm sure you can find some help.

Mr. Lewis: Yeah I like when we do the fun races, makes for a good time to experiment.

Kyle: That's what college is all about!

So speaking of college, what are you studying?

Mr. Lewis: I'm majoring in exercise science and motoring in nutrition at Rutgers, I'm just getting into major courses now and I'm loving it

Kyle: That certainly goes hand in hand with your athletic hobby. You could become the club personal trainer.

Mr. Lewis: That's exactly what the plan is. I'm studying this summer to get certified with ACSM, I should be done before school starts back up.

Kyle: Sounds perfect!

RANDOM QUESTION!

Since all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, what other sports do you play and would you do them instead of track if you were better at them?

Mr. Lewis: Haha good question! I row and rock climb when I can, Rutgers has a nice rock wall and my dad is big into rowing so I get a chance to go with him when I go home. I actually have some pretty awful blisters from it right now so hopefully there's no baton work in the plan.

Kyle: Huge upper body workout hobbies there. Love me some rock climbing though.

Mr. Lewis: Yeah it's fun, it actually made me want to pull vault when I was doing it more often but I decided to focus on the 400.

Kyle: Hey you could always branch out! Well that's all the time we have this week. Thank you for speaking with us.

Mr. Lewis: Of course! Thanks for having me.

Kyle: Tune in next week to see who we interview!

aGSTC Bring

110 Volunteers to aGP

Some club volunteers pose at the water jump at Icahn Stadium while cleaning up

For yet another year, the club brought over over one hundred volunteers to help the adidas Grand Prix be one of the finest track meets on Earth. Club members received free adidas shoes, a shirt, and hat to work various jobs the included ticket sales, drug testing, athlete herders, TV/radio support, transponder chip removal from athletes, jumps and throws support, field event data recorders, ice/water handlers, and VIP support. Providing these volunteers is a big part of the contract between the GSTC and adidas, the primary sponsor of the event.

Any member in good standing is allowed to sign up for a volunteering spot.

Mark Parisen,a screenshot from national TV, provides information to TV commentators before the women's 1,000m. He seems to be very happy with his current view.

Matt Eder, sitting high on top of the stadium, inputted all results into the meet website. He will never be this important again.

A line of GSTC'ers await professional athletes to take their transponders after their races.

Running Podcast

The Mile Mark

by Matt Dahl

Matt Dahl, a former standout at Rider, has started a podcast series for runners, about runners, by a runner. He interviews a nice diverse group of folks, and it's interesting to here Check it out!

SoundCloud- https://soundcloud.com/themilemark

Stitcher- http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-mile-mark?refid=stpr

iTunes- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mile-mark/id985852316

This Week's Team Event

Lager Run
Sunday @ Glen Ridge High School

Weeks of Results

4x400 Outleaned for Gold at aGP

In a sport of milliseconds, they were just .03 away from winning, and .02 from a club record. Regardless, what a show they put on at Icahn Stadium in the final event of the adidas Grand Prix.

The relay of Will Taylor (47.7), Mark Williamson (46.9), George Erazo (48.7) and Javier Montalvo (48.4) lead wire-to-wire, until the final straightaway. Anchor Montalvo battled back and forth, stride for stride, bringing the entire crowd to a roar as they both finished seemingly in a dead-heat tie. Taylor ran a magnificent lead-off, pushing hard the final 50m to go from 3rd to 1st. Williamson, alone, opened up the lead, as did Erazo. But Montalvo was in a tough spot- alone in the front- and responded well to the move. It ranks as the #2 time in club history.

The B Team recorded the club's fastest ever B Team time of 3:20.38. Derrhyl Duncan (49.6), Ish Robbins (50.1), Pierre Checo (50.3), and Mark Parisen (50.2) finished 6th overall, as the hard-charging Parisen passed one team and almost a second in his final 50m on the anchor.

Watch the race here!

Women 4x400 Finish 4th

The ladies ran a very solid 4x400, as their 3:50.55 is the third fastest ever run in club history. Haisha Bisolu, Jordan Conversion, Sam Anderson, and Dynique Moore teamed up to finish 4th in the race.

Watch the women's race here.

Lowry Breaks 1500m CR

Dylan Lowry, in one of his final races of the season, shattered the club's long-standing 1500m club record. Finishing 5th at the New Balance Boston Twilight Meet, he ran 3:50.58. The old record was 3:50.90 from 2012.

Two weeks prior, Lowry ran 4:15.39 at the Middletown Classic Road Mile, the second fastest ever run in club history.

Ridgewood Run: M40s Go 3-5

The masters men competed in the USATF-NJ 10k team championships on Memorial Day weekend, and the men's 40s teams had a great day, finishing 3rd and 5th in the always-competitive team standings.

Chris Sallade, left, was the team's top finisher in 35:04, good for 3rd overall masters runner. Nick Van Langen continued his excellent season with a 37:22 performance as the #2 man. Justin Feil was 3rd in 37:23, Yuki Negoro 4th in 40:59, Kenny Huryk 5th in 41:05, and Karl Leitz was the safety man in 42:14. The group beat Do Run Runners for 3rd place by just five total seconds--one 1 second a man!

In his first race as a masters athlete, Chris Weiss turned heads with an impressive 38:29 to be the first man on the B Team. Steve Warren also ran impressively, as he dipped under 39:00 with a 38:57.

Parker Qualifies for NYC

Weeks ago, masters runner Will Parker ran 87:46 to qualify for the NYC Marathon at the Brooklyn Half. He just barely did, as he needed an 88:00 to get in!

Rochdi Wins Roxbury 5k

Youssef Rochdi won the Roxbury 5k under wet, windy conditions, rolling to a 15:40 victory. Other finishers were Mark Minervini (6th, 17:49), Will Parker (13th, 18:50), Karen Auteri (19th, 19:35), and Ingrid Garofalo (54th, 22:04).

adidas Garden State Twilight Meet

Britt Howell wins her 100HH heat.

Numerous athletes had great days at the adidas GS Twilight Meet. On the women's side, Racquel Vassell won the 100m (12.06) and was second in the 100 hurdles (13.61). Celina Emerson won a hot 400m in 54.19, while Courtney Schofield (18:12.20) won the 5k. Alyssa Douma (2:20.78) was the top club finisher in the 800, as she grabbed third ahead of Nicole Salge and Erin LaCosta (2:20.78). Alica Ross added a fifth place finish in the 200m (25.83).

Emerson wins the 400m

In the jumps, Jessie Gaines and Christina Epps used the meet as a tune-up for USAs in a few weeks. Gaines won the long jump in 6.33m, and Epps, currently ranked #3 in the USA, dominated the triple jump with a 13.25m performance. Jalilissa Marcus added a 6th in the long jump (5.10m), and Shene Davis snagged the silver in the triple (12.04m).

Gaines wins the long jump

Brittney Howell had a busy day, as the Penn State alum finished 4th in the 100 hurdles (14.30) and third in the long jump (5.83m).

On the men's side, winners included Kyle Price in the 5,000m (14:58), Carlton Lavong in the triple (15.54m) and long jump (7.32m), and Yakibu Ibrahim (14.82) in the high hurdles.

Other top finishers were Cyrus Wesley in the 200m (3rd, 21.89), Javier Montalvo in the 400 (3rd, 49.33), Dylan Lowry in the 800 (3rd, 1:52.45), Kevin D'Emic in the 1500 (3rd, 4:00.11), Tim Seeley in the 3,000m (2nd, 9:05.63), and Joe Caraciolo in the triple jump (2nd, 7.11m).

Rochdi Wins Stomp

In his final two weeks of the spring racing season, Youssef Rochdi racked up the wins and prize money. One day after College Ave Mile, he won the Stomp the Monster 5k in 15:14. Teammate Josh Neyhart was a few steps behind in 15:17.

Chelsea Callan had a great race, finishing 13th overall in 18:32, while teammate Christina Chafos inched closer toward cracking 20:00, as she ran 20:15. Nicole Salge slipped into the race selfie, above, simply because she worked the event. Womp womp.

Callan, Mennitt, Neyhart Win Cash Money

at Our House 5 Miler

Chelsea Callan won the Our House 5 Miler, and $250 of prize money, as she cruised in with a 32:34. This ranks as the 8th all-time performance in club history.

Steve Mennitt finished second at the Our House 5 Miler, bringing in $200 and the second fastest time for that distance in club history with his 25:51. Josh Neyhart was fourth in 27:02, pocketing him $100.

Leitz Duo Compete at Fenton 5k

Aya Leitz won the Matt Fenton Memorial 5k in 20:06, as husband Karl was just behind her in 20:11, good for 4th in his age group.

Auteris 2nd in Father/Daughter

After six straight years of winning the father-daughter division of the George Sheehan Classic, the Auteri reign has come to a sad end. Although they were dethroned as defending champions, they did finish second overall as Karen was 4th female (19:55) and Peter was second in his age group in 22:28.

Trachsel Wins Yai 5k

Locky Trachsel, the #2 runner on the STC masters team that finished 3rd in America last December, won the Yai 5k in NYC in 19:44.18.

A Message from the President

If you participate in a race, fast or slow, email us the results and pictures. We wanna know!

2015 adidas GSTC

Spring Racing Schedule

June 28 Lager Run Masters Women

2015 adidas aGSTC

Spring Track Schedule

DONE!

It's time to pay your 2015 Team Dues.

The club has many operating expenses that depend on membership dues.

Renew your aGSTC Membership here!

Check your enclave Facebook pages for enclave group runs.

The team has two under-the-lights track practices at Highland Park HS: Monday and Wednesday (5:30pm). We also train Saturday mornings at 10:00am at the same location. All are welcome....come do your workout!

Peter's Puzzler

***NEW FORMAT***

From now on, there is no need to email your answers to me. Each week, a new Puzzler will be presented along with a link to the solution. No more puzzler winners, no more delayed gratification.

Answer to last week's Ken's Conundrum:

Take away my first letter, and I still sound the same. Take away my last letter, I still sound the same. Even take away my letter in the middle, I will still sound the same. I am a five letter word.

Answer: EMPTY. Winner: Nicola Hallenborg

Honorable Mentions: AISLE, APPLE

Editor's Note: That was more of a riddle than a puzzler. Ken, you're fired!

The New Puzzler: This one's a classic.

You are given two ropes and a lighter. Each of the two ropes has the following property: if you light one end of the rope, it will take exactly one hour to burn to the other end. It doesn't necessarily burn at a uniform rate. How can you measure a period of 45 minutes?

See the solution here.

Anis Angle

"An apple a day keeps me away from myself." -Dr. Mike Anis, RN

aGSTC Runs

The spring racing season is over, so most flks will be taking 1-2 weeks off from running. By July 1, check your regional enclave FB pages for summer runs starting up!

Pictures of the Week

Mark Parisen, left, does a stride with the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, in the blue at the adidas Grand Prix.

After the meet, some club members pose with Mary Cain at the adidas Grand Prix.

Steady Striders

Do you run 9-12 minute mile pace on your runs?

Come join the aGSTC Steady Striders! They have their own Facebook Group Page, coach, and group runs. Email gardenstatetrackclub@gmail.com and we will introduce you to our two co-captains, Amy and Erika.

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adidas Garden State Track Club | 944 Herman Road | North Brunswick | NJ | 08902