TI Track and Field Team
Captures 6th Straight National Corporate Cup Championship
Sweatin’
In San Ramon
As most of you know we were quite depleted this year due to
a variety of factors. We normally carry around 55 athletes to the
national meet, but could only get 48 on the plane this year, including 11
rookies. It took everything we had last year to pull off the
“Miracle in
Women’s 5K Team Race – 2nd place
We had 3 aces in age groups, but needed a 4th to
capture first overall. Pam Fales, Mary Salter, and Mary Kennard (set new
AG 65-69 record at 23:47) won their age groups as predicted and Lisa Wesneski
and Vonnie Howard both ran well but met some tough competition. We
took 2nd.
|
2005 Event |
Fin/ Pre |
Day/Time |
05Goal |
05Result |
05Place/ WAVA |
Dist |
Sex |
05 Age |
05 Name |
|
|
Women's
5K (30-34) |
Final |
Sat
7:00 |
22:50 |
23:27 |
2 / 61.4 |
5K |
F |
31 |
Wesneski, Lisa |
|
|
Women's
5K (40-44) |
Final |
Sat
7:00 |
23:20 |
23:20 |
2 / 66.4 |
5K |
F |
43 |
Howard,
Vonnie |
|
|
Women's
5K (45-49) |
Final |
Sat
7:00 |
21:30 |
21:08 |
1 / 74.6 |
5K |
F |
45 |
Fales, Pam |
|
|
Women's
5K (45-49) |
Final |
Sat
7:00 |
23:45 |
23:50 |
2 / 68.5 |
5K |
F |
49 |
Sulser, Dianna |
|
|
Women's
5K (60-64) |
Final |
Sat
7:00 |
28:45 |
28:59 |
1 / 65.1 |
5K |
F |
63 |
Salter,
Mary |
|
|
Women's
5K (65-69) |
Final |
Sat
7:00 |
24:15 |
24:37 |
1 / 79.5 |
5K |
F |
66 |
Kennard,
Mary |
|
|
Total-Women's
5K |
|
|
|
5 pts |
2nd |
|
|
|
|
|
Men’s 5K Team Race – 1st place
I hadn’t even seen Scott Steffen this year until we
showed up at the airport but was I glad to see him flying across the finish
line well under my predicted time. I gambled by tossing Brian Scmidt and
rookie Ken Heap in the road race, hoping one of the
two would win their AG – Brian did. It turned out Stealthy
Scott was the final piece of the puzzle and allowed us to take (5) 1st
place AG finishes. JJ Jenkins, Trevor Ward, and Rio King all ran
superb races to round out the 5 1st place
AG slots.
|
Men's
5K (30-34) |
Final |
Sat
7:30 |
18:45 |
18:27 |
3 / 70.3 |
5K |
M |
34 |
Heap,
Ken |
|
Men's
5K (35-39) |
Final |
Sat
7:30 |
17:00 |
17:43 |
1 / 73.2 |
5K |
M |
36 |
Schmidt,
Brian |
|
Men's
5K (40-44) |
Final |
Sat
7:30 |
18:30 |
17:49 |
1 / 77.2 |
5K |
M |
43 |
Steffen,
Scott |
|
Men's
5K (45-49) |
Final |
Sat
7:30 |
18:30 |
19:02 |
2 / 74.5 |
5K |
M |
47 |
Drumm, Jim |
|
Men's
5K (50-54) |
Final |
Sat
7:30 |
18:30 |
19:21 |
1 / 76.9 |
5K |
M |
53 |
Jenkins,
JJ |
|
Men's
5K (55-59) |
Final |
Sat
7:30 |
19:45 |
19:43 |
1 / 76.8 |
5K |
M |
55 |
Ward,
Trevor |
|
Men's
5K (60-64) |
Final |
Sat
7:30 |
21:30 |
21:35 |
1 / 75.6 |
5K |
M |
63 |
King,
|
|
Total-Men's
5K |
|
|
|
5 pts |
1st |
|
|
|
|
After the 5K, most of Saturday is devoted to qualifying
prelim races. Everyone ran well (except for a few slightly overzealous
prelims runners who shall remain nameless) and the handoffs were very
nice. The temperature was a blazing 104 degrees, making for some tough
running conditions. There were 3 finals held on Saturday:
Submaster Distance Relay – 2nd place
We loaded up a very good team and they were in control until
the final leg. That’s when UNUM’s anchor turned in a 4:20
mile leg to win it. Luke Luo, however, provided some highlight
footage. In the final 60m of the mile the BAH runner appeared to pass Luke,
but at 30m to go Luke turned on a sprinter kick and raced back ahead for the
silver.
|
SubMaster Dist Relay |
Final |
Sat
10:20 |
02:05.0 |
02:07.1 |
|
800 |
M |
30 |
Money,
Steve |
|
SubMaster Dist Relay |
Final |
Sat
10:20 |
01:08.0 |
01:05.1 |
|
400 |
F |
30 |
Michalak, Beth |
|
SubMaster Dist Relay |
Final |
Sat
10:20 |
03:36.0 |
03:39.5 |
|
1200 |
M |
35 |
Schmidt,
Brian |
|
SubMaster Dist Relay |
Final |
Sat
10:20 |
04:41.0 |
04:42.6 |
|
1600 |
M |
35 |
Luo, Luke |
|
Total-SubMaster Dist |
|
|
11:30.0 |
11:34.3 |
2nd |
|
|
|
|
Executive Relay – 1st place
We had a good team here too and they won quite handily
allowing Steve Money to just cruise the mile anchor. I had pulled Brian
out of this because he already ran a 5K and Sub Dist race. Unfortunately
he would have cruised to an easy gold medal. Way to take one for the team
Brian! Vonnie finally figured out how to run the 800m evenly and rookie
Todd Fortenberry tuned in a very nice 400m leg. Dennis Wade stretched it
out and the race was ours.
|
Executive
Relay |
Final |
Sat
11:20 |
02:53.0 |
02:51.4 |
|
800 |
F |
30 |
Howard,
Vonnie |
|
Executive
Relay |
Final |
Sat
11:20 |
00:59.0 |
00:57.4 |
|
400 |
M |
30 |
Fortenberry, Todd |
|
Executive
Relay |
Final |
Sat
11:20 |
02:23.0 |
02:29.3 |
|
800 |
M |
30 |
Wade,
Dennis |
|
Executive
Relay |
Final |
Sat
11:20 |
05:05.0 |
05:24.6 |
|
1600 |
M |
30 |
Money,
Steve |
|
Total-Executive
Relay |
|
|
11:20.0 |
11:42.7 |
1st |
|
|
|
|
Distance Relay – 2nd place
This is a LONG event. Though every leg but one is an
open age, we ran runners ages 45, 47, 42, 48, and 52. And we still
took 2nd place! I’m beginning to think that youth
is wasted on the young.
|
Distance
Relay |
Final |
Sat
12:25 |
06:10.0 |
06:18.9 |
|
1600 |
F |
Open |
Fales, Pam |
|
Distance
Relay |
Final |
Sat
12:25 |
02:19.0 |
02:17.0 |
|
800 |
M |
Open |
Johnson,
Mark |
|
Distance
Relay |
Final |
Sat
12:25 |
05:16.0 |
05:24.5 |
|
1600 |
M |
40 |
Tolbert,
Danny |
|
Distance
Relay |
Final |
Sat
12:25 |
05:15.0 |
05:34.8 |
|
1600 |
M |
Open |
Wade,
Dennis |
|
Distance
Relay |
Final |
Sat
12:25 |
10:49.0 |
11:00.9 |
|
3200 |
M |
Open |
Hull,
Chuck |
|
Total-Distance
Relay |
|
|
29:49.0 |
30:36.1 |
2nd |
|
|
|
|
We survived the broiling heat and by Saturday night we were
in decent shape. We shifted a few runners around to maximize our chances
of winning the title and headed to bed to prepare for Sunday.
Women’s 10K – 1st place
Like the 5K I was still searching for that 4th AG
winner. A few weeks back I called one of my favorite people on the team
(Beth Shockley) to see if she could run a 10K. Our scouting work of the
opposition showed her AG to be a little thin. Brian Schmidt helped me a
great deal with scouting this year and, of course, I rewarded him by pulling
him out of that winning Exec relay. But back to Beth. Beth, as
always, cheerfully accepts whatever challenge I throw at her. Once again
it paid off handsomely. She joined Pam and the two Mary’s for a
perfect team score and a set of gold medals. Beth has been called
up for reserve duty and will be dispatched to
|
Women's
10K (30-34) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
49:00 |
48:58 |
2 / 61.1 |
10K |
F |
31 |
Wesneski, Lisa |
|
Women's
10K (35-39) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
52:00 |
51:47 |
3 / 57.8 |
10K |
F |
32 |
Hancock,
Tonya |
|
Women's
10K (40-44) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
49:00 |
49:11 |
1 / 63.5 |
10K |
F |
40 |
Shockley,
Beth |
|
Women's
10K (45-49) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
46:30 |
45:06 |
1 / 72.2 |
10K |
F |
45 |
Fales, Pam |
|
Women's
10K (45-49) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
51:00 |
49:08 |
2 / 68.6 |
10K |
F |
49 |
Sulser, Dianna |
|
Women's
10K (60-64) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
59:45 |
60:00 |
1 / 64.9 |
10K |
F |
63 |
Salter,
Mary |
|
Women's
10K (65-69) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
52:00 |
51:44 |
1 / 78.1 |
10K |
F |
66 |
Kennard,
Mary |
|
Total-Women's
10K |
|
|
|
4 pts |
1st |
|
|
|
|
Men’s 10K – 2nd place
We couldn’t enter enough age groups to grab up the (5)
winning slots in this one. We had several outstanding performances,
including Chuck Hull’s 36:21, which for a 52 year old equates to a WAVA
of almost 84. That means he ran at 84% of the world record for his
age.
|
Men's
10K (30-34) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
? |
40:37 |
2 / 66.4 |
10K |
M |
32 |
Heap,
Ken |
|
Men's
10K (30-34) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
? |
40:21 |
2 / 66.8 |
10K |
M |
37 |
Stotzer, Eric |
|
Men's
10K (40-44) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
42:00 |
37:58 |
3 / 75.0 |
10K |
M |
43 |
Steffen,
Scott |
|
Men's
10K (45-49) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
41:00 |
39:28 |
2 / 74.4 |
10K |
M |
47 |
Drumm, Jim |
|
Men's
10K (50-54) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
38:30 |
36:22 |
1 / 84.0 |
10K |
M |
53 |
Hull,
Chuck |
|
Men's
10K (55-59) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
43:00 |
40:01 |
1 / 78.2 |
10K |
M |
55 |
Ward,
Trevor |
|
Men's
10K (60-64) |
Final |
Sun
7:00 |
46:00 |
45:47 |
1 / 73.7 |
10K |
M |
63 |
King,
|
|
Total-Men's
10K |
|
|
|
7 pts |
2nd |
|
|
|
|
4x100 Relay – 1st place
We hold the national record in this and have never lost it
when either Benjamin or I have run a leg. However, the credit for
this year’s win goes to Cynthia Samilton and rookie Loretta
Faluade. They ran GREAT and by the time the baton reached me I was
all alone in front.
|
4
x 100 Relay |
Final |
Sun
10:05 |
15.0 |
14.6 |
|
100 |
F |
40 |
Samilton, Cynthia |
|
4
x 100 Relay |
Final |
Sun
10:05 |
13.5 |
13.4 |
|
100 |
F |
Open |
Faluade, Loretta |
|
4
x 100 Relay |
Final |
Sun
10:05 |
12.2 |
12.4 |
|
100 |
M |
40 |
Westbrook,
Paul |
|
4
x 100 Relay |
Final |
Sun
10:05 |
11.0 |
10.5 |
|
100 |
M |
Open |
Sarpong, Benjamin |
|
Total-4
x 100 Relay |
|
|
51.7 |
50.9 |
1st |
|
|
|
|
Women’s 800m – 3rd place
We didn’t have the depth this year in this
event. Heidi Nagel and rookie Tonya Hancock picked up a pair of bronze
medals for their fine efforts. Any females out there? Note -
this is an opportunity area for next year.
|
Women's
800 Team |
Final |
Sun
10:15 |
03:00.0 |
03:04.8 |
|
800 |
F |
Open |
Nagel,
Heidi |
|
Women's
800 Team |
Final |
Sun
10:15 |
03:00.0 |
03:05.5 |
|
800 |
F |
Open |
Hancock,
Tonya |
|
Total-Women's
800 |
|
|
06:00.0 |
06:10.3 |
3rd |
|
|
|
|
3 Lap Sprint – 1st place
We have been really short on young male quarter milers this
year. This is an open age event. We just found young rookie Jared
Girroir a few weeks ago and we tapped a 36 year old Steve Boedeker and 37 year
old Chris Grant to run the open age quarters. We also tapped 40+ sprinter
Mariquita Gordon to round out the team and they powered to victory. Chris
grant anchored the team with a smokin’ 49.6 400m leg.
|
3
Lap Sprint |
Final |
Sun
10:35 |
00:29.0 |
00:28.5 |
|
200 |
F |
Open |
Gordon,
Mariquita |
|
3
Lap Sprint |
Final |
Sun
10:35 |
00:25.5 |
00:24.9 |
|
200 |
M |
Open |
Girroir, Jared |
|
3
Lap Sprint |
Final |
Sun
10:35 |
00:53.0 |
00:53.5 |
|
400 |
M |
Open |
Boedeker, Steven |
|
3
Lap Sprint |
Final |
Sun
10:35 |
00:51.0 |
00:49.6 |
|
400 |
M |
Open |
Grant,
Chris |
|
Total-3
Lap Sprint |
|
|
02:38.5 |
02:36.5 |
1st |
|
|
|
|
Men’s Mile – 3rd place
Here is another great opportunity. We
desperately need some young male milers. I tossed in a 42 year old
and a 52 year old into this open age event and they came away with bronze
medals. Come on young males – we need you.
|
Men's
Mile Team |
Final |
Sun
10:50 |
04:47.0 |
05:27.4 |
|
1600 |
M |
Open |
Tolbert,
Danny |
|
Men's
Mile Team |
Final |
Sun
10:50 |
04:50.0 |
05:06.1 |
|
1600 |
M |
Open |
Hull,
Chuck |
|
Total-Men's
Mile |
drop |
|
09:37.0 |
10:33.5 |
3rd |
|
|
|
|
4x200 – 1st place
Strong performances on every leg propelled this team to
victory. This team started a great string of victories for us.
|
4
x 200 Relay |
Final |
Sun
11:10 |
00:25.5 |
00:26.7 |
|
200 |
M |
40 |
DeLaCruz, Joe |
|
4
x 200 Relay |
Final |
Sun
11:10 |
00:28.8 |
00:27.6 |
|
200 |
M |
50 |
Jenkins,
JJ |
|
4
x 200 Relay |
Final |
Sun
11:10 |
00:28.5 |
00:29.1 |
|
200 |
F |
Open |
Faluade, Loretta |
|
4
x 200 Relay |
Final |
Sun
11:10 |
00:23.5 |
00:23.5 |
|
200 |
M |
Open |
Sarpong, Benjamin |
|
Total-4
x 200 Relay |
|
|
01:46.3 |
01:46.9 |
1st |
|
|
|
|
Senior’s Relay – 1st place
We have a
|
Senior's
Relay |
Final |
Sun
12:20 |
00:31.0 |
00:30.2 |
|
200 |
M |
60 |
Deatherage, Tony |
|
Senior's
Relay |
Final |
Sun
12:20 |
01:06.0 |
01:04.9 |
|
400 |
M |
50 |
McGehee,
John |
|
Senior's
Relay |
Final |
Sun
12:20 |
00:40.0 |
00:40.3 |
|
200 |
F |
50 |
Kennard,
Mary |
|
Senior's
Relay |
Final |
Sun
12:20 |
01:41.0 |
01:38.1 |
|
600 |
M |
50 |
Iles, Robert |
|
Senior's
Relay |
Final |
Sun
12:20 |
01:06.0 |
01:05.9 |
|
400 |
M |
50 |
Haschke, Russell |
|
Total-Senior's
Relay |
|
|
05:04.0 |
04:59.4 |
1st |
|
|
|
|
The magic number needed to secure the team title was down to
just three more wins. The next few events made it interesting.
Women’s Relay – 1st place
Our ace 800m/400m female Beth Michalak came down with a
nasty illness on Saturday and we weren’t sure if she could go. Beth
is quite competitive though. You would have to have a team of 40 horses
to pull Beth away from the track. So we lined up with Beth, Mariquita,
and on the critical anchor leg, rookie Sara Harmsen. Sara had never
run track before joining our team. She had run a total of two 400m runs
in her entire life before this race – one in
|
Women's
Relay |
Final |
Sun
12:40 |
02:32.0 |
02:33.9 |
|
800 |
F |
40 |
Michalak, Beth |
|
Women's
Relay |
Final |
Sun
12:40 |
01:10.0 |
01:09.4 |
|
400 |
F |
Open |
Gordon,
Mariquita |
|
Women's
Relay |
Final |
Sun
12:40 |
01:10.0 |
01:08.2 |
|
400 |
F |
Open |
Harmsen, Sara |
|
Total-Women's
Relay |
|
|
04:52.0 |
04:51.5 |
1st |
|
|
|
|
Submaster Sprint – 1st
place
This was the most amazing performance of the day. The
temperature had cooled down a little to 101, but the dry air made it tough to
keep hydrated. Robin Toliver was in the lead off 200m leg. As
she came out of the turn she suddenly slowed dramatically and began to hop and
limp – the usual signs of a pulled muscle. A giant gasp went out
under the TI tent. And then, as if suddenly being healed by a TV
preacher, she began to pick up speed and started running again – faster
and faster she went right through the handoff. The rest of the team took
it from there and powered to victory. It turned out to be a quad strain
– probably a cramp - and Robin showed great strength and courage to get
the baton around to her teammates. After the race she said all she could
think of was me telling the team to get that baton to your teammate even if you
have to crawl. I might have to tone down next year’s pep
talk!
|
Submasters Sprint |
Final |
Sun
12:50 |
00:29.9 |
00:32.2 |
|
200 |
F |
30 |
Toliver, Robin |
|
Submasters Sprint |
Final |
Sun
12:50 |
00:25.0 |
00:24.5 |
|
200 |
M |
30 |
Fortenberry, Todd |
|
Submasters Sprint |
Final |
Sun
12:50 |
00:54.0 |
00:54.7 |
|
400 |
M |
35 |
Boedeker, Steven |
|
Submasters Sprint |
Final |
Sun
12:50 |
02:07.0 |
02:09.8 |
|
800 |
M |
35 |
Luo, Luke |
|
Total-Submast Sprint |
|
|
03:55.9 |
04:01.2 |
1st |
|
|
|
|
We were one more gold away from
locking up the team title and the President’s Relay was up next. To
run this you have to be a VP, TI Fellow, or a direct VP report. We
were edged out by a couple of seconds last year, so I swung Mariquita Gordon
into the opening leg this year for some insurance.
President’s Relay – 1st place
Mariquita blasted out to a lead with a 29.6 200m leg.
Chief Technology Officer Hans Stork clocked an impressive 400m leg, and then
Pat Bosshart ran a 2:26.7 800m leg with no one near him. The
President’s Relay had just sealed the team title.
|
Presidents
Relay |
Final |
Sun
1:20 |
00:30.0 |
00:29.5 |
|
200 |
M/F |
30 |
Gordon,
Mariquita |
|
Presidents
Relay |
Final |
Sun
1:20 |
01:06.0 |
01:07.0 |
|
400 |
M/F |
30 |
Stork,
Hans |
|
Presidents
Relay |
Final |
Sun
1:20 |
02:26.0 |
02:26.5 |
|
800 |
M/F |
30 |
Bosshart,
Pat |
|
Total-Presidents
Relay |
|
|
04:02.0 |
04:03.0 |
1st |
|
|
|
|
With three events to go, the pressure was off.
Frankly, we could have packed it in and headed for the pool. A smarter
captain probably would have done just that. But not this group –
they love to run.
Pyramid Relay – 2nd place
We were missing Fabrice to run the middle 1200m leg, but we
put a good team on the track. Steve Money, Brian Schmidt, and Luke Luo
played a game of rock, paper, scissors to divvy up the middle legs and Sara
Harmsen took the opening 400m. Beth (a little illness never stopped
anyone) Michalak took the anchor. That darn UNUM mile runner was in the
1200m leg and cost us the gold, but what a fine run by our team.
|
Pyramid
Relay |
Final |
Sun
2:50 |
01:12.0 |
01:10.6 |
|
400 |
F |
Open |
Harmsen, Sara |
|
Pyramid
Relay |
Final |
Sun
2:50 |
02:24.0 |
02:07.5 |
|
800 |
M |
Open |
Money,
Steve |
|
Pyramid
Relay |
Final |
Sun
2:50 |
03:26.0 |
03:37.9 |
|
1200 |
M |
Open |
Schmidt,
Brian |
|
Pyramid
Relay |
Final |
Sun
2:50 |
02:09.0 |
02:11.6 |
|
800 |
M |
Open |
Luo, Luke |
|
Pyramid
Relay |
Final |
Sun
2:50 |
01:08.0 |
01:05.5 |
|
400 |
F |
Open |
Michalak, Beth |
|
Total-Pyramid
Relay |
|
|
10:19.0 |
10:13.1 |
2nd |
|
|
|
|
Master’s Relay – 1st place
Like the Senior’s, we could field multiple winning
teams in this one. We tossed in two rookies, Stacy Lewis and Rick
Washington, and we still won by a large margin. One more note of team
work. I had scheduled Randy Wight to run this anchor, which is almost a
certain gold. Rick Washington just started with us a few weeks ago and I
was concerned about his conditioning. Rick looked good in the prelim so I
asked Randy if I could put Rick in this final. Unselfishly (a great characteristic
of this whole team) Randy said yes. Randy Wight – another TI Team
hero.
|
Masters
Relay |
Final |
Sun
3:05 |
02:18.0 |
02:17.8 |
|
800 |
M |
50 |
Iles, Robert |
|
Masters
Relay |
Final |
Sun
3:05 |
00:57.5 |
00:56.4 |
|
400 |
M |
40 |
Lewis,
Stacy |
|
Masters
Relay |
Final |
Sun
3:05 |
02:19.0 |
02:16.9 |
|
800 |
M |
40 |
Johnson,
Mark |
|
Masters
Relay |
Final |
Sun
3:05 |
00:32.0 |
00:32.3 |
|
200 |
F |
40 |
Samilton, Cynthia |
|
Masters
Relay |
Final |
Sun
3:05 |
00:26.0 |
00:25.9 |
|
200 |
M |
40 |
Washington,
Rick |
|
Total-Masters
Relay |
|
|
06:32.5 |
06:29.3 |
1st |
|
|
|
|
Sprint Relay – 2nd place
Since Robin was out I had to ask Cynthia (who had just run
the Master’s) to turn around and run again. Benjamin had a slight
hamstring pull and backed off on his anchor leg. The team did a super
job, but was out-youthed by BAH and we took 2nd place.
|
Sprint
Relay |
Final |
Sun
3:30 |
00:31.0 |
00:33.8 |
|
200 |
F |
30 |
Samilton, Cynthia |
|
Sprint
Relay |
Final |
Sun
3:30 |
00:29.0 |
00:28.3 |
|
200 |
F |
Open |
Faluade, Loretta |
|
Sprint
Relay |
Final |
Sun
3:30 |
00:56.0 |
00:55.9 |
|
400 |
M |
Open |
Girroir, Jared |
|
Sprint
Relay |
Final |
Sun
3:30 |
00:51.5 |
00:49.9 |
|
400 |
M |
Open |
Grant,
Chris |
|
Sprint
Relay |
Final |
Sun
3:30 |
00:26.0 |
00:26.3 |
|
200 |
M |
40 |
Wight,
Randy |
|
Sprint
Relay |
Final |