Michelsohn shows heals again Runner sets her 8th record of year

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ORONO – Marie-Louise Michelsohn walked off the Beckett Family Track on Friday morning, absorbed a few compliments from friends, and traded good-natured barbs with those who hadn’t cheered her on during her recently completed race.

One of her friends explained his apathy succinctly: Michelsohn, he said, probably didn’t need much help from anybody.

“How many records is that this year?” he asked. “Five?”

“Eight,” Michelsohn admitted with a grin.

During Friday’s second day of the USA Track & Field Masters Championships, Michelsohn established … again … that she’s the premier distance runner in the world in her age class.

The 65-year-old from New York City pared a gaudy 1 minute, 14 seconds off the existing world mark in the 2,000-meter steeplechase, finishing in 9 minutes, 9.25 seconds.

The record (as she pointed out) was her eighth world mark in the 65-to-69 age class this year. She has also set two other American records during that time.

Michelsohn began running 12 years ago, when her family was dealing with a tragedy.

“My daughter had a brain hemorrhage, and was having a hard recovery,” she said. “About a year into it, I felt close to falling apart, and I started running. It absolutely saved my life.”

Three weeks after taking up the sport, she entered her first race, and finished third. And she hasn’t stopped racing since.

“I was excited by all the energy around me. I was excited by people passing me,” she said. “There was another race a couple weeks later. I was hooked.”

On Friday, she ran faster than any other 65-year-old has, but still felt that if conditions had been different, she could have run faster.

“I would have liked to have gone under 9 [minutes], but it was really hot,” she said. “I know I can run 8:55, 8:50. I know that.”

Michelsohn’s weather report was on the mark: Air temperatures hovered in the mid-90s all day.

And that’s not the worst of it.

According to one meet official, a temperature gauge was used to determine that the actual track temperature was 114 degrees. The nearby artificial turf athletic field was even hotter: 145 degrees.

Hundreds of athletes, age 30 and up, attended the second of four days of competition. Many were recreational runners looking for a social outlet.

And many others weren’t.

Former U.S. Olympian James Barrineau, who competed in the high jump in the 1976 Montreal Games, won his specialty in the 50-to-54 age group, clearing 5 feet, 83/4 inches.

And 1948 Olympian Bernice Holland won the discus on Friday, a day after capturing the shot put in the 80-to-84 age group.

“I felt good about the discus,” the 80-year-old Holland said. “I will not comment on the shot.”

Holland, who lives in Cleveland, competed in the 80-meter hurdles and the high jump in the London Games, the first held after World War II.

“It was exciting, because it was my first time really out of the country, and being in something big and important like that, I enjoyed it,” Holland said.

Holland remains involved in the sport and helps her son, Claude, as an assistant coach at Cleveland Heights High School.

Even though her Olympic-era specialties were hurdles and jumps, Holland now coaches the events she competes in during masters competition: the throws.

She said her progression from jumper to thrower was a natural one.

“As you age, certain things are not in the condition that you would like them to be,” she said. “I have to still compete.”

Holland said that she tries to keep a low profile with her athletes and not tell them about her past.

Her son, however, doesn’t let that happen.

“They know before they get there,” Holland said with a chuckle. “I don’t have to say anything about having been in the Olympics. My son and the assistant track coaches [and] some of the kids will say, ‘That’s Mom Holland. She was an Olympian.'”

The masters championships are open to anyone, and alongside the traveling tracksters and former Olympians, a few locals suited up and ran, threw or jumped.

One such competitor was Mike Viani of Charleston, who was a track standout at Ellsworth High School and the University of Maine.

Viani was fast enough to run a 48-second 400-meter race while at Maine. But on Thursday, the 40-year-old teacher and coach learned that he’d be lining up beside a 40-something who’d run a 48-second 400 much more recently.

Like this year.

Viani ran 12.69 seconds for 100 meters, finished sixth in his heat and didn’t advance to the finals.

“Terrible time. Good start, though,” Viani said.

“For not doing block starts very often I felt all right for the first 25 meters. I was right with them. But when you’re racing world champions, it’s just a little difficult to stay with them.”

Viani also entered the masters championships when it was last held in Orono, back in 2002.

At that time, he was committed to powerlifting and his physique showed it: He ran his sprint races at a well-muscled 255 pounds.

This year, he trained with the runners he coaches at Central High School, lost 30 pounds since January, and entered hoping to run faster than 12 seconds.

He fell just a bit short.

“[Training with the team] keeps me wanting to run [and] helps push the kids harder,” Viani said. “So I figured I was in somewhat decent shape, I’d come back and try it. I was a little bit disappointed. I thought I was faster than that.”

Track & field

USATF

National Masters Championship

Second-Day Results

At Orono

WOMEN

Event, age group, winner

400, 35-39: Dionne Bruff, 1:00.01; 40-44: Charmaine Roberts, 59.13; 45-49: Jai Black, 57.83; 50-54: Karla Del 1:05.97; 55-59: Catherine Nicoletti, 1:10.83; 60-64: Phil Raschker, 1:10.33; 65-69: Marg Radcliffe, 1:31.25; 70-74: Joyce Hodges-Hite, 1:59.04; 80-84: 400 Patricia Peterson, 1:58.70

Long jump, 40-44: Tracey Singleton, 5.11m, (16-09.25); 50-54: Kay Glynn, 4.62m, (15-02).

Discus throw, 40-44: Lesley Duncan, 28.59m, (93-09); 45-49: Lisa 19.46m, (63-10).

Short hurdles 33″, 35-39: Barbara Yeboah, Portland, ME, 20.65; Short Hurdles 30″: 40-44: Susan Wiemer, Freeport, ME, 14.54; 45-49: Liz Palmer, 13.29; 50-54: Irene Thompson, 14.48; 55-59: Rhona Trott, 14.95; Short Hurdles 27″: 60-64 Phil Raschker, 13.56; 65-69: Becky Sisley, 17.77; 70-74: Barbara Jordan, 17.92.

2000 Steeplechase, 30-34: Jacqueline Concaugh, 7:21.30; 35-39: Gina Witcher, 7:41.11; 40-44: Marisa Hanson, 7:40.41; 45-49: Caren Ware, 9:02.84; 50-54: Denise Janneck, 9:44.74; 55-59: Ashley Childs, 10:54.12; 60-64; Mary Trotto, 11:40.54; 65-69: Marie-Louise Michelsohn, 9:09.25.

5000 Race Walk, 40-44: Rebecca Garson, 29:31.49; 45-49: Maryanne Daniel, 28:43.18; 50-54: Debbie Topham, 29:20.58; 55-59: Lynn Tracy, 28:57.29; 60-64: Panseluta Geer, 31:17.73; 65-69: Louise Walters, 31:57.91; 70-74: Essie Faria, 37:44.17; 80-84: Miriam Gordon, 40:55.99.

Long Jump, 30-34: Gretchen Henrickson, 5.01m, (16-05.25); 35-39: Laura Barre, 5.25m, (17-02.75); 40-44: Tracey Singleton, 5.11m, (16-09.25); 45-49: Veronica Amarasekara, 5.06m, (16-07.25); 50-54: Kay Glynn, 4.62m, (15-02); 55-59: Linda Lowery, 4.26m, (13-11.75); 60-64: Phil Raschker, 4.65m, (15-03.25); 65-69: Carol LaFayette-Boyd, 3.85m, (12-07.75); 70-74: Barbara Jordan, 3.30m, (10-10); 75-79: Gloria Krug, 2.38m, (7-09.75); 80-84: Ann McGowan, 1.86m, (6-01.25).

Discus Throw, 35-39: Wanda Johnson, 35.90m, (117-09); 40-44, Lesley Duncan, 28.59m, (93-09); 45-49: Lisa Hampton, 19.46m, (63-10); 50-54: Carol Finsrud, 42.96m, (140-11); 55-59: Mary Hartzler, 28.28m, (92-09); 60-64: Lorraine Tucker, 24.25m, (79-07); 65-69: Carol Young, 21.80m, (71-06); 70-74: Joan Berman, 18.74m, (61-06); 75-79: Gloria Krug, 16.46m, (54-00); 80-84: Bernice Holland, 17.32m, (56-10); 85-89: Olga Kotelko, 15.35m, (50-04).

Maine finishers, 400, 45-49: 4. Patricia Lech, Old Town, ME, 1:08.57; 50-54: 4. Kimberly Williams, South Portland, ME, 1:15.94; long jump, 40-44: Pamela Swan, Bowdoin, ME, 4.15m, (13-07.50); 50-54: Kimberly Williams, South Portland, ME, 3.38m, (11-01.25); discus throw, 40-44: Pamela Swan, Bowdoin, ME, 24.49m, (80-04); 45-49: Lisa Latno, Gray, ME, 18.72m, (61-05).

MEN

Event, age group, winner

400 Meter Dash, 30-34: Antwon Dussett, 48.21; 35-39: Chris Grant, 50.72; 40-44: Khalid Mulazim, 49.90; 45-49: Saladin Allah, 50.96; 50-54: Ben James, 54.14; 55-59: Bill Collins, 54.04; 60-64: Roger Pierce, 59.02; 65-69: Mack Stewart, 1:04.42; 70-74: Robert Lida, 1:02.39; 75-79: Earl Fee, 1:10.01; 80-84: Raoul Rodriques, 1:43.75; 85-89: John Means, 1:31.19; 90-94: Bob Matteson, 1:56.12.

Short Hurdles 39″, 30-34: Michael Jackson, 16.58; 35-39 Don Drummond, 15.00; 40-44: David Ashford, 15.55; 45-49: Robert Stanley, 16.39; 50-54: Philip Bujalski, 16.04; 55-59: Thaddeus Wilson, 15.59; Short Hurdles 33″, 60-64: Joe Johnston, 17.00; 65-69: Bob Osterhoudt, 18.46; Short Hurdles 30″, 70-74: Robert Paulen, 14.28; 75-79: James Stookey, 16.07; 80-84: Denver Smith, 16.98; 85-89: Ralph Maxwell, 20.00.

3000 Steeplechase, 30-34: Clint Santoro, 10:59.23; 35-39: Edward Parrot, 12:19.62; 40-44: Christopher Yorges, 10:42.37; 45-49: Michael Fussell, 11:03.72; 50-54: Daniel Dillon, 10:59.14; 55-59: 1, Mark Weeks, 12:25.06; 2000 Steeplechase, 60-64: Robert Barber, 7:39.78; 65-69: Joe Cordero, 9:00.01; 70-74: Thomas Butterfield, 9:30.00; 75-79: George Freeman, 11:39.62

5000 Race Walk, 35-39: Edward Parrot, 25:10.88; 40-44: Edgardo Rodriguez, 27:29.34; 45-49: Donald Lawrence, 26:24.17; 50-54: Klaus Thiedmann, 26:43.74; 55-59: Michael Wiggins, 25:56.37; 60-64: Leon Jasionowski, 26:40.93; 65-69: Paul Johnson, 29:57.64; 70-74: Jack Bray, 29:51.25; 75-79: John Starr, 32:45.82; 80-84: Marvin Goldenberg, 34:42.49; 85-89: John Levinsohn, 45:54.75.

Long Jump, 60-64: Ty Brown, 4.84m, (15-10.50); 65-69: Alan Slater, 4.80m, (15-09); 70-74: Robert Paulen, 4.21m, (13-09.75); 75-79: James Stookey, 4.01m, (13-02); 80-84: William Daprano, 3.37m, (11-00.75); 85-89: Edwin Lukens, 3.46m, (11-04.25); 90-94: Max Springer, 1.60m, (5-03).

High Jump, 50-54: James Barrineau, 1.75m, (5-08.75); 55-59: Milan Jamrich, 1.70m, (5-07); 60-64: David Montieth, 1.60m, (5-03); 65-69: Emil Pawlik, 1.48m, (4-10.25); 70-74: Tom Langenfeld, 1.43m, (4-08.25); 75-79: Richard Lowery, 1.32m, (4-04); 80-84: Denver Smith, 1.15m, (3-09.25); 85-89: Ralph Maxwell, 1.10m, (3-07.25).

Discus Throw 2K, 30-34: Thomas Bouber, 36.80m, (120-09); 35-39: Michael DeMarte, 45.54m, (149-05); 40-44: Glenn Thompson, 50.50m, (165-08); 45-49: Warren Taylor, 42.12m, (138-02); Discus Throw 1.5K, 50-54: Jay McKeen, 44.21m, (145-00); 55-59: Thomas Fahey, 50.04m, (164-02); Discus Throw 1K, 60-64: Bill Hiney, 49.72m, (163-01).

Maine Finishers

400, 60-64: 7, Ellsworth Rundlett, Portland, ME, 1:08.54; 65-69: 6, Jef Evans, Brunswick, ME, 1:16.07; Short Hurdles 30″, 70-74: 5, Joel Stinson, Harpswell, ME, 16.68; 75-79: 3, Kenneth Perkins, East Winthrop, ME, 19.37; 2000 Steeplechase, 65-69: 5, Jerry LeVasseur, Brunswick, ME, 10:26.61; 5000 Race Walk, 40-44: 2, David Burns, Scarborough, ME, 28:00.05. 3000 Steeplechase, 50-54: 6, Charles Radis, Peaks Island, ME, 13:57.70; Long Jump, 65-69: 4, Buster Byrnes, Lincolnville, ME, 3.98m, (13-00.75); 70-74: 7, Joel Stinson, Harpswell, ME, 3.52m, (11-06.75); 85-89: 3, Joseph Sciaraffa, Rumford, ME, 2.89m, (9-05.75); High Jump, 70-74: 3, Joel Stinson, Harpswell, ME, 1.25m, (4-01.25). 4, Joseph Carlozzi, Gorham, ME, 1.20m, (3-11.25); 75-79: 3, Kenneth Perkins, East Winthrop, ME, 1.15m, (3-09.25); Discus Throw 2K, 45-49: 4, Ernesto Salamone, Falmouth, ME, 36.82m, (120-10)