Posted: March 25, 2007

Athletics: Men's records take a dive; Morton gives it all at Masters Indoor Champs

BOSTON - Septuagenarian and older sprinters stole the records spotlight, while a Springfield, Mass., resident might have made the biggest mark of all Sunday afternoon at the 2007 USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships. In the final event of the meet, Sprint Force America's men's 70-74 age group 4x400m relay ran 4:37.28 to obliterate the existing world record of 5:35.93. Larry Colbert, Richard Rizzo, Robert Cozens and Robert Lida teamed up for the new record. The same club, with Rev. Dick Camp running third leg, had broken the M70 4x200m world record on March 3 (1:54.05). Moving up a few age groups, New England's own Bob Matteson of Bennington, Vt., shattered the men's 90-94 American record in the 200 meters by more than 6 seconds, running 42.10 to break Max Springer's previous mark of 48.24 by more than six seconds. Making a mark on society was James Morton of Springfield, Mass., who won the men's 50-54 800 meters in a brilliant time of 2:04.67. Even more astounding is that Morton in October of 2005 gave part of his liver to his best friend in order to expedite a transplant for the friend, who was in immediate need of a new liver. The president and CEO of YMCA of Greater Springfield, Morton had returned competing just six months after the surgery, last spring. On Sunday he won his first national title. Notes the father of a teen-age son, "I ran a faster 400 after the surgery than I ran when I was in high school." More world records Nadine O'Connor, Phil Raschker and Kathryn Martin kept up their world-record ways as O'Connor (Del Mar, Calif.) broke the W65 200m record (30.63), Raschker (Marietta, Ga.) bettered the W60 record at the distance (38.94), and Martin (Northport, N.Y.) blistered the 800m in a W55 record time of 2:31.73. Also in the 800, Earl Fee of Ontario broke the M75 world record with a stunning 2:32.47. World records fell in the women's 4x400m relays as well. The Athena Track Club team of Joan Hunter, Terri Rath, Carrie Sherburne and Carla Kehoe broke the W40-49 WR in 4:19.21, and unattached team of Rebecca Connolly, Dionne Bruff, Lisa Daley and Renee Henderson ran 4:11.11 to break the overall WR for W35-39. Athena's 35-39 team of Charmaine Roberts, Julie Hayden, Michaeli Smith and Terri Cassel broke the club record in 4:27.24. Rashker kept the American records coming the W60 age group, with a new mark in the 8.88m/29-1.75. Single-lap competition provided a trio of American records in the men's 200 meters, all coming at age 75 or over. In the M75 age group, Harry Brown of Wheaton, Ill. ran 30.49; John Means of Cleveland ran 37.09 in M85, and Matteson set the M90 record. Ralph Maxwell (Alamo, Texas) posted his second and third American records of the meet by jumping 6.81m/22-4.25 in the triple jump and 1.09m/3-6.75 in the high jump. In the super weight throw, Carol Young broke the W65 American record with a throw of 8.03m/26-4, and Mary Roman of Mass Velocity broke with W70 American record 7.04m/23-1. Catching up The men's shot put on Saturday was full of American records. Leland McPhie of San Diego had a best throw of 7.34m/24-1 for M90; Richard Mulkern of Sheffield, Fla., threw 9.50m/31-2 in M80, and David Schlothauer threw 7.27m/23-10.25 to set American records. Also in Saturday competition, the Athena Track Club team of Julie Hayden, Joan Hunter, Carrie Sherburne and Carmaine Roberts broke the listed AR in the W35 4x800m relay with their time of 10:09.15. In masters competition elsewhere, Alisa ran the 800 in 2:08.05 Saturday at the Fred Hardy Invitational, held at the University of Richmond (Va.), to lower the listed American W40 outdoor record by nearly 2 seconds. The previous record of 2:09.85 was set by Rose Monday in 2000. For results from the 2007 USA Masters Indoor Championships, visit USATF.org.