The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 26, Milford, Kosciusko County, 11 July 1984 — Page 10
THE MAIL-JOURNAL — Wed., July 11,1984
10
Sports
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Perfect day for racing —
Fifteen records shattered
By TOM CHARLES Sports Editor It didn’t take tong to figure out who was going to be the cream of the crop in Saturday’s seventh annual Mail-Journal Flotilla Road Race. By the end of the first mile, Ligonier s Mike Mazier and the Elkhart tandem of Dave Bruce and John Roscoe had already established themselves as the runners to beat on the sunny-but-cool July morning. As it turned out. nobody was up to the challenge. Mazier, a West Noble graduate now running at Purdue, was outstanding in capturing the 3.3-mile race in a sizzling 16:04. In addition to establishing a record for the 15-19 age group. Mazier’s time smashed the old course record by 51 seconds. Bruce and Roscoe, running partners with the Athlete's Foot Racing Team, ran by themselves for the duration of the eight-mile run. Their only companion en route to a record-breaking time of 41:29 was the police escort car which led the race In the women's division, Rochester’s Laura Kern had little trouble recording her first 3.3-mile championship. Her winning time of 19:51 was only eight seconds slower than Stacy Wall’s course-record run in 1982. The day’s youngest champion turned out to be Karma Geyer of Columbia City. Competing in the 14 & Under age group, Geyer was the first female to complete the eight-mile race. Her time of 56:32, while four minutes slower than the course record, was a full 12 minutes better than the previous age group record. As Advertised Mazier lived up to his pre-race billing as one of the area’s top distance runners with his fine 3.3-mile performance However, the course record was not enough to satisfy him.
Kjl ■ i/T ad '■* pf juow fl v ■ B TALKING IT OVER — Women's 3.3-mile champion Laura Kern, Rochester, discusses her victory in the Mail-Journal Flotilla Road Race with Mail-Journal Sports Editor Tom Charles. Kern's winning time of 19:51 was a record for the 30-39 age group and just eight seconds slower than Angie Wall’s course record of 19:43. (Photo by Mark Weinstein)
‘‘l wanted to break 16 minutes today,” he noted. "I started out with two miles under 4:50 and then sort of slowed down on the third mile. I guess I just didn’t push it over the last part of the race.” The win was Mazier’s second in as many weeks, and he indicated that more road races will be a part of his summer training schedule. He will return to Purdue injthe fall, but at this point is unsure of his plans for the track season. A 1,600-meter runner in high school, Mazier ran the steeplechase at Purdue last year. If he has his way, however, that will not be the case in 1984-85. “I’m going to do all I can to try to get out of running the steeplechase,” Mazier said. “I would like to get into either the 1,500 or 5,000 next year.”' In Command While Mazier is struggling to find his niche at Purdue, Roscoe and Bruce left little doubt that they are at home among the elite runners in Indiana “We wanted to break the course record for sure,” Roscoe said. “It was the main thing we were going after We decided that if we were out in front, we wquld finish together.” “The course itself was challenging with rolling hills which break up a steady pace,” Roscoe commented. “We ran the first five miles at a 5:07 pace and then slacked off. Those last three hills (on North Shore Drive) were tough.” While this win was gratifying for both runners, it is certainly not the biggest thrill they’ve had during their running careers. Roscoe was one of the qualifiers for this year’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Buffalo — an accomplishment that was flavored with both the bitter and the sweet. “It was an honor just to be able to run in the Trials,” be noted. “I
didn’t expect to be in the top three, but I was a little disappointed with my finish (97 out of 104 runners). I had some injury problems that kept me from running as well as I could. I would like to have another chance.” Both Roscoe and Bruce commented on the ideal conditions and spectator support during the race. In fact, Roscoe said that there were more fans along this race route than along the marathon route in Buffalo. "That was like running out in the desert,” he said. No Strategy Roscoe and Bruce came to Syracuse with a definite goal in mind. Laura Kern did not. “I have no strategy when I run,” Kern said following her convincing 3.3-mile win. “I just go with how I feel and go as hard as I can. I felt pretty good today, but that last hill was a real killer.” Kern’s involvement in road racing began two years ago when she sustained a severe knee injury. That put a stop to her softball playing and, as a result, she turned to running. “The bottom line is that I love to compete,” she explained. “I have found running to be quite addictive.” Kern, who competes in road races “nearly every weekend during the summer,” will be racing in this year’s White River Park State Games later in July. She is entered in both the 1,500-meter run and the 200-meter dash. Record Day Although the record-breaking efforts of Bruce, Roscoe, Mazier, Kern and Geyer highlighted the day, they were only a small part of the record-shattering race. A total of 15 course and age group records were broken on Saturday, the largest number to fall in a single race in the history of the Flotilla Run. New records were set in the women’s 3.3-mile race by Kern and Chris Kolkman of Rochester. Kolkman lowered the 20-29 age group record from 22:32 to 20:23. In the men’s 3.3-mile race. Mazier, Kirby Hershberger, Dennis Hooley, Abbas Goudarzi, Larry Watson and Dick Shank established new age group standards. Hershberger, who held the 3.3-mile course record until this year, lowered his own 20-24 age group record from 17:06 to 16:48. Hooley, an Elkhart resident, lowered his own 35-39 age group record from 18:42 to 18:10.
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OUT IN FRONT — David Brace, left, and John Roscoe, both of Elkhart, led the Mail-Journal Flotilla eight-mile race from nearly start to finish on Saturday. The two runners, who train and compete
Goudarzi trimmed 43 seconds off the 40-44 age group mark, covering the course in 18:13. Larry Watson broke Dick Shank’s five-year record in the 45-49 age group with a time of 20:20. However, Shank re-entered his name in the record book with a time of 19:56, shattering the old 50-59 age group mark by three minutes. In the women’s eight-mile race, Geyer, Goshen’s Phyllis Orput and Bristol’s Vivian Kane were the three record-breakers. Orput slashed one minute off Sandy Mort’s mark for the 20-29 age group with a time of 58:52. Kane lowered her own record in the 40 and Over age group with a time of 61:06. In addition to Roscoe and Bruce, Jerry Auer, Paul Randall and Paul Sibray established new records in the men’s eight-mile race. Auer, a 1984 graduate of Wawasee High School, clipped four seconds off Tom Lower’s mark in the 15-19 age group. Auer completed the race in 44:28. Sibray, a Silver Lake resident, took three minutes off the 35-39 age group record with a run of 44:29. Randall lowered his own 60 and Over record to 66:05. Clouse Happy The record times and race-day conditions delighted race codirector Tony Clouse. “We had an excellent turnout,” Clouse said in reference to the 215 entrants. “This was the best field we’ve had for this race. We had quality runners in every age group. I think having the quality runners here got everyone pumped lip” Himself a runner, Clouse found that the race went smoothly except for one slight hitch. He was among a small group of runners who were forced to wait for a freight train during the eightrhile race. “Everyone except the train engineer cooperated beautifully to make this a good race, ” Clouse joked. Local Finishers Five local men finished in the top 25 runners in the 3.3-mile race. Leading the way was Syracuse resident Hal Pearson who finished in the number 12 spot. Following him were Carl Rouch (17), Brian Poppenfoose (20), Price Pounds (21) and Paul Hasse (25). Two local women, Grace Stichter of Milford and Carla Clouse of Syracuse, staged a tough battle for the top spot in the 15-19 age group of the 3.3-mile
in seventh Flotilla Run
race. Stichter, a Ball State University student, clipped Clouse by four seconds to claim the title. Auer and Jeff Ott of Syracuse were the only local men to finish in the top 25 in the eight-mile race. Bits And Pieces Art Chaney, Winona Lake, was
5 11 4 / * If 1 Ib END OF THE ROAD — Tim Johnson, Warsaw, heads for the finish line in the Mail-Journal Flotilla eight-mile race on Saturday. Johnson, competing in the 35-39 age group, completed the course in 55:12. (Photo bv Mark Weinstein)
together as members of the Athlete's Foot Racing Team, finished side-by-side in a course-record time of 41:29. (Photo by Tom Charles)
the oldest participant in this year’s race. The 80-year-old Chaney was one of two entrants in the men’s 60 and Over age group of the 3.3-mile race. The other entrant, Father Bob Hammon of Syracuse, was timed in 29:55. Chantey’s time was not recorded. Among the runners who did not
show up for Saturday’s race were women s 3.3 mile, and Betty Hite defending champions Sandy Nelson in the women’s eightMort. Jerry Williams, Jr. and mile. Nelson set her mark of Scott Miller. Williams had been 52:13 in 1981. expected to compete, but made a The oldest record still on the last-minute decision not to books belongs to Tonda Yeager of attend. Syracuse. She turned in an eightThe only course records which mile time of 58:28 in 1979 to set were not broken in Saturday's the record for the women's 15-19 race belong to Stacy Wall, in the age group.
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TAKE IT ON THE RUN — Jerry Perkins, center, reaches for a refreshing cup of water during the Mail-Journal Flotilla 3.3-mile race on Saturday. Close on Perkins* heals are Larry Targgart, left, and Carl Rouch. right. (Photo by Tom Charles)
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CHECKING THE RESULTS — Ligonier's Mike Mazier, right, checks race results with Bob Owen following the completion of the Mail-Journal Flotilla 3.3-mile race. Mazier, a student at Purdue University, was the top male finisher in the 3.3-mile race with a time of 16:94. His time shattered the old course record by 55 seconds. (Photo by Mark Weinstein)