Top Athletes at the USA Masters Track Championships at GVSU

The USA Masters Track Championships are in Allendale at Grand Valley State University, July 14 - 17. Here are the top athletes to watch for!

World and National Stars by Peter Taylor (Meet Announcer):

MEN

40-44

Antwon Dussett. Peoria, Illinois. Age 40. At the 2011 worlds in Sacramento, California, Dussett ran in the 35-39 group, he won the 400 in 47.34 and the 200 in 21.57. In 2013, at age 38, he won the 400 in the worlds in Brazil with a 47.37.

Dussett particularly enjoys the track in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where in 2011 he set the still-standing American indoor M35 record for the 200 at 21.67 seconds. This past winter he returned to run 22.39 in the 200 and 49.32 at indoor nationals, the latter an American record for M40. In Grand Rapids, Dussett will run his signature races, the 200 and 400 dashes.

45-49

Allen Woodard. Houston, Texas. Age 47. In 2015, at 46, Woodard ran the 400 outdoors in 49.69 seconds to set a world mark for his age group, a performance that earned him Athlete of the Week honors from the sport's governing body, USA Track & Field.

Already this year Woodard has run a 49.12 for the 400 distance; when approved, it will be a world record. He also recently anchored a 4 x 400 M45 team to a 3:22.31 time, which would break the existing world record. His unofficial split was 47.5 seconds. In Grand Rapids, Woodard will compete in the 200 and 400. His competition in the 400 will include Lee Bridges, the reigning world outdoor champion in the 400 (50.79 seconds), and Karnell Vickers, who ran 52.52 indoors in the 400 at nationals.

Don Drummond. Norcross, Georgia. Age 47. Last year, in France, in the 110 hurdles, he won the world M45 title in 15.27 seconds. He finished third in that event at both the 2011 and 2013 worlds before going gold in 2015.

Drummond is also a threat when there are no hurdles to clear, as he has taken the bronze in the 100 dash at the last two nationals (he ran 11.74 in 2015 and 11.71 in 2014). Look for Drummond in the 110 hurdles and the 100 dash in Grand Rapids.

55-59

Allan Tissenbaum. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Age 56. In 2015, Dr. Tissenbaum, an orthopedic surgeon, put his surgical schedule on hold to travel to France for the world masters championships. He won the M55 100 final in 12.05 seconds against a wind of 2.9 meters per second. In 2005 he took a short break from orthopedics to travel to Spain for the masters worlds. The result? Gold medals in the 100 (11.23 seconds) and the 200 (22.63).

In Grand Rapids, Dr. Tissenbaum will compete in both the 100 and 200.

Paul Babits. Fort Wayne, Indiana. Age 55. It is possible that after all the vaulting has been completed in Grand Rapids he will have the best mark of any of the contestants, even though he is in M55. Babits holds the official world indoor marks for M45 at 5.14 meters (16-10 ¼) and for M50 at 4.75 meters (15-7), and in April of this year he vaulted 4.52 meters (14-10) to set a pending world indoor mark for M55.

In Grand Rapids, Paul compete in the pole vault.

Bruce McBarnette. Sterling, Virginia. Age 58. McBarnette is a member of the USATF Masters Hall of Fame and owns the world indoor mark in the high jump for men 55-59 at 1.88 meters (6 feet, 2 inches), which he set in 2013. Also in that year, he went gold at the 2013 world outdoors by leaping 1.77 meters. He came back in 2014 to win the world indoor high jump in Budapest.

McBarnette owns the American outdoor records in the high jump for both the 50-54 (1.94 meters, 6 feet, 4 ¼ inches) and 55-59 (1.84 meters, 6 feet, ½ inch) groups. At nationals he will do the triple jump as well as the high jump. Bruce is an actor who has appeared on West Wing and many TV shows and movies.

60-64

Oscar Peyton. Accokeek, Maryland. Age 63. Peyton won both the 100 and 200 at the world outdoor masters championships in 2011. In 2013 he ran 7.52 seconds in the 60 indoors to set a world standard, and last year he ran an American outdoor record of 24.14 seconds in the 200. Both marks still stand. Oscar will compete in the 100 and 200 in Grand Rapids.

John Goldhammer. Claremont, California. Age 62. Goldhammer is a hammer thrower. In the 2015 worlds in France, John showed that he was more than just a name, as he flung the hammer 56.42 meters (185 – 1) to take the gold in M60. Versatility is also a strong suit for him, as outdoors he holds the American marks in the throws pentathlon for both M55 (4602 points) and M 60 (4836). The M60 superweight record is also John's (11.30, 37-1).

In Grand Rapids, Goldhammer will do the shot put, discus, hammer, and weight throw.

65-69

Bill Collins. Houston, Texas. Age 65. An All-American at Texas Christian University and later a member of the US national team, Bill has a string of records in the 200 dash indoors: In January 2016 he set the world mark for M50 (50-54) at 22.99, for M55 at 23.36, and for M60 at 24.32. On March 6 of this year he crossed the finish line in 24.94, the first 65+ man worldwide to go under 25 seconds indoors.

In Grand Rapids, Bill will run the 100, 200, and 400.

Nolan Shaheed. Pasadena, California. Shaheed is entered in the 5000 and 1000. He is the 800M and 1500M world record holder. He has also played lead trumpet for Count Basie, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Marvin Gaye and recently played studio trumpet on the Emmy's, the Voice, and other top programs.  He has broken many national and world records, is a many-time athlete of the year.

70-74

Gary Patton. Rock Rapids, Iowa. Age 70. Patton just set a record in California, running 1 mile in 5:35.03 for an American record. Five years ago, he ran a 4:46.05 in the 1500 to win that event and set an American standard for M65 that has never been bettered. In Grand Rapids, Patton will run the 800, 1500 and 5000.

75-79

Bob Lida. Wichita, Kansas. Age 79. Lida holds the world marks in the 75-79 category for both the 100 (13.49) and 200 (27.73) dashes. Indoors, he has the world records in the same age group for the 60 (8.44) and 200 (27.64). For the year 2012, he was selected as the outstanding male masters T&F athlete in the world.

The Masters Hall of Famer is entered in the 100, 200, and 400 at nationals.

WOMEN

40-44

LaTrica Dendy. Bronx, NY. Age 43. LaTrica was runner-up in the 200 (25.70) at the 2013 world outdoors in Brazil. Four years earlier, at the world outdoors in Finland, Dendy took the gold in the W35 (35-39) group in the 400 hurdles at 1:01.19 and the 400 dash in 55.35.

Indoors, LaTrica has the American record for 400 meters for the W35 group: 56.46 seconds. Outdoors in that age division she has the American records for the 400 (55.35) and 400 intermediate hurdles (1:01.19). In Grand Rapids, she will be compete in the 200 and 400.

Anne Sluder. Pineville, North Carolina. Age 43. Anne set an American record in the pentathlon last year at nationals in Jacksonville, with 3746 points. She also won the high jump at 1.55 meters (5-1) and the 80 hurdles in 13.24. Competing against the wind, she won the long jump with 4.95 meters (16-3), and she took down a silver in the 400 hurdles in 1:10.88.

Sluder also holds the American record in the pentathlon for the W40 group indoors, with 3531 points. At Grand Rapids she will compete in the pentathlon and also in the 80 hurdles, 400 hurdles, high jump, and long jump.

45-49

Emmanuelle McGowan. Sugar Hill, Georgia. Age 48. Born in France but now an American citizen, McGowan journeyed to her native country last year to compete at the world masters in all three sprints. She won the 100 and took a silver in the 200 and 400, identifying her as one of America's best. At Albuquerque indoor nationals this past March she won the 400 (1:00.41), the 60 (8.00), and the 200 (25.64), all by impressive margins. Emma will compete in the 100, 200, and 400.

50-54

Marisa Sutera-Strange. Pleasant Valley, New York. Age 53. Sutera-Strange was an All-American in the intermediate hurdles at Ithaca College in New York, but now she favors the longer distances. In March 2015, she broke the W50 American indoor record in the 3000 meters by running a 10:12.98 (5:28.8 per mile).

Sutera-Strange will run the 1500, 5000, and 10,000 triple. Last year at outdoor nationals she won both the 1500 (4:51.86) and 5000 (17:59.13). The 4:51.86 is now the American record.

55-59

Carol Finsrud. Lockhart, Texas. Age 59. Finsrud last competed in the US Olympic Trials in 2000. She owns the official outdoor American marks in the discus for five consecutive age groups: W35, W40, W45, W50, and W55. The W35 mark has been surpassed but not ratified.

Carol's W40 record in the discus is 52.44 meters (172 feet). Outdoors, Carol also has the W55 American marks in the 16-pound weight throw (14.40 meters, 47-3) and the superweight (25 pounds) at 10.17 meters (33-4). She also owns the American record in the throws pentathlon for W55 (4170 points).

Finsrud will be competing in the discus, shot put, hammer, weight throw, and javelin.

Joy Upshaw. Lafayette, California. Age 55. A member of the USATF Masters Hall of Fame, Upshaw is as a combination sprinter-long jumper-hurdler. Outdoors she has both the W45 and W50 American records in the 80 hurdles (12.07 and 12.19, respectively), and she holds down the W45 standard in the long jump with 5.37 meters (17-7 ½).

This year Upshaw has broken three W55 American records. She has run the 100 in 13.22, the 80 hurdles in 13.04, and the 200 dash in 27.54.

Upshaw will compete in the 100, 200, 80 hurdles, 300 hurdles, long jump, and triple jump.

60-64

Kathy Martin. Northport, Long Island, New York. Age 64. Martin will compete in the 800, 1500, 5000, and 10,000 as well as the 2000 steeplechase.

Martin owns the world indoor record in the mile for women 55-59 at 5 minutes, 19.87 seconds, and she was the first 60+ woman in the history of the world to break 6 minutes in the mile indoors. At a later meet she ran 5:47.25, and that remains the world mark for W60. In addition, Kathy has the world indoor mark for W55 in the 3000 at 10:35.76 (5:41.05 per mile).

Outdoors, Kathy's records include the 50,000 meters (31.07 miles), where she holds the W60 American road record of 3 hrs, 58 minutes, 30 seconds. On the track, she has records in both flat racing and the steeplechase. She holds the world mark for W60 of 5:42.65 in the mile and is a member of the USATF Masters Hall of Fame.

65-69

Myrle Mensey: St. Louis, Missouri. Age 67. Mensey was the USATF masters track and field athlete of the year for 2013. She is also a member of the Masters Hall of Fame. Mensey will compete in five different events in Grand Rapids: the shot put, the discus, the javelin, the hammer, and the weight throw. She has the American W65 record in the hammer at 39.61 meters (129-11) and in the 12-pound weight throw at 16.81 meters (55-2).

Sabra Harvey. Houston, Texas. Age 67. Harvey did not get started in running until she was in her early 50s, but she has turned out to be a standout on both the road and track. Harvey holds the American record in the 800 for both W60 (2:34.66) and W65 (2:42.14), and she has the 1500 marks in both age groups as well, with her W65 time of 5:29.85 standing as the world record. She also has the American record in the 5000 of 20:25.64 for W65. In Grand Rapids she will line up for the 800, 1500, and 5000 runs.

75-79

Kathy Bergen. La Canada, California. Age 76. Bergen had no high school, college, or open experience in track and field, but she caught people's attention in 1995 with a record-breaking performance in the 60 at indoor nationals. Today, she is a member of the USATF Masters Hall of Fame.

Outdoors, Bergen has the world record for the 100 in the W70 age group with a 14.76 and for W75 with a 15.31. She owns the world marks in those age groups for the 200 dash at 31.39 and 33.79, respectively. She has the world mark in the high jump for W70 at 1.30 meters (4-3 ¼) and for W75 at 1.22 (4-0).

Bergen will compete on the track in the 100 and 200 and in the high jump. She will also compete in the discus and javelin where she owns the W75 mark in the discus at 22.38 meters (73-5).

80-84

Florence Meiler. Shelburne, Vermont. Age 82. Florence "Flo" Meiler is a renaissance woman in track and field despite being a late arriver. At Lyon, France, in 2015, Flo set a world W80 record in the heptathlon by ringing up 5730 points for her gold medal. Currently, Flo has the world outdoor mark in W80 for the pentathlon as well (4319).

Individually on the outdoor track, Flo has the world W80 mark in the 2000 steeplechase at 15:43.23, and she has the American W75 record in the 80 hurdles at 18.63 seconds.

Flo holds the world outdoor records in the pole vault for both W75 (2.03 meters [6-7 ¾]) and W80 (1.83 [6-0]).

Her willingness to try the weight events has also been rewarding, as she already has the American W80 records in the hammer (22.30 [73-2]), discus (18.36 [60-3]), and weight throw (9.09 [29-10]).

In Grand Rapids, Flo is entered in 13 individual events as well as the pentathlon. On the track she will do the 100 dash, 80 hurdles, 200 hurdles, and 2000 steeplechase, and she will compete in all four jumps (high jump, long jump, pole vault, and triple jump). She is also entered in the shot put, discus, hammer, weight, and javelin. She owns the triple jump American mark at 5.91 meters (19-4 ¾).