California and Texas made an impression at Boston nationals
Masters meet announcer Pete Taylor, who only a year ago was recovering from serious illness, has sent along his observations on the just-completed USATF National Masters Indoor Championships in Boston. He’s one of the few people in the sport who witness just about every event at nationals. His race calls add excitement to the meet, giving it a special atmosphere. Athletes appreciate the star treatment.
Pete writes:
My first impression of what happened at Boston:
If for some reason California and Texas had been barred from the meet, it would have been a totally different experience. When I announced the standings on Sunday I saw that 2 of the top 3 teams were from California. Sprinter after sprinter from California; it was glorious.
Aaron Thigpen (M40 out of San Diego State) would have crushed many college sprinters with his 6.90 in the 60 dash. Kathy Bergen (W65 from La Canada, California) is still in complete control of both sprinting and high jumping (world mark). Nadine O’Connor (W60 from Del Mar, California) is on another planet.
Nolan Shaheed (M55 from California) was the best musician in the meet and broke the world mark in M55 mile. The list goes on and on.
From Texas, M55 sprinter Bill Collins (out of TCU) was shockingly fast in 60 and 200. Bobby Whilden (M70 from Univ of Texas) is even faster than Payton Jordan. What?! Marie Kay (W45 from Australia) thrilled the crowd with her brilliance in 200 and400.
Other major impression: The women’s competition has gotten so much better. Mary Grene’s mile race (Mary’s from Kansas) in W40 and younger was considered one of the highlights of the meet because it was so dramatic, with 5 or 6 women in contention in the late stages.
Lorraine Jasper (W40 from Pennsylvania) said that she almost collapsed from watching it, as it was so exciting. Lesley Chaplin-Swann (W45 from Georgia) was absolutely dominant, but her performances were not as exciting in some ways because she was well ahead. Alisa Harvey (W40 out of University of Tennessee, now living in Virginia) is simply phenomenal, and the crowd loved her in 400 and 800.
More comments in a day or 2.
Related posts:
- Willie Banks warms up for Boston nationals with 5-11 at age 53
- Two world records on first day of Boston indoor nationals
- Peter Taylor’s parting thoughts on Boston nationals
- Peter Taylor’s nationals: ‘My big adventure in Boston’
- The missing and the missed at Boston nationals
6 Responses
Ken
I have already thanked Peter personally but wanted to use this medium to publicly thank him for his incredible announcing efforts over the past three days. His depth of knowledge of so many athletes is incredible and appreciated by us all. My mile on Saturday is somewhat a blur but I remember hearing Peter mention the fact that I had recently become a US citizen and even noted the date! He makes us all feel special.
Thank you Peter for all your hard work….no easy task announcing all those athletes over three days.
Lesley
Pete as always you are the best. I also like to thank the great staff from Boston who put the meet. You guys did a wonderful job as always. We look forward to returning there next year. It was great to speak about the late great Paul Johnson, we all miss him
Having an announcer of such stature is very special and appreciated by all. Several of the athletes went to dinner on Saturday evening and all the spouses (spectators) talked about how Mr. Taylor was able to keep it all sorted out and kept chaos at bay. Just as not having California and Texas present might change the meet, its no less true that the meet changes dramatically without Pete Taylor.
This past weekend in Boston was one of the most memorable athletic experiences I’ve had, and Mr. Taylor added so much to it. Both my husband and daughter were in attendance and they were very impressed — Pete’s colorful commentary made the experience extra enjoyable for them as well.
To you all,
Congratulations on some great running. Sounds like as usual our Nationals in Boston was well run. Wish I was there to compete in such a great atmosphere.
And kudo’s to Pete Taylor again for motivating all the athlete’s with his awesome announcing.HE IS SOMETHING ELSE! Wonder what his nickname would have been for me?
See you all outside.
Sal
As a member of the New England Association’s Board of Governors (VP)and as a competitor who has competed in all nine of the indoor championships that have been held at the Reggie Lewis Center, I was pleased at the large turnout, the high level of competition, the camaraderie among athletes and the many appreciative comments about the meet. Peter Taylor’s knowledge and announcing skills certainly enhance the experience for everybody.
HOWEVER, as a sprinter / jumper who competes in the LJ and TJ at the national indoors, I can tell you that field event competitors (the hundreds who come to the meet primarily to jump or throw) are marginalized by the near exclusive focus on the action on the track. It’s not an easy problem to address. At the open US Indoor T&F Championships, ESPN2 uses spotters to relay information from the field event competitions to the announcers and that’s not something that we’ve tried to do at Boston yet. I don’t mean to inject a sour note, but rather to raise an issue that is usually overlooked.
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