Central Park TC crushes M50 world record in 4×100 at Penn

The Central Park TC quartet of Randy Frey, Ben James, Tony Fulton and Val Barnwell wowed the crowd at yesterday’s Penn Relays, beating the listed M50 world record in the 4×100 relay. CPTC clocked 44.47 to take down the 44.99 by Bob Bowen, Ed Gonera, Bill Collins and Jesse Norman at 2003 Puerto Rico worlds. (See the video of the race here.) Val, a world champion, also won the M50 open 100 in 11.66, and his team beat a Houston Elite squad anchored by Bill Collins by more than 2 seconds. More than 39,500 witnessed the masters at Penn, which amounts to a nationals preview in the 100. The CPTC squad would have beaten dozens of high school boys teams!

Other 100 champs (click their names for their race videos) were M40 John Simpson (11.37), M45 Lonnie Hooker (11.21), M55 Oscar Peyton using a standing start (11.83), M60 Charles Allie (12.39), M65 Tom Johnson another standing starter and fast finisher (13.87) and M70 Bob Lida (13.79), recovered from his fall at the finish last summer at Spokane.

Today’s masters events at Penn include 4x4s and the popular over-75 100. Earl Fee, 80, is listed among the entrants.

The Central Park Track Club boasts an M50 4×4 of Val Barnwell, Ben James, Alston Brown and Anselm Lebourne that could challenge the listed WR of 3:35.31 by a British team in 2008. But Houston Elite will counter with slightly older Charles Allie, Bill Collins, Horace Grant and George Haywood, who are targeting the M55 WR of 3:43.59.