The folks at the Oregon Track Club Masters pride themselves (rightly) on putting on one of the best masters meets in the world. Their annual Hayward Masters Classic attracts hundreds of age-groupers from around the country to the University of Oregon’s famed Hayward Field. But the meet was held over the weekend (Saturday and Sunday), and I’m afraid of this being another year with results trickling out late. What a shame, especially if records were set.

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Atlanta Olympian Mark Coogan clocked 4:29.53 to win the inaugural masters mile at the Kip Keino event Sunday sponsored by letsrun.com. It was a great M40 time for the windy conditions. And he collected $250 for his efforts. Mark was interviewed for a podcast about a year ago. The Ithaca Journal reported on the event.

National Masters News appears to be lacking information on the Southern California Association USATF Masters Championships, so I’ve been asked to post this note on the June 9 meet at Long Beach State University: “Online entry is up and running at www.scausatf.org. The entry deadline is June 4.” On another meet, I learn: “The two-day West Region Masters Championships will be at Occidental College (with hammer, weight, super weight and javelin contested at Citrus College on the first day). Schedule, meet entry, past results and meet records are all online at our association website.” BTW, our own meet calendar generally links to USATF’s. So if NMN doesn’t have a meet listed, you can find it on the USATF calendar.

So it begins. Two days after turning 40, Jim Sorensen brought down his first age-group record, beating Johnny Gray’s listed outdoor American Record for 800. Jim ran 1:51.57 at yesterday’s Occidental Invitational near Los Angeles, where results show he was the 19th-fastest overall. He thus broke Gray’s 1:52.42 set at the 2000 Olympic Trials in Sacramento. (However, M40 Gray ran 1:48.81 indoors in March 2001). The M40 world record is Briton Colm Rothery’s 1:50.69 from 2000.

Nolan Shaheed stole the show today in Oregon. Competing at the Fountain of Youth Masters Mile, where M45 Tony Young was to be the headliner, Nolan ran four laps in 4:42.7 to shave 3 seconds from the listed M55 American Record of 4:45.6 by Vic Heckler in 1997. (Nolan has an unratified 4:40.2 from 2005, when he was 55.) Tony, a new M45, won the race in 4:20.3, which apparently was hand-timed. Tony missed the listed M45 AR of 4:18.8 by Ken Sparks in 1990. In last was one Henry Rono, 55. He wasn’t even the No. 2 M55 miler. He trailed M55 Michael Allison by 43 seconds.

Alisa Harvey has a second to go. At the UNC Elite Meet today in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Alisa lowered her own W40 American Record for 800 meters to 2:07.57 — bringing her to close proximity of the Olympic Trials qualifying mark of 2:06.50. She broke the AR she set in late March of 2:08.05. Alisa writes; “I was quite pleased with my strong finish. Now I hope to find a race to run a touch faster!”

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W80 sprint champion Pat Peterson shares the sad news that her New York friend Nate White has died. He was 87. Nate was a well-regarded miler and ranked high as recently as 2002. Pat writes: “Nate passed away at his home in Fayetteville on Thursday, May 10, 2007. Son of Nathaniel A. White and Jesse (Engard) White, he was born in Wenonah, New Jersey, on June 28, 1919.”

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Jim Sorensen, our great miling hope, celebrated his 40th birthday on Thursday. And a member of the T&FN Message Board posted a wonderful review on his storied career. We learn: “Congratulations to Jim Sorensen, 1996 OT runner-up, who turns the big 40 today. Jim has been looking forward to this day for a good while now, as his track durability has astonishingly remained in tact well beyond his peak, having run 1.50.89-3.44.17-4.02.66 last season between his 38th and 39th birthdays (4:02 was run six days before his 39th; 3.44 was run three days after his 39th)”.

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Hall of Famer and three-time Olympian Willie Banks, a former world record holder, is entered in his signature event, the TJ, at Orono. He’s also signed up for Riccione worlds (whose entry deadline for Americans is May 14, BTW). Last October, he set an M50 American Record of 14.00 (45-11 1/4). But he’s still after the world record of 14.07 (46-2). Don’t bet against his getting it twice this summer. The American team for Riccione may be the smallest in decades, but it’s superstrong.

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Gill Athletics, a sponsor of this humble site, is welcoming masters to its second annual Factory Pole Vault on June 16 in Champaign, Illinois. Despite the name, I gather it’s an outdoor competition, since the rain date is June 17. Prize money totals $2,500 — but I’m not sure how much the masters winners get. Gill reports: “The Youth/Masters/Open division will feature approximately 75 vaulters, from High School to Masters level vaulters (40-75 years old).” Entry information is posted here.

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