USATF Masters Hall of Fame adds 14 inductees

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Contact:
Tom Surber
USA Track & Field
Media Information Manager
317-713-4690; Tom.Surber@usatf.org


News & Notes, Volume 9, Number 63

USATF Masters Hall of Fame adds 14 inductees



National Track & Field Hall of Famer Bill Rodgers leads an impressive group of 14 athletes that have been elected to the USA Track & Field Masters Hall of Fame.



In addition to Rodgers, active Masters athletes entering the Hall of Fame include George Cohen, William Daprano, Ray Feick, Mary Harada, Bob Lida, Bob Matteson, Bruce McBarnette, Charley Miller and Gerald Vaughn. Old timer athletes to enter the Hall of Fame are Jerry Crockett, Tim Dyas, Bert Morrow, and Algene Williams.



The Hall now contains 58 women and 118 men, with 115 inductees representing the discipline of track and field, 46 from Long Distance Running and 15 from Race Walking.



A 1999 inductee of the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, Bill Rodgers, 62, of Boxborough, Mass., is a four-time winner of both the Boston and New York City marathons, and was one of the prime movers in the American distance running boom of the 1970s. A prostate cancer survivor, Rodgers has set eight U.S. masters records in distances ranging from 5 km to 30 km.



A resident of Los Angeles, George Cohen, 69, made his mark as a middle distance runner, winning seven national 800m titles and one WMA two-lap crown during his career.



The winner of 12 national masters pentathlon titles in a career that has spanned a quarter century, 82-year old William Daprano of Fayetteville, Ga., was a member of many WMA championship relay teams. His wife Jeanne entered the Hall of Fame in 2003.



Ray Feick, 78, of Gilbertsville, Pa., is a longtime USATF Masters level official that has provided his administrative abilities to local and national events. Feick has served as the head field judge for the Penn Relays the last 12 years and has competed in more than 400 track meets in the last 28 years.



A five-time 800m and six-time 3,000m USATF Masters champion, 74-year old Mary Harada of West Newbury, Mass., holds one world and three U.S. records. She has won national masters titles in cross country and in distances ranging from 5 km to 10 km.



Bob Lida, 73, of Wichita, Kans., who is known more for his prowess as a sprinter, ran a 2:57 marathon in his 40s. A seven-time national champ in the 200m who owns eight 400m national crowns, Lida won WMA World sprint titles in 2003 and 2007.



A cross country champion and former winner at 15 km, Bob Matteson, 93, of Bennington, Va., is a sprinter who has won 12 national titles at 400 meters, five in the 800 meters and four in the 200 meters. He currently holds four U.S. Masters records.



High jump specialist Bruce McBarnette (52, of Sterling, Va.) has won 26 national and international competitions over the past decade, including 17 USATF national masters titles.



A hurdles world record setter on three occasions, Charley Miller, 72, of Sanger, Tex., also competes in sprints and the Pentathlon. Miller has won eight national titles in the 100m hurdles and is a four-time national 300m hurdles champion. He has won two WMA 100m hurdles titles.


One of the most accomplished throwers in U.S. Masters history, Gerald Vaughn, 74, of Charlotte, N.C., has not been defeated in the shot put at a USATF Indoor or Outdoor Championship since 2001. He has set five world Masters records during his career.



A former USATF Long Distance Running chair and Masters LDR chair, Jerry Crockett, 81, of Stillwater, Okla., has excelled in a variety of roles in serving the sport. Crockett has been the recipient of the Otto Essig Award for Meritorious Service to Masters LDR on three occasions.


A resident of Ridgewood, N.J., Tim Dyas, 89, was a five-time U.S. Masters Athlete of the Year in Race Walking. He remains the U.S. one-hour race walking record holder in the M75 and M80 divisions.



During a career that spanned from 1985 to 2003, Bert Morrow, 97, of San Marcos, Calif., was named Masters Track Age-Group Athlete of the Year in 1988, 1998, and 2003.



A versatile performer throughout her career, Algene Williams, 93, of Park Forest, Ill., set 11 U.S. records during her career. She also earned four Masters LDR Age-Group Athlete of the Year awards, and one Masters Track Age-Group Athlete of the Year designation.



For a complete list of the USA Track & Field Masters Hall of Fame inductees, visit: http://www.usatf.org/HallOfFame/Masters/







About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.

For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org

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