PHILADELPHIA - Whoever said the Penn Relays, America's longest-running track and field carnival, was strictly for the young folks of the high school and college generations? Certainly not Maryland Masters Club teammates Chuck Bartholomew, Marion Harrison, Larry Colbert and Bob Koontz.
The senior-citizen quartet first ran off with Penn's Masters 400-meter relay title in the 60-plus category with a 51.93-second clocking yesterday at Franklin Field, then turned their attention to the individual 100-meter dash and brought home two more golds.
"We're just guys who love running, and love track and field," said Bartholomew, 64, a farmer. Harrison, 65, is a retired Army engineer. Colbert, 65, coaches the renowned Eleanor Roosevelt High team in Greenbelt. Koontz, the youngster of the team at 60, is an investment banker.
Two hours later, Koontz took the 60-64 division of the Masters 100 in 12.81, and Harrison claimed the 65-plus title in 13.12.
Jesse O'Connell, a 6-foot-6 senior from Westminster, gave Georgetown a solid 3:00.3 leadoff 1,200 meters, and sophomore Chris Lukezic clocked a 3:59.2 1,600-meter anchor, but the college distance medley title still went to Arkansas in 9:33.74 over Georgetown's 9:34.81.
Later, Arkansas added the men's sprint medley title in 3:16.14; Tennessee's 3:41.78 was a collegiate record-breaker in the women's sprint medley.
Maryland scholastic teams played starring roles in the morning series of boys 400-meter relay races.
DeMatha Catholic (42.75), Suitland (42.88), C.H. Flowers and Westlake (43.03) advanced to today's boys large-school 400 relay final.
DeMatha, Eleanor Roosevelt (43.21), West Potomac (43.54), Archbishop Curley (43.65), Oakland Mills (43.71), DuVal (44.10), Southern (44.66) and Reginald Lewis (44.67) were sectional winners.
Getting second places were Northwestern (44.06), Meade (44.12), Frederick Douglass (44.62), Quince Orchard (44.67). Pikesville (44.78), Annapolis (44.81), Long Reach (45.56), Poolesville (45.56) and Bladensburg (46.12.) McDonogh won its section of the prep school boys 400 relay, and its 44.08 performance held up for fourth overall. Gilman School's 46.17 and Loyola (48.52) ran 3-6 in McDonogh's section.
There was good news and bad news for the Long Beach (Calif.) girls 400-meter relay runners. They lowered the U.S. high school record with a sizzling 44.50-second performance, only to be nosed out by Vere Tech of Jamaica, which lowered the Penn meet record to 44.32.
