Andrews Wins Eighth Career National Title at 12 km Championships in New Jersey

Results

On Sunday (18-SEPT) 14 athletes and two (2) teams from USATF Niagara competed in the USATF Masters 12 km Championships in Highlands, N.J. The championship, hosted by the by The Hook or Crook 12K, was the seventh race in the 2022 USATF National Masters Grand Prix.

A total of 299 athletes from 32 states competed in the championships.

The storyline of the day for the Niagara athletes was the national title won by Mark Andrews, 51, of Rochester in the men's 50-54 division and the runner-up finish for John McMahon, 56, of Williamsville in the men's 55-59 division. Andrews, who competes for the Genesee Valley Harriers, stopped the clock at 41:26 to win his eighth career national title. He defeated Gregory Putnam of Massachusetts by 47 seconds. His time scored 87.76% on the age-grading tables; which was the eighth best score of the 204 men that competed. Scores of 80-90% are considered national class performances with scores over 90% being considered world class performances. The top score was 90.48 turned in by Rick Becker of Washington.

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IN THEIR WORDS - Mark Andrews

The weather was not ideal. The temperature was close to 80, with high humidity and a lot of wind. Because of that, I started conservatively. Once the race started, I found the first guy with an M50 back bib, and ran behind him. My plan was to stay with him for 5 or 6 miles, then surge late in the race to try to win. However, he began slowing down by 3 miles, so around 3 and a half, I passed him. Unfortunately, there was a big gap to the next group of 3 runners ahead of us, so I ran alone until about 7 miles. Then an M40 runner caught up to me, so I stayed behind him to the finish, and was able to out-kick him at the end.

Overall, it was a great experience. I was able to talk with a few runners from other teams right after the race, as well as cool down with Chris Hernandez, a GVH runner from South Carolina who I have become good friends with. I would've liked to run a little faster, but the weather didn't cooperate. However I can say I gave everything I had, and it was an enjoyable experience. 

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In the men's 55-59 division McMahon, a member of the Checkers AC, ran 44:02 to score 86.32% on the age-grading tables (14th best score out of the 204 men competitors). He only trailed Brian Crowley of New Jersey who won the 55-59 title running 42:23.

Also scoring over 80% were Christopher Hernandez, 46, of Charleston SC and Dale Flanders, 57, of Allegany, NY. Both compete for the Genesee Valley Harriers. Hernandez finished sixth in the 40-44 division running 42:23 (80.40%) while Flanders finished ninth in the 55-59 division in a time of 46:58 (81.59%).

Andrews and Flanders led the Genesee Valley Harriers M50+ team to a fourth place team finish. Venelin Tchamov, 56, of Rochester was the team's third scorer (16th 55-59, 53:09, 71.46%). The team's cumulative team time was 2:21:41. The West Valley TC from California won with a team time of 2:08:02 with the Garden State TC (2:10:18) second and Atlanta TC third (2:15:15).

The Genesee Valley Harriers M60+ team finished seventh. The team scorers were John Van Kerkhove (8th 60-64, 50:50, 77.49%), Mark Rybinski (13th 65-69, 58:41, 71.80%), and Bill Beyerbach (16th 65-69, 1:04:49, 65.00%)

The top Niagara performance for the Niagara women was the eighth place finish in the 50-54 division by Cassandra Crane, 53, of Chittenango, NY running 58:51 (71.78%).

The complete Niagara Results Scoreboard can be found here.