Stars to watch at 2007 USA Masters Indoors

BOSTON - This weekend's 2007 USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships, held Friday through Sunday at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, is one of the most star-studded ever. A former Harvard high jumper is among the luminaries slated to compete (notes courtesy Ken Stone, www.masterstrack.com):

Reigning Indoor World Champions Entered in Boston

M75 John Starr in 3000 race walk

M65 Emil Pawlik in 60, 60H, high jump, long jump, pentathlon

M65 Sid Howard in 800, mile

M60 Roger Pierce in 60, 200, 400

M55 Bill Collins in 60, 200, 400

M55 James Broun in 60H

M50 James Barrineau in high jump

M45 Gregory Foster in 60, 60H, high jump, long jump, triple jump, shot put, pentathlon

M45 Bruce McBarnette in high jump

M35 Daniel Holton in pole vault

W45 Joy Upshaw-Margerum in 60, 60H, 200, long jump

W45 Lesley Chaplin-Swann in 200, 400, 800, mile, 3000

W40 Patricia Porter in high jump

Reigning World Outdoor Champions Entered in Boston:

M35 Don Drummond in 60, 60H

M35 Neil Fitzgerald in 800

M40 Robert Thomas in 60, 200, 400 and 800

M40 Michael Trunkes in 3000

M45 Darnell Gatling in 200, 400

M45Anselm Lebourne in 800, mile

M45 Bruce McBarnette in high jump

M55Charles Alliein 60, 200 and 400

M60Larry Barnum in 400, 800

M60 Norman Frablein 3K walk, high jump

M60 Roger Pierce in 60, 200 and 400

M65 Emil Pawlik in 60, 60H, high jump, long jump and pentathlon

M75 Jerry Donleyin pole vault and long jump

M80 Mel Larsen in 60, 60H, 200 and long jump

W35 Lisa Daley in 60, 200 and 400

W40 Patricia Porter in high jump

W80 Miriam Gordon in 3K walk

Please note:

M40 Robert Thomas Jr. - a silver medalist at the 2006 Masters World Championships in both M35 200 and 400 - is entered in the 60, 200, 400 and 800 in Boston. In mid-February, he broke the M40 American indoor record for 400 meters: http://masterstrack.com/blog/001281.html

ONES TO WATCH (with supporting links):

-- Kathryn Martin, who has set at least five W55 world indoor records this year, is entered in the 800, mile and 3000. http://masterstrack.com/blog/001287.html

-- M75 vaulter William Bell is Olympian Earl Bell's father. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Bell_(athletics)

-- M60 vaulter John Altendorf in February raised his age group's world indoor record to 3.96 meters (12-11 3/4). http://masterstrack.com/blog/001268.html

-- M50 vaulter Gary Hunter set a world indoor record (4.65/15-3) and American outdoor record (4.60/15-1) in 2006 but jumped an unratified 4.75 (15-7) outdoors in May 2006, which betters the M50 world outdoor record.

http://masterstrack.com/blog/000802.html

-- The top three finishers in January's Hartshorne Masters Mile at Ithaca, New York, will race again:

John Hinton 43 Chapel Hill, NC 4:21.20 Kevin Forde 43 Philadelphia, PA 4:29.46 Anselm LeBourne 47 Maplewood, NJ 4:29.59

(But Anselm will be in M45, while John and Kevin will tangle again in the M40 group) http://masterstrack.com/blog/001219.html

-- Phil Raschker, who turned 60 February 21, already has set two world and two American W60 records (at the USATF indoor heptathlon championships). She's entered in 60, 60H, 200, high jump, long jump, triple jump, pole vault, shot put and pentathlon. http://masterstrack.com/blog/001313.html

-- All four members of the 4x200 indoor M70 world record relay team of earlier this month are entered in various sprints - Larry Colbert, Rich Rizzo, Dick Camp and Bob Lida. http://masterstrack.com/blog/001307.html

OLYMPIAN ENTRANTS:

-- High jump champs Patricia Porter (W40) and Jim Barrineau (M50) jumped in the Olympic Games (Patricia Porter was Patricia Morley King in the Olympics). http://www.trishporter.com/http://members.aol.com/track2ceo/barrineau.html

-- M50 John Tuttle (entered in Boston 3000) was a 1984 marathon Olympian.

In addition, note the presence in Boston of M55 Nolan Shaheed, entered in 800, mile and 3K. He's a favorite to win all three and threaten age-group records while he runs to a beat. Jazz musician Shaheed played lead trumpet with the Count Basie Orchestra, was musical director for Marvin Gaye, and has worked with Natalie Cole and Stevie Wonder.

M55 high jumperEd Baskauskas is a Harvard alumnus now living in Northern California. Ed beat Richard Sobel (an old Princeton rival) in a jump-off in 2005 for the outdoor U.S. title. Ed jumped for Harvard in the early 1970s.

For more information on the 2007 USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships, visit http://www.usatf.org/events/2007/USAMastersIndoorTFChampionships/ .

For media interviews onsite, see Bob Weiner, National Masters Media Chair at Trackside or call Bob's cell at 202-329-1700.