INSTANT SUCCESS: CHERYL GATONS?IN HER FIRST XC RACE IN THE 40-PLUS RANKS?WON THE ALUMNI RACE WOMEN’S OPEN/40-PLUS TITLES. MORE RECENTLY, THE GREENSBURG RESIDENT WON A SPOT IN THE WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA MARATHON HALL OF FAME. MARY HARWICK PHOTO

‘Golden’ Finale for
Gold Medal Camp Alumni Race

BY JOHN HARWICK

PITTSBURGH, PA--Gold Medal Camp hosted its 11th annual--and final--Alumni race on November 1, 2009 on the groomed, but challenging trails in scenic Frick Park.

“Traditionally,” meet director John Harwick explained, “we hosted the race in July on the XC course at California U. of PA on the opening day of camp.”

But campus construction eliminated the use of the XC course for both the race and the 41st annual edition of the nation’s oldest distance-running camp.

Tom Slosky of New York Athletic Club?prepping for the Run for the Diamonds on Thanksgiving--and West Penn’s Cheryl Gatons claimed wins in the 6K race.

Slosky, an NCAA All-American steeplechaser for Duquesne University in 2009, beat two other post-collegiate runners with his quick 19:42.

Gatons, first American in the marathon in the World Championships in Greece, won both the Open and 40-plus women’s titles with her impressive 22:20.

Craig Woshner--with seven gold, one silver, and one bronze in nine previous Alumni races?celebrated his entry into the 40-plus ranks with a first place 20:40.

Woshner, a former Pitt star now the AD at James Wood High in Winchester, VA, led a sweep for the Woshner family as wife Stephanie and son Nate claimed wins.

Former California U. of PA ace Ryan Moravec and Derek Dutille (Slosky’s former teammate at Duquesne) finished in the 2-3 slots to lead West Penn to the men’s team title.

West Penn’s Dom Wyzomirski and Carl Hubel finished 1-2 among the 50-54 entries to lead the host team past Over the Hill for the 40-plus men’s team title.

TUNE-UP: FORMER DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY DISTANCE ACE TOM SLOSKY USED HIS ALUMNI RACE 6K WIN AS A TUNE-UP FOR THE 100TH RUN FOR THE DIAMONDS IN BERWICK AND TOOK FOURTH (46:06) TO CLAIM HIS DIAMOND RING IN PENNSYLVANIA’S OLDEST FOOTRACE. MARY HARWICK PHOTO

Long-time youth coach John Holsinger saw his Wildcats sweep the women’s team titles in both the 2K and the 4K.
And the Pacer Track Club won the men’s 2K.

FINISH LINE--Each year Alumni Race officials dedicate the race to the memories of former Gold Medal Campers Seth Burton of Fairmont, WV and Katie DeRosa of Frostburg, MD. Separate automobile accidents in 1998 caused the deaths of those two young distance runners. Seth captained his West Fairmont (WV) High team to the 1997 West Virginia State XC Championship. Katie?in her last race?won the 15-and-Under division of the Greater Clarksburg (WV) Distance Classic 10K…Dave Mapes did his usual excellent job of timing…USATF Masters official Mark Schwartz served as the meet referee…Tom Solsky cashed in on his Alumni Race tune-up by capturing fourth place in 46:06 in the 100th running of the Run for the Diamonds Nine Miler on Thanksgiving in Berwick…Runners from five states competed: New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia…

Editor’s Note: I had the pleasure of attending Gold Medal Camp in 1997. It was rigorous and memory-making for a lot of reasons. I loved every minute of it. I salute John Harwick and everyone who has made Gold Medal Camp the gold standard for running camps. Thanks for all you’ve done for our sport, John, and for all you will do in the future.