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South Jersey Running:
Ocean Running Club Holds Annual Winter Banquet and Awards Ceremony

Saturday, January 11, 2003

By Mark Fletcher
SJSports Special Correspondent

The Ocean Running Club recently held their annual Winter Banquet and Awards Ceremony at the Lamp Post Inn in Pine Beach. Awards were presented to club members for the 2002 calendar year in a variety of categories including runners, racewalkers, marathon runners, and triathlete. Many categories had separate awards for male and female. In addition, club spirit awards, special achievement awards, a "President's Award," and a "Keeper of the Wave Award" were handed out.

Club members had the opportunity to submit their nominations, and then a panel selected the award winners. The Ocean Running Club award winners for 2002 are as follows:

Male Racewalker of the Year:

--- Jack Lach
Female Racewalker of the Year:
Dorit Attias
Male Scholastic Runner of the Year:
Patrick Lesniak
Female Scholastic Runners of the Year:
Jen Blank and Shannon Dawe
Male Runner of the Year:
Dave DeMonico
Female Runner of the Year:
Lauren Rhatigan
Male Master Runner of the Year:
John Shavel
Female Master Runner of the Year:
Sally Kalksma
Senior Master Runners of the Year:
Chris Pappas and Marilyn Ryder
Marathon Runner of the Year:
Bill Winterbottom
President's Award:
Bob and Tim Horn
Keeper of the Wave Award:
Michele Kirsch
Club Spirit Award:
Ellen Stefanacci
Club Spirit Award:
Barbara Johnson
Sponsor Award and Club Spirit Award:
Arturo and Maria Gonzales
Club Spirit Award:
Tom, Barbara, and Patrick Lesniak
Special Achievement Award:
Captain Bill Winterbottom
Jack Anderson
Mike Mooney
Chris Peters
Tom Zarra
Special Achievement Award:
Captain Patrice Hancock
Ken Anderson
Alan Kirsch
Ken Kirsch
Bob Hancock
Special Achievement Award:
Patrick Asay
Triathlete of the Year:
Jim Cummings

Following the buffet dinner and awards presentation, many door prizes were given away. After the last door prize was given away, club members and guests danced away on the dance floor late into the night.

The Ocean Running Club holds many races each year, including a winter series and a summer series. All races are open to both club members and non-members. The Ocean Running Club also presents several scholarships each spring to area high school seniors who participate in sports and will be attending college the following fall.

For more information about the Ocean Running Club, visit their website at http://www.oceanrunningclub.org.

Photos by Mark Fletcher

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