Join us Saturday, March 29, at 6:30 PM in the Quadrangle Club on the University of Chicago campus for the 2008 UCTC Annual Banquet. Our guest speaker will be Ralph Schultz.

Ralph has a long connection both with the Chicago area and with UCTC. Ralph began his running career at Evergreen Park HS. He was runner up in the 880 yard run in the Illinois State High School meet in 1965. He received an athletic scholarship to Northwestern University where, among other achievements, he won several Big 10 championships and placed in several NCAA championships, indoors and out. He was named both Northwestern and Big Ten athlete of the year in 1969. After graduation, he ran for UCTC. He was a member of the UCTC 2-mile relay team that won two national indoor championships and ran in Europe for the USA track squad in 1971.

Ralph lived in Hyde Park while he completed his MBA at the U. of Chicago. After retiring early from a business career, he became a teacher. He is currently teaching business at Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

Ralph's son Blaine currently competes for the resurging UCTC open program. He won the 800m at the Metzger Invitational on January 26.

Tickets are $50 each for adults and $25 for youth program participants. Reserve your place(s) by sending a check or money order, payable to University of Chicago Track Club to:

Ernest C. Billups
Treasurer, University of Chicago Track Club
1100 E. 48th Street
Chicago, IL, 60615

The UCTC depends largely on contributions from supporters. Most of the contributions fund our highly successful Youth Program. Every year, the UCTC provides coaching for more than 50 young people. To do this, the UCTC provides equipment, coaching education, communication, meet entry fees, and partial travel support. In addition, every year the club provides competitive opportunities for more than 1000 others by putting on the Ted Haydon Holiday Classic in December and six Thursday night track meets during the summer.

UCTC news from last year is summarized below. Our tightness of funds show up in that of the 11 individuals and one relay team who qualified the the National Junior Olympics meet in California, only three attended.

Meanwhile, for the first time in years we have an active local program with athletes competing in middle distance events at major midwestern meets.

If you cannot attend, please support the UCTC -- contributions are tax
deductible. Call me at (773) 955-2223 if you have any questions about the banquet, club, UCTC activities, or how you can help.

I look forward to seeing you, Ralph Schultz and all our UCTC friends
Saturday, March 29, for an evening of talk and good company.

Sincerely yours,

Patrick Palmer
President, UCTC

Dec 16, 2006: the 54 annual Ted Haydon Holiday meet. At least 296 individuals completed 422 individual events. Twenty five relay teams also ran. A number of excellent performances took place. David Ashford,
masters world record holder, won the 55m hurdles, and the O.F.F. Track
Club narrowly missed the meet record in the 4x200m relay.

February 16 -- 17: The UCTC Youth team competed in the AAU Northern
Indoor National Championships in Merrillville. They won four national
championships: Joseph Toye (long jump and high jump), Elizabeth Toye
(long jump), and the girls midget 4x400m relay.

March 13. Two former UCTC members were named to staff for 2007 Pan
American Games. Connie Price-Smith was named women's head coach and on
the men's side Lance Deal was named assistant coach(throws).

March 24: The annual UCTC banquet was held at the Quadrangle Club on the U. of Chicago campus. The guest speaker was Richard Walton, founder of the UCTC youth program. He presented some history and talked about some of the goals of the program. Gregory Beacham, the current youth coach, received the Howard Williams award for service to the club. The youth awards were presented to Joseph Toye and Suryia Chionesu.

June 2: The LV's Cheetahs meet in Chicago Heights, was the first outdoor youth meet of the season. Sariaya Phillips, Raena Rhone, Jordan Reid, and Armand Rhone all won their events. The midget girls 4x400m relay team also won.

June 9: Kankakee Track Club meet, Bourbonnais, IL. Joseph Toye and Jordan Reid went 1 - 2 in both the 100 and 200 meters (and 1 - 3 in the long jump). The youth boys won both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays, and Andre Gallion and Kyle Murdock tied for first in the long jump.

June 16: Jane Dickens Invitational, Maywood, IL. Thirty youth competed in this the last tune-up for the State Junior Olympics. Christina Creed (youth 100m), Raena Rhone (200m and 800m), and Joseph Toye (long jump) established new meet records.

June 21. As every year for more than 50 years, we hosted six all-comers, ``no entry fee, no awards'' track meets on summer Thursdays nights. Because of the construction at Stagg Field, the meets were held at the Jackson Park track. In the six meets (June21, June 28, July 5, 12, 19, and 26) at least 320 individuals
competed ranging in age from 4 years to 62 years.

June 21 -- 23. The UCTC youth team sent 25 members to the USATF Junior Olympics State Championship meet in Lisle, IL. Alisha Reid (100m), Raena Rhone (400m, 800m), Joseph Toye (100m, 200m, long jump -- in a meet record) won their events. The girls won 17 medals, and the boys 10. All told, 13 individuals and one relay team advanced to the Regional JO meet.

June 30. In the Angelic Flyers meet in South Holland, IL, the Sub-Bantam girls (4x100m relay), Raena Rhone (200m), Joseph Toye (long jump), and Harrison Mohr (800m) set meet records, and four others won their events.

July 5. In the fourth UCTC summer meet, Paul Perry set an American record for the mile for age 62 years (5:13.8).

July 12 -- 15. The Regional JO championship was held in Maywood, IL. Thirteen UCTC youth competed, and 11 plus the youth boys 4x100m relay team qualified for Nationals. Raena Rhone set a meet record in the 400m, running an outstanding 55.95 as a 13 year-old. Joseph Toye also broke the meet record in the long jump. Jordan Reid won the 400m.

July 24 -- 29. The USATF National Junior Olympic Track Field Championships was held at Mt. SAC in Walnut, CA. Joseph Toye, Elizabeth Toye and Harrison Mohr competed. This is a huge meet (about 6000 entries). Joseph placed 5th in the long jump.

August 4. Raena Rhone's was invited to compete in the North American Final of Hershey's Track Field Games, in Hershey, PA. She won the International Girls 13-14 200 Meter Dash, and ran on the winning International Girls 13-14 4x100 Meter Relay.