Bryan Burns, Times Staff Writer
Monday, February 28, 2011
almost 26,000 turn out for gasparilla classic
Close to 26,000 runners took to Bayshore Boulevard and the streets of Davis Islands for the 34th annual Gasparilla Distance Classic on Saturday and Sunday in Tampa.
In the prestigious 15K competition, Clearwater's Briana Whaley beat out more than 2,500 women's runner to win by 54 seconds.
Whaley, 32, broke the tape in 54 minutes, five seconds.
In the men's race, Andrew Letherby, also from Clearwater, earned a silver medal. Letherby, 37, clocked in at 47:05. He finished 43 seconds behind overall champion Jeremy Criscione of Bartow (46:22).
Local age group winners from the 15K include: (F10 and under) Jade Curtis, St. Petersburg, 2:06:29; (F11-14) Anna Cappelli, St. Petersburg, 1:41:21; (M11-14) Hunter McCann, Treasure Island, 59:09; (M15-19) Cameron Wheeler, St. Petersburg, 53:25; (F30-34) Whaley; (M35-39) Letherby; (M60-64) Albert Wieringa, St. Petersburg, 1:02:13; (M70-74) William Riley, St. Petersburg, 1:10:22; (M80-84) Larry Yost, Treasure Island, 1:40:34.
In the 5K Gasparilla Distance Classic, which featured more than 10,000 racers, Palm Harbor's Katherine McMeekin had the top overall finish among Pinellas County runners. McMeekin, 20, ran 18:34 to place fourth in the women's competition.
Pinellas age group winners in the 5K were: (F10 and under) Reagan Quilty, St. Petersburg, 21:45; (F30-34) Lisa Williams, Largo, 19:59; (F60-64) Ellen Kohn, Palm Harbor, 25:18; (F65-69) Carol Jean Vosburgh, Treasure Island, 27:53; (F70-74) Annette Frisch, St. Petersburg, 33:05.
Ben Martucci of Brooksville won the 5K in 14:53. Kari Grippo was the women's champion after running 18:11.
In the inaugural 8K competition on Sunday, Brianne Gaal of Cary, N.C., was the women's champion after running the 4.97-mile course in 32:34. She has lived in North Carolina for four years but is a former resident of St. Petersburg and graduate of Northside Christian.
Christina Noordstar, also of St. Petersburg, placed third in the 8K in 33:57.
The overall 8K champion was Joshua Prevatt of Brandon in 28:06.
Two locals won their age group in the 8K. Nathaniel O'Brien of St. Petersburg was the fastest runner in the men's 20- to 24-year-old age division after running 33:13. Largo's Loyce Williams earned first in the women's 60-64 group in 42:41.
Amy McClenathan from St. Petersburg won the women's masters title at Sunday's Gasparilla half-marathon. McClenathan, 51, crossed the finish line in 1:37:05 to take first place by a minute, 40 seconds.
Local age group winners in the half-marathon include: (F15-19) Kacy Seynders, Palm Harbor, 1:34:27; (M15-19) Sam Chandler, St. Petersburg, 1:19:35; (F50-54) McClenathan; (F65-69) Millie Hamilton, Redington Beach, 2:04:18; (M70-74) Ilhan Bilgutay, Clearwater, 1:50:44; (M85-89) Douglas McGarvey, Clearwater, 2:04:30.
Elias Gonzalez was the champion of the half-marathon, leading nearly start-to-finish in 1:11:09. Jessica Crate of Melbourne took the women's title in 1:20:06.
BOLT run five-MILER
A handful of area runners were age group winners at the Bolt Run Five-Miler in Tampa on Feb. 19.
David Garcia, 14 of Safety Harbor, placed first in the men's 11-14 division with a time of 39:22.
Largo's Lisa Williams added another age group win to her lengthy resume. Williams, 32, ran 32:49 for first place in the women's 30-34 group.
Claiming the men's 45-49 division was Matt Rogers of Dunedin. Rogers, 48, ran 33:46 for the victory.
Sally Smith, 52 of Largo, had the top time in the women's 50-54 division at 42:15.
Al Kohn's time of 36:47 was good for first in the men's 55-59 group. Kohn, 59, is from Palm Harbor.
Ellen Kohn, 60 of Palm Harbor, took the women's 60-64 group in 41:32.
Dave Kaplan, 65 of Clearwater, ran 40:09 for the win in the men's 65-69 group.