Sports

Clarion star grabs first at race

The Clarion Track and Field program hosted the Cook Forest Half Marathon and 5K event this past weekend at Cook Forest State Park, in Cooksburg.

The event was ran by Clarion Track and Field head coach Jayson Resch, while the track team helped to work and run the event.

The race was sponsored by Cook Forest Online, the Army National Guard

Ron Seidle Chevrolet, Cook Forest Vacation Bureau, Clarion Boards, and Puma.

The half marathon is a flat to gently rolling course that travels along the beautiful Clarion River.

In the 5K, Tomas Bolger, age 21, of Erie, Pa. took first with a 16:41 finish, putting him at a mile pace of 5:23.

In second was Keven Gregg, 18, of McMurray, Pa. Gregg ran a finishing time of 17:37; a 5:41 mile pace.

Coming in third was David Fredrick, 27, of Cleveland, Ohio, finishing in 17:58. This put him at 5:48 mile pace.

Jennifer Mieczkowski, 19, of Liverpool, N.Y. finished first for the women with a time of 20:51, putting her at a pace of 6:43.

Coming in second was Clara Strasenburgh, 20, of Pittsford, N.Y. With a finishing time of 20:52, Strasenburgh ran the race at a pace of 6:44 per mile.

In third was Kellie Wyatt, 16, of Clarion, Pa. Wyatt finished with a time of 21:18; a pace of 6:52 per mile.

In first place in the half marathon was former Clarion track star Sean McFarland, 22, of Clarion, Pa. who ran a 6.55 mile time of 36:24, with a finishing time of 1:15:33; a pace of 5:46 per mile.

Coming in second overall was T. Matthew Pajak, 24, of Blacksburg, Va. running a 6.55 mile time of 38:34 finishing time 1:16:16. This put him at a 5:49 pace per mile.

Third place went to Kenneth Foster. Foster is 22, and from Brookville, Pa. He ran a 6.55 mile time of 37:07, and finshing time of 1:16:36; a pace of 5:51.

In fourth place was Al Casagranda, 44, from Lower Burrell, Pa. running half way with a time of 38:34, finishing time of 1:17:00; a pace of 5:53 per mile.

Taking fifth place overall was Joshua Boggs, 26, of Columbia, Ohio.

Boggs ran a 6.55 mile time of 37:38, and finishing time of 1:17:04. This put Boggs at a pace of 5:53 per mile.

In the open Women category, Christie Turak, 21, of Erie, Pa. took first place with a 6.55 mile time of 40:09, and finishing time of 1:20:16. This put Turak at 6:08 mile pace.

Coming in second in the women’s category was Mindy Sawtelle, 36, of Indiana, Pa.

Sawtelle ran a 6.55 mile time of 39:44, and finishing time of 1:22:44; a pace of 6:19 per mile.

In third for the women came Krista McCrum, 28, of Alexandria, Pa. McCrum ran a 6.55 mile time of 44:10, and finishing time of 1:33:03.

This put McCrum at a pace of 7:06 per mile.

The members of the Clarion track and field team helped to run and work the event.

The athletes were assigned different jobs, such as helping with registration, setting up water stations, and handing out water during the race.

Athlete Lisa Nickel felt that even went well.

“I was very impressed with how well all the runners did. Everyone was dedicated, and the event ran very smoothly,” Nickel said.

“It was really enjoyable to watch all the participants run.”