DeVeau and Cox bring honors from Eglin to Tallahassee at Gate to Gate

Zach DeVeau and Renee Cox made it a Tallahassee sweep of the overall titles for men and women at the 30th annual Gate-to-Gate 4.4-Mile Run on Eglin Air Force Base on Saturday morning, 23 May 2015. DeVeau covered the course in 25:03, the fastest time of the day, while Cox ran 29:34 to place 17th overall. 792 athletes finished the 4.4-mile race.


Coming in second overall behind DeVeau was Choctawhatchee High graduating senior Sean White, running 25:21. A month earlier White had wrapped up his high school distance running career with a 4:17.37 1600-meter run at the FHSAA 3A Region 1 Track and Field Championships. Gate-to-Gate proves that he has already moved on to post-prep racing. Florida A & M University professor Geb Kiros was third overall in 25:34; Kiros was the fastest master runner in the race. The second fastest master runner was Tallahassee's Michael Martinez, fourth overall in 26:15.


On the women's side, Cox dueled with Florida State freshman distance runner Sara Steele. Cox had finished runner-up in the women's standings at the 2014 Gate-to-Gate, but not this year. Cox took the crown in 29:34 while Steele was the second woman in, placing 18th overall in 29:45. Third in the women's division went to Amber Carpenter of Fort Walton Beach, 20th overall in 30:07. Niceville High graduating senior Nicole Escoffier took the fourth women's spot, placing 21st overall in 30:20. Deerlake Middle School cross country runner Emily Molen was fifth in the women's standings, 28th overall in 31:15. 42nd overall in 32:41, Paula Piazza of Fort Walton Beach was the first woman master and tenth female finisher.


Top Ten Men, 2015 Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate 4.4-Mile Run

1. 25:03 ~ Zach DeVeau (M, 27) Tallahassee, FL
2. 25:21 ~ Sean White (M, 18) Fort Walton Beach, FL
3. 25:34 ~ Geb Kiros (M, 48) Tallahassee, FL
4. 26:15 ~ Michael Martinez (M, 49) Tallahassee, FL
5. 26:46 ~ Martin Novak (M, 33) Fort Walton Beach, FL
6. 27:26 ~ Noah Lieva (M, 15) Fort Walton Beach, FL
7. 27:35 ~ Jason Nodjomian (M, 16) Niceville, FL
8. 27:52 ~ Ken Lawrence (M, 47) Shalimar, FL
9. 28:07 ~ Jack Johnson (M, 15) Eglin AFB, FL
10. 28:08 ~ Bobby Walker (M, 44) Baker, FL

Top Ten Women, 2015 Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate 4.4-Mile Run

1. 29:34 ~ Renee Cox (F, 27) Tallahassee, FL
2. 29:45 ~ Sara Steele (F, 19) Fort Walton Beach, FL
3. 30:07 ~ Amber Carpenter (F, 25) Fort Walton Beach, FL
4. 30:20 ~ Nicole Escoffier (F, 18) Niceville, FL
5. 31:15 ~ Emily Molen (F, 13) Tallahassee, FL
6. 31:38 ~ Robin Jordan (F, 31) Fort Walton Beach, FL
7. 32:04 ~ Hannah Schneidewind (F, 14) Niceville, FL
8. 32:11 ~ Anna Morelock (F, 27) Miramar Beach, FL
9. 32:40 ~ Karen Geletko (F, 36) Tallahassee, FL
10. 32:41 ~ Paula Piazza (F, 51) Fort Walton Beach, FL

The Gate-to-Gate Run started off as exactly that, a run from one gate of Eglin Air Force Base to another. It wasn't 5K, it wasn't 10K, it was 4.4-miles because that was the distance between the two gates. Since then, the course that actually went from one gate to another was abandoned in favor of a loop course, although the original 4.4-mile distance was retained. People may have missed the old course, but few complained about missing out on the pre-race bus ride from the finish line to the starting line. In 2015, Gate-to-Gate tradition was tampered with further by the addition of a two-loop, 8.8-mile race. On the original course, this would have been Gate-to-Gate-to-Gate. I'm not sure why a Gate-to-Gate-to-Gate-to-Gate race wasn't considered. That would have been 13.2 miles, or very close to a half marathon.


229 people ran the new race, though, and the fastest of those was Zachery Brian of Shalimar, Florida. Running 53:18, Bryan finished close to a quarter-mile ahead of the runner-up, Eglin's Ben Eells. Eells posted a 54:50 for the 8.8 miles. Loxley, Alabama, athlete Kenny Pfeiffer edged Jon Bowie of Mobile, Alabama, for third in the longer race, 56:03 to 56:04. Bowie was the top master in the race.


Double the winning women's time in the 4.4 mile, and it still wouldn't be as fast as Katie Sherron's time in the 8.8 mile. The Florida State University professor won the women's title with a 57:44 for the odd distance, placing seventh overall. Michelle Williams of Milton, Florida, was the second woman finisher and the top woman master, coming in 18th overall in 64:04.


Top Ten Men, 2015 Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate 8.8-Mile Run

1. 53:18 ~ Zachery Bryan (M, 23) Shalimar, FL
2. 54:50 ~ Ben Eells (M, 25) Eglin AFB, FL
3. 56:03 ~ Kenny Pfeiffer (M, 34) Loxley, AL
4. 56:04 ~ Jon Bowie (M, 42) Mobile, AL
5. 57:21 ~ Mason Youberg (M, 15) Gulf Breeze, FL
6. 57:30 ~ Robert Prouza (M, 38) Niceville, FL
7. 57:53 ~ Phillip Bauer (M, 33) Destin, FL
8. 57:58 ~ Paul Guyas (M, 37) Tallahassee, FL
9. 58:12 ~ Mark Tombrink (M, 27) Tallahassee, FL
10. 58:13 ~ Michael Baker (M, 40) Navarre, FL

Top Ten Women, 2015 Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate 8.8-Mile Run

1. 57:44 ~ Katie Sherron (F, 33) Tallahassee, FL
2. 64:04 ~ Michele Williams (F, 42) Milton, FL
3. 64:11 ~ Lisa Lewis (F, 44) Niceville, FL
4. 66:15 ~ Hayley Chow (F, 25) Niceville, FL
5. 66:49 ~ Michelle Underwood (F, 47) Destin, FL
6. 67:02 ~ Katrina Silva (F, 19) Crestview, FL
7. 67:19 ~ Milbrey Parke (F, 19) Niceville, FL
8. 67:39 ~ Samantha Marr (F, 26) Niceville, FL
9. 69:21 ~ Jane Tabor (F, 45) Fort Walton Beach, FL
10. 71:55 ~ Stacey Vetter (F, 47) Navarre, FL

Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate 4.4-Mile Memorial Day Race Winners, 1997 - 2015
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
26 May 1986	21:08, Gary Droze		513
26 May 1997	22:08, Gary Droze	24:51, Sarah Kramer
25 May 1998	22:49, Matt Dobson	25:46, Sarah Docter-Williams	1028
31 May 1999	21:25, Rudolf Jun	25:49, Sarah Docter-Williams	1054
29 May 2000	21:20, Malcolm Campbell	25:02, Anna Pichrtova	1270
28 May 2001	20:56, Michael Green
27 May 2002	22:34, Paul Spangler	26:12, Jacqueline Concaugh	1133
26 May 2003	21:21, Michael Green	24:35, Jenny Ledford	1117
31 May 2004	22:14, Everett Whiteside	25:23, Ann McGranahan	1075
30 May 2005	21:54, Joey Zins	23:56, Victoria Gill	1188
29 May 2006	23:03, Travis Deutman	25:17, Victoria Gill	1173
28 May 2007	22:28, Joey Zins	27:27, Kelly Wild	1373
26 May 2008	22:27, Joey Zins	26:42, Anna Hallex	1503
25 May 2009	23:31, Matthew Martin	27:24, Ilea Eskildsen	1761
31 May 2010	22:14, Ben Payne	26:08, Ilea Eskildsen	1807
30 May 2011	24:21, Matt Dobson	25:18, Pasca Cheruiyot	1681
28 May 2012	22:06, Ben Payne	26:19, Sheryl Rosen	1637
27 May 2013	23:01, Stanley Linton	26:45, Sheryl Rosen	1324
24 May 2014	24:39, Vince Molosky	27:25, Liane Falk	1047
23 May 2015	25:03, Zach DeVeau	29:34, Renee Cox	792
Monica O'Reilly set the women's event record of 23:33 in 1993. I'd like to include winners for 1986 to 1996. Anyone have those results?

Links

• Complete results of the 2015 Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate Run at Results Event Timing
  
  • 4.4 miles: http://www.eventtiming.com/races/gate152.htm
    
  • 8.8 miles: http://www.eventtiming.com/races/gate153.htm
    
  
  
• Team results of the 2015 Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate run at Results Event Timing
  http://www.eventtiming.com/races/gate157.htm
  
  
• 2014 story, “Molosky and Falk score victories in their return to Gate-to-Gate”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/05/gate2gate-2014.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “Linton and Rosen fly at Gate-to-Gate”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/05/gate2gate-2013.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Dobson and Cheruiyot lead GWTC to team title repeat at Gate-to-Gate”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/05/gate2gate-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, "Gulf Winds team triumphs at 25th annual Gate-to-Gate Run"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/05/gate-to-gate-teams.html
  
  
• The Gate-to-Gate isn't in the Tallahassee region, but these upcoming races are:
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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