Saturday, August 15, 2015

Garcia and Sherron headline a field of 214 milers at Breakfast on the Track

Joseph GarciaJoseph Garcia has run Gulf Winds Track Club's Breakfast on the Track Mile before. In 2013 he placed sixth in the race, running 4:46.95. In 2014 he was second with a 4:35.41. But before Saturday, 15 August 2015, the Florida A & M University distance runner had never won the Gulf Winds Track Club Mile before. That morning he did, running 4:35.42 on the Maclay School track in Tallahassee, Florida. Garcia wasn't the only one that morning to improve on a 2014 runner-up finish. Katie Sherron, second place in the women's division at the previous year's Breakfast on the Track, ran 5:17.98 in 2015 to win her first women's title in the event.

214 athletes wanted to run the mile at the Breakfast on the Track, so the race had to be run in twelve sections. The fastest section was the first, with Joseph Garcia among the starters. Garcia set the pace from the beginning, trailed by three Maclay School cross country runners--junior Jake Mazziotta, frosh Clay Milford, and sophomore James McClure. They were soon trailing by a lot, five seconds at the end of the first quarter-mile lap and then seconds at the half mile. Garcia continued to pull away on the third lap, but during the last lap Milford started to narrow the gap. Milford couldn't overtake Garcia, though, and the FAMU runner crossed the finish line first in 4:35.52. Milford held off a charging Nate Kaiser on the homestretch to take second, 4:42.58 to 4:43.58. Roger Schmidt of Capital City Runners overtook McClure and Mazziotta on the homestretch, placing fourth in 4:46.84. McClure was fifth in 4:48.69 and Mazziotta sixth in 4:49.49. Bryan Koon was the fastest master runner in the race, coming in ninth overall in 4:53.14.


Katie SherronGarcia's performance wasn't of the same calibre as the 4:04.43 1500-meter he had run for FAMU during the spring 2015 track season, but it was good enough to win. As a former Hope College athlete, FSU professor Katie Sherron also brought collegiate track experience to the Breakfast on the Track, just not in the middle distances.


"I only ran short stuff," said Sherron. "I had never raced the mile before. I first ran the Breakfast on the Track Mile in 2011."


In 2011 Sherron ran 5:22.37 for fifth in the women's standings. In 2014 she had run 5:27.12, moving up to second place. Racing in the second section in 2015, she improved both time and place, winning the women's division with a 5:17.98.


"It was a PR," said Sherron. "I was hoping for 5:20 so I was really happy with it."


Clayburn Milford, Jake MazziottaSherron's win still wasn't assured after she finished. A faster time by a woman in a later section could rob her of the championship, and the 2014 champion, Maclay School junior Caroline Willis, was running in section three. No one in the third section could touch Sherron's time, though, and Maclay senior Katie Whitworth ended up second in the women's standings in 5:27.98, just ahead of Willis' third-place 5:28.11. At 5:47.47 Maclay School seventh-grader Lindsay James was the fourth female miler. Tallahassee athlete Angela Dempsey was the first woman master and ninth female finisher, running 6:12.13.


In the Maclay School gym, pancakes were served to the finishers throughout the meet. Leftovers were used as exchange batons in the "Pancake Relay" that followed the twelfth section of the mile. Unlike the usual 4 x 400-meter relays, the Pancake Relay was a true mile relay with four quarter-mile legs. You couldn't expect otherwise at the Breakfast on the Track, though, a track meet devoted entirely to the mile.


Top Ten Men, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2015 Breakfast on the Track Mile
  1. 4:35.32 ~ Joseph Garcia (M, 19)Nate Kaiser, Clay Milford
  2. 4:42.58 ~ Clay Milford (M, 15)
  3. 4:43.58 ~ Nate Kaiser (M, 35)
  4. 4:46.84 ~ Roger Schmidt (M, 24)
  5. 4:48.69 ~ James McClure (M, 16)
  6. 4:49.49 ~ Jake Mazziotta (M, 17)
  7. 4:51.84 ~ Ryan Truchelut (M, 29)
  8. 4:51.91 ~ Zach Deveau (M, 27)
  9. 4:53.14 ~ Bryan Koon (M, 43)
  10. 4:58.18 ~ Paul Guyas (M, 37)

Top Ten Women, Gulf Winds Track Club's 2015 Breakfast on the Track Mile
  1. 5:17.98 ~ Katie Sherron (F, 33)Kathleen Whitworth, Caroline Willis
  2. 5:27.98 ~ Kathleen Whitworth (F, 17)
  3. 5:28.11 ~ Caroline Willis (F, 16)
  4. 5:47.47 ~ Lindsay James (F, 12)
  5. 5:55.82 ~ Jillian Heddaeus (F, 32)
  6. 5:59.48 ~ Rachel Rumana (F, 16)
  7. 6:00.28 ~ Jainey Coates (F, 14)
  8. 6:01.70 ~ Katie Sack (F, 23)
  9. 6:12.13 ~ Angela Dempsey (F, 47)
  10. 6:14.38 ~ Emma Spencer (F, 34)

“Breakfast On The Track” Mile champions, 1998 - 2015
DateMenWomenFinishers
8 August 19984:36, Robert Pautienus5:21, Jane Johnson101
14 August 19994:26, Lee Willis5:27, Jane Johnson123
26 August 20004:42.97, Gary Droze5:09.08, Sarah Docter-Williams112
18 August 20014:21.47, Ryan Deak5:08.94, Sarah Docter-Williams130
17 August 20024:35.07, Lee Willis5:10.33, Sarah Docter-Williams123
16 August 20034:45.20, David Huntzinger5:02.28, Sarah Docter-Williams122
14 August 20044:32.40, Lee Willis5:11.79, Sarah Docter-Williams162
13 August 20054:46.26, Art Remillard5:07.13, Sarah Docter-Williams157
12 August 20064:47.58, Whitney Strickland5:09.85, Sarah Docter-Williams202
18 August 20074:48.04, Michael Martinez5:12.91, Sarah Docter-Williams163
16 August 20084:31.39, Whitney Strickland5:12.79, Jana Stolting190
15 August 20094:43.40, Patrick Swain5:05.66, Jana Stolting176
21 August 20104:33.30, Trevor Touchton5:00.97, Stefanie Kurgatt191
20 August 20114:26.90, Kevin Sullivan5:05.82, Stefanie Kurgatt231
18 August 20124:40.52, Travis Covert5:01.74, Stefanie Kurgatt210
17 August 20134:34.92, Remy Tamer5:12.07, Sheryl Rosen178
16 August 20144:22.11, Matt Mizereck5:26.81, Caroline Willis213
15 August 20154:35.32, Joseph Garcia5:17.98, Katie Sherron214


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