Saturday, January 23, 2016

Nazareth over Mazziotta by a nose at the Trent Trot 5K

After running nearly in tandem for two miles of the 3.1-mile race, Matt Nazareth edged Jake Mazziotta 17:26 to 17:30, winning the Trent Trot 5K on a chilly Saturday morning, 23 January 2016. Katie Sherron took the women's title, placing seventeenth overall in 19:36. 554 athletes finished the seventh annual race, which started and finished at Roberts Elementary School, just north of Tallahassee, Florida.


Farther north in the nation, races and even indoor track meets were being canceled in the face of severe winter weather. More than two feet of snow was falling in the District of Columbia. Tallahassee, meanwhile, was experiencing what passes for winter in North Florida. Sure, it was cool, cloudy, and windy. The Chamber of Commerce would have suppressed the weather report for the day if they could. Nevertheless, no one was closing down roads or businesses. Life and the Trent Trot 5K went on as normal. Not that it was pleasant.


Matt Nazareth, Jake Mazziotta

"I didn't realize it was 25 degrees with wind chill," said Matt Nazareth. "I lost feeling in everything after about a mile."


The actual air temperature was in the 30s when the race started somewhat after 8:30 AM. Hunter Phillips led early but was swiftly overtaken by Nazareth, a first-year student at Tallahassee Community College. While Phillips fell back, Maclay School distance runner Jake Mazziotta pulled even with Nazareth.


"That was a lot of fun," said Nazareth. "We were trading places after the first mile."


Trent Trot 5K

Back and forth it went, Nazareth leading, then Mazziotta, then Nazareth again. Finally, with the finish line in sight, Nazareth took the lead for good. Nazareth was first across the line in 17:26, with Mazziotta finishing a moment later in 17:30. Zach DeVeau overtook Gary Droze during the second half of the race to move into third place, where he finished in 17:41. Droze, the Maclay School cross country coach, was the top master runner in the race, placing fourth overall in 17:58.


Montford Middle School is right next to Roberts Elementary. Caitlin Wilkey is an eighth-grader on the Montford cross country team, so it wasn't surprising to see her at Roberts for the Trent Trot 5K. Wilkey was also the fifth-fastest girl in the Leon County cross country championship, so it wasn't surprising to see her leading the women's field in the Trent Trot 5K. Before the first half of the race was over, though, Florida State University economics professor Katie Sherron caught Wilkey.


"At the mile mark," recalled Sherron.


Katie Sherron

After that the race belonged to Sherron, who opened a gap of more than 100 meters on Wilkey on the way to a 19:36 win. It was Sherron's third appearance in the race, but her first Trent Trot victory. Wilkey took second in the women's standings, finishing 26th overall in 20:10. Brittney Barnes was the third woman across the line, 28th overall in 20:17. Laura Reina was the top woman master in the Trent Trot, the seventh female finisher and 49th overall in 22:29.


Proceeds of the Trent Trot 5K go to the Trent's Touch Foundation to support local families living with childhood cancer. The foundation and the race are named for Trent McElroy, a Roberts Elementary fourth-grader who died of cancer in 2013. Chip timing of the race was provided by Gulf Winds Track Club of Tallahassee.


Top Ten Men, 2015 Trent Trot 5KZach DeVeau
  1. 17:25.25 ~ Matt Nazareth (M, 19)
  2. 17:29.30 ~ Jake Mazziotta (M, 17)
  3. 17:40.50 ~ Zach DeVeau (M, 28)
  4. 17:57.52 ~ Gary Droze (M, 54)
  5. 18:10.29 ~ Grady Smith (M, 39)
  6. 18:15.36 ~ Ryan Truchelut (M, 30)
  7. 18:21.45 ~ Mike Martinez (M, 50)
  8. 18:33.47 ~ Tony Guillen (M, 47)
  9. 18:40.74 ~ Hunter Phillips (M, 21)
  10. 18:53.94 ~ Paul Guyas (M, 38)

Top Ten Women, 2015 Trent Trot 5KCaitlin Wilkey
  1. 19:35.33 ~ Katie Sherron (F, 34)
  2. 20:09.46 ~ Caitlin Wilkey (F, 13)
  3. 20:16.18 ~ Brittney Barnes (F, 28)
  4. 21:42.58 ~ Jillian Heddaeus (F, 32)
  5. 21:56.37 ~ Laura McDermott (F, 36)
  6. 22:19.33 ~ Katie Sack (F, 24)
  7. 22:28.50 ~ Laura Reina (F, 51)
  8. 22:42.49 ~ Emma Spencer (F, 34)
  9. 22:48.08 ~ Ruffian Tyner (F, 40)
  10. 23:15.78 ~ Paula O'Neill (F, 54)

Trent Trot 5K winners, 2009 - 2016
DateMenWomenFinishers
17 October 200917:29, Tony Guillen22:22, Cora Atkinson148
29 January 201119:13, Cole Tessier20:48, Laura Hanlon199
28 January 201217:00, Trevor Touchton20:19, Laura Hanlon208
19 January 201316:10, Stanley Linton19:36, Micah Adriani268
25 January 201417:53, Peter Kaus19:16, Lisa Johnson206
24 January 201516:19, Chris Lake18:49, Seeley Gutierrez574
23 January 201617:26, Matt Nazareth19:36, Katie Sherron554
From 2009 to 2014 the race was named the Red Fox Trot 5K


Links
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