Saturday, May 21, 2011

Manry and Thomas are the first Steve Ellis 5K champions

Brian Manry led 119 runners on a five-kilometer circuit of Florida State University's main campus in Tallahassee on 21 May 2011, winning the inaugural Steve Ellis Memorial 5K. Manry posted a 17:34 for the course, finishing nearly 200 meters ahead of runner-up Stephen Robbins of Cairo. In third place overall, Tallahassee's Mickey Moore was the fastest master runner in the race. Chiles High School distance runner Carly Thomas, the 2009 FHSAA state cross-country champion, won the women's division, placing eighth overall in 20:11 and finishing over 600 meters ahead of the next woman, Lena Shields (22nd, 24:13). Fran McLean was the third woman in and the first woman master, running 24:48.


Manry lost no time in taking the lead, and was well in command by the end of the first kilometer. Behind him, Stephen Robbins and Mickey Moore were renewing their duel from two weeks earlier at the Marzuq 5K, closely trailed by Andrew Smyth. After two kilometers Manry was only farther ahead, while Robbins had opened up a 30-meter lead on Moore. Another 60 meters back, Florida State alumnus Hugh Bosely of San Francisco had moved past Smyth into fourth. With less than a kilometer to go and only a loop around Campbell Stadium left to run, the race was still Manry's. Robbins had broken contact with Moore, while Moore was now only 40 meters ahead of Bosely. After circling the stadium the top four didn't change--Manry was first in 17:34; Robbins clung to second in 18:23; Moore held off Bosely 18:54 to 19:07 to hang on to third place and the top master spot.


Manry led nearly the entire race, and Carly Thomas led the women nearly the entire race. Leaving the rest of the female field behind her, the rising senior at Chiles High moved up through the field, breaking into the top ten at halfway and ultimately finishing eighth. Runner-up Lena Shields never challenged Thomas, while Shields was comfortably ahead of the third woman in, top woman master Fran McLean. McLean couldn't rest easy in third, though, as Ruthie McCormick was just a few steps back on the final straightaway. But McLean held off McCormick on the way to the finish chute, 24:48 to 24:51.


The namesake of the race, Steve Ellis, covered Florida State University sports for the Tallahassee Democrat for nearly two decades until his untimely death in late 2009. A memorial race seemed fitting in Ellis' case; he had been a cross-country runner at Clemson University and Winter Park High School. The race venue was also appropriate to Ellis' memory, starting and finishing between Dick Howser Baseball Stadium and Doak Campbell Football Stadium, and running past many of the important sports facilities on the FSU main campus. The course also included a climb up Gallows Hill on Copeland Street, which may or may not have been appropriate but was certainly memorable. Proceeds from the race benefit the Steve Ellis Memorial Scholarship fund of the FSU College of Communications.


Top Ten Men, 2011 Steve Ellis Memorial 5K
  1. 17:34 Brian Manry (M, 32) Tallahassee, FL
  2. 18:23 Stephen Robbins (M, 14) Cairo, GA
  3. 18:54 Mickey Moore (M, 41) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 19:07 Hugh Bosely (M, 49) San Francisco, CA
  5. 19:53 Andrew Smyth (M, 24)
  6. 20:08 Volodymyr Zharkov (M, 48)
  7. 20:57 Dennis Keane (M, 17)
  8. 21:13 Cameron Kostrzecha (M, 17)
  9. 21:23 John Jensenius III (M, 25)
  10. 22:01 Ryan Fitzgerald (M, 31)

Top Ten Women, 2011 Steve Ellis Memorial 5K
  1. 21:11 Carly Thomas (F, 17) Tallahassee, FL
  2. 24:13 Lena Shields (F, 24) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 24:48 Fran McLean (F, 53) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 24:51 Ruthie McCormick (F, 35)
  5. 25:38 Kory Skrob (F, 40)
  6. 25:45 Kelly Garland (F, 40)
  7. 25:56 Kim Thomas (F, 41)
  8. 26:53 Susan Kelly (F, 59)
  9. 27:29 Kelly Torres (F, 32)
  10. 28:50 Linda Shults (F, 54)

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Posted by Herb Wills at 1:02 PM
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