Saturday, August 11, 2012

Lagat takes it all at the Trojan Pride 5K

Joseph Garcia and Violah LagatJust a few hours before her brother, Bernard Lagat, competed in the Olympic 5,000-meters in London, Violah Lagat was running in a different 5,000-meter race, the Trojan Pride 5K in Tom Brown Park. But at the end of the day Bernard had placed fourth behind Britain's Mo Farah, while Violah placed first, refusing to trail any runner.


2012 Trojan Pride 5KIt was the third year that the Lincoln High School athletics boosters hosted their annual Trojan Pride race. Nate Brannen had posted a winning 15:51 in the inaugural event in 2010; this year he was busy in London competing for Canada in his fourth Olympic Games. The 2010 women's champ, FSU women's track and field coach Karen Harvey, was likewise absent. The course had changed, too; the race directors added a slight detour to avoid a muddy stretch in the park. If you think it seems odd to be avoiding mud a few weeks before cross-country season, well, you aren't alone. The altered course still offered the runners a challenging combination of grass, dirt, and pavement, seasoned with a few hills. Instead of dodging trucks on Connor Boulevard like in the first two years of the race, the runners crossed the road on a pedestrian bridge on their way to the finish line on Lincoln High's Jimmy Everett Track.


Bing XuCoach Harvey may not have been on the Trojan Pride 5K starting line on Saturday, August 11, but one of the athletes on her team, Violah Lagat, was. The runners set out on the Goose Pond Trail at 8:00 am. For much of the first mile, there was a tightly bunched lead group that included Lagat, Joseph Garcia of Florida High, Maclay coach Gary Droze, 2011 Trojan Pride runner-up Colin Abbey, and Mike Nesius. By the mile mark, though, Garcia and Lagat were well out in front. The two leaders ran together through two miles, then Lagat took over. Racing ahead, she beat Garcia to the finish line 17:26 to 17:42. Coach Droze was closing on Garcia, but fell short of the runner up spot with a 17:45, finishing as the fastest master runner. At 17:58 and 18:29 Abbey and Nesius were the next two finishers, followed by the second-place female, Florida State incoming freshman Carly Thomas.


116 athletes finished the 3.1-mile race, by a slim margin the largest field in the history of the event.


Top Ten Women, third annual Trojan Pride 5K
  1. Violat Lagat, Carly Thomas, Natalie Concepcion17:26 ~ Violah Lagat (F, 23) Tallahassee, FL
  2. 19:29 ~ Carly Thomas (F, 18) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 21:16 ~ Natalie Concepcion (F, 18)
  4. 22:55 ~ Brook Pace (F, 33) Tallahassee, FL
  5. 23:26 ~ Naliyah Gilbert (F, 16) Tallahassee, FL
  6. 23:52 ~ Anica Sunshine (F, 17) Tallahassee, FL
  7. 23:57 ~ Maureen Cummins (F, 20) Tallahassee, FL
  8. 24:03 ~ Zoe Sheldon (F, 13) Tallahassee, FL
  9. 26:54 ~ Becca Black (F, 18)
  10. 27:04 ~ Sandy Stark (F, 55) Tallahassee, FL

Top Ten Men, third annual Trojan Pride 5K
  1. Gary Droze17:42 ~ Joseph Garcia (M, 17) Tallahassee, FL
  2. 17:45 ~ Gary Droze, (M, 51) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 17:58 ~ Colin Abbey (M, 17) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 18:29 ~ Michael Nesius (M, 27) Tallahassee, FL
  5. 19:59 ~ Bing Xu (M, 44) Tallahassee, FL
  6. 20:08 ~ Sean Isenberg (M, 15) Tallahassee, FL
  7. 20:22 ~ Matthew Cashin (M, 13) Tallahassee, FL
  8. 20:31 ~ Michael LaBossiere (M, 46) Tallahassee, FL
  9. 20:41 ~ Caleb Coale (M, 26) Tallahassee, FL
  10. 20:48 ~ Duane Evans (M, 45) Crawfordville, FL

Trojan Pride 5K Champions, 2010-2012
Date
Men
Women
14 August 2010
15:51, Nate Brannen
19:51, Karen Harvey
3 September 2011
18:10, Hunter Scott
21:21, Stephanie Liles
11 August 2012
17:42, Joseph Garcia
17:26, Violah Lagat


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Posted by Herb Wills at 4:35 PM
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