Saturday, May 24, 2014

Molosky and Falk score victories in their return to Gate-to-Gate

Memorial Day Gate-To-Gate RunBack on 2 May 2014 in Jacksonville, Florida, Tripp Davis concluded his high school athletic career by running a 1:58 and change third leg on Niceville High's 4 x 800 relay team, a team that won the title in that event in the class 3A State Track & Field Finals. A senior, Davis might have been through with high school running, but he wasn't through with running. Thus he was at the starting line of Eglin's 29th annual Gate-to-Gate 4.4-mile run on Saturday morning, 24 May 2014.


As it turns out, Vince Molosky was also on the starting line, and he had wrapped up his high school running career somewhat earlier than Davis. Now in Tallahassee, Florida, Molosky had finished running for Amherst High School in Ohio back in 1998. Like Davis, though, he hadn't finished running.


When the race was over, Davis had made a huge improvement on his 2013 Gate-to-Gate showing, when he had finished 70th overall in 29:38. Molosky, on the other hand, ran his slowest Gate-to-Gate of his five appearances in the race. Nevertheless, Molosky finished just short of 200 meters ahead of Tripp Davis, as the former Amherst Comet outran the former Niceville Eagle, winning the Gate-to-Gate in 24:39. Davis was second in 25:20. David Seymour, a staff sergeant stationed at Fort Rucker, Alabama, was third in 25:28. Tallahassee master runners Michael Martinez and Carl Nordhielm took the next two places, with Martinez taking the top master spot in 25:50 and Nordhielm running 25:58.


In the team competition Tallahassee’s Gulf Winds Track Club won the title for the fifth straight year. Molosky led the GWTC squad with his 24:39. GWTC’s Caleb Carmichael was sixth in 26:01, Eric Godin was 14th in 27:01, and Renee Cox was 38th in 29:08, giving the team a winning average of 26:43. A GWTC team of master runners was second, and another GWTC foursome took third in the team competition.


The rules for team competition at Gate-to-Gate require that each four-athlete team include at least one woman. For GWTC’s winning team that woman was Renee Cox. Cox was second in the Gate-to-Gate women’s standings, finishing runner-up to Liane Falk of Eglin. After finishing second to Tallahassee’s Sheryl Rosen at Gate-to-Gate in 2013, this year Falk was the women’s champion, placing 20th overall in 27:25. Tallahassee runner Karen Geletko was third on the women’s side, finishing 43rd overall in 29:38.


The Gate-to-Gate Run hasn’t remained unchanged over 29 years. For one thing, it’s no longer run from one gate of Eglin Air Force Base to another. A few years ago the course was changed to a simple out-and-back to eliminate the problem of transporting hundreds of runners between the starting line and finish line. Also, after 28 years as a Memorial Day run, this year the Gate-to-Gate was staged on the Saturday before Memorial Day. Once again, logistics trumped tradition. But the race is still the odd 4.4-mile length that was determined by the distance between Eglin’s two gates, even if those gates are no longer on the course. And most runners still pause during the race to drop a flower at the All-Veterans Memorial. Some traditions are worth keeping.


Top Ten Men, 2014 Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate 4.4-Mile Run
  1. 24:39 ~ Vince Molosky (M, 34) Tallahassee, FLVince Molosky
  2. 25:20 ~ Tripp Davis (M, 18) Valparaiso, FL
  3. 25:28 ~ David Seymour (M, 26) Enterprise, AL
  4. 25:50 ~ Michael Martinez (M, 48) Tallahassee, FL
  5. 25:58 ~ Carl Nordhielm (M, 51) Tallahassee, FL
  6. 26:01 ~ Caleb Carmichael (M, 29) Pensacola, FL
  7. 26:04 ~ Alex Smyth (M, 26) Panama City Beach, FL
  8. 26:20 ~ Geb Kiros (M, 47) Tallahassee, FL
  9. 26:25 ~ Carl Schlosser (M, 20) Eglin, FL
  10. 26:30 ~ Shane Vetter (M, 39) Niceville, FL

Top Ten Women, 2014 Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate 4.4-Mile Run
  1. 27:25 ~ Liane Falk (F, 29) Eglin AFB, FLRenee Cox and Liane Falk
  2. 29:08 ~ Renee Cox (F, 26) Tallahassee, FL
  3. 29:38 ~ Karen Geletko (F, 35) Tallahassee, FL
  4. 29:54 ~ Michele Williams (F, 41) Milton, FL
  5. 31:33 ~ Lindsey Smith (F, 31) Destin, FL
  6. 31:52 ~ Kristy James (F, 30) Fate, TX
  7. 32:17 ~ Kathleen Baker (F, 36) Panama City Beach, FL
  8. 32:29 ~ Nicole Escoffier (F, 17) Niceville, FL
  9. 33:39 ~ Sara Steele (F, 18) Ft. Walton Beach, FL
  10. 33:39 ~ Ivy Nivison (F, 28) Niceville, FL

Eglin AFB Gate-to-Gate 4.4-Mile Memorial Day Race
Winners, 1997-2013
DateMenWomenFinishers
26 May 199722:08, Gary Droze24:51, Sarah Kramer
25 May 199822:49, Matt Dobson25:46, Sarah Docter-Williams1028
31 May 199921:25, Rudolf Jun25:49, Sarah Docter-Williams1054
29 May 200021:20, Malcolm Campbell25:02, Anna Pichrtova1270
28 May 200120:56, Michael Green
27 May 200222:34, Paul Spangler26:12, Jacqueline Concaugh1133
26 May 200321:21, Michael Green24:35, Jenny Ledford1117
31 May 200422:14, Everett Whiteside25:23, Ann McGranahan1075
30 May 200521:54, Joey Zins23:56, Victoria Gill1188
29 May 200623:03, Travis Deutman25:17, Victoria Gill1173
28 May 200722:28, Joey Zins27:27, Kelly Wild1373
26 May 200822:27, Joey Zins26:42, Anna Hallex1503
25 May 200923:31, Matthew Martin27:24, Ilea Eskildsen1761
31 May 201022:14, Ben Payne26:08, Ilea Eskildsen1807
30 May 201124:21, Matt Dobson25:18, Pasca Cheruiyot1681
28 May 201222:06, Ben Payne26:19, Sheryl Rosen1637
27 May 201323:01, Stanley Linton26:45, Sheryl Rosen1324
24 May 201424:39, Vince Molosky27:25, Liane Falk1047
Monica O'Reilly set the women's course record of 23:33 in 1993.
I'd like to include winners for 1986 to 1996. Anyone have those results?


Links
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