Thursday, November 26, 2015

Kelly repeats and Elam wins at the Valdosta Thanksgiving Day 5K

Ryan KellyThursday morning, 26 November 2015, marked the seventh year in a row that runners were in the streets of Valdosta, Georgia, on Thanksgiving morning, competing in the Valdosta Thanksgiving 5K. Valdosta High cross country coach Ryan Kelly was the fastest of those runners, winning the 3.1-mile race in 18:22 and successfully defending his 2014 Thanksgiving title. Valdosta's Amber Elam was the women's champion, finishing 20th overall in 22:13.


Two high school cross country runners battled for second, with Valdosta High sophomore Quin McGlamery beating out Science Hill High frosh Thomas Seeley 18:30 to 18:41. Just nineteen days earlier, McGlamery had been part of his team's 24th-place showing in Georgia's class 6A State Meet, while Seeley scored on Science Hill's fourth-place squad in the Tennessee class 3A State Meet. High school athletes grabbed seven of the top ten places in the race, but the top master runner in the Thanksgiving 5K took one of the three remaining spots--Valdosta's Rick Mazurkiewicz was ninth overall in 19:34. It was Mazurkiewicz's second year in a row as the fastest master runner in the race.


Fort White High sophomore Sheridan Plasencia was second in the women's standings, finishing 24th overall in 22:58. Plasencia came from just over the state line in Fort White, Florida, but the third female finisher traveled all the way from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to race--fourteen-year-old Sally Hubner placed 26th overall in 23:18. Martha Mazurkiewicz narrowly edged out Debbie Green for top woman master honors, 23:45 to 23:48. Mazurkiewicz was 33rd overall and sixth in the women's standings; Green was 34th overall and the seventh woman.


No one came close to John Seppala's 2009 record of 16:39 or Erin Miller's 2014 women's record of 18:28, but there was a record number of finishers in the race. 203 athletes finished the 2015 Valdosta Thanksgiving 5K, the first time since the race's inception that more than 200 crossed the finish line.


Top Ten Men, 2015 Valdosta Thanksgiving Day 5K
  1. 18:21.8 ~ Ryan Kelly (M, 36) Lake Park, GA
  2. 18:29.4 ~ Quin McGlamery (M, 15) Valdosta, GA
  3. 18:40.2 ~ Thomas Seeley (M, 15) Johnson City, TN
  4. 18:54.1 ~ Colin Prinsloo (M, 27) Hahira, GA
  5. 18:58.4 ~ Nick Rosatti (M, 18) Hahira, GA
  6. 19:15.8 ~ Davis Stewart (M, 17) Valdosta, GA
  7. 19:30.8 ~ Jackson Green (M, 18) Valdosta, GA
  8. 19:31.3 ~ Andrew Elam (M, 17) Valdosta, GA
  9. 19:33.6 ~ Rick Mazurkiewicz (M, 48) Valdosta, GA
  10. 19:35.7 ~ Tyler Seeley (M, 13) Johnson City, TN

Top Ten Women, 2015 Valdosta Thanksgiving Day 5K
  1. 22:13.0 ~ Amber Elam (F, 26) Valdosta, GA
  2. 22:57.3 ~ Sheridan Plasencia (F, 16) Fort White, FL
  3. 23:17.3 ~ Sally Hubner (F, 14) Tulsa, OK
  4. 23:35.9 ~ Brianna Prinsloo (F, 28) Hahira, GA
  5. 23:37.1 ~ Erica Meade Levy (F, 29) Washington, DC
  6. 23:45.0 ~ Martha Mazurkiewicz (F, 47) Valdosta, GA
  7. 23:48.0 ~ Debbie Green (F, 49) Valdosta, GA
  8. 23:53.2 ~ Kelly Davis (F, 26) Valdosta, GA
  9. 24:31.8 ~ Taryn Seeley (F, 12) Johnson City, TN
  10. 25:14.7 ~ Karen Sunarc (F, 41) Suwanee, GA

Valdosta, Georgia, Thanksgiving Day 5K winners, 2009 - 2015
DateMenWomenFinishers
26 November 200916:39, John Seppala19:20, Ashley McGee118
25 November 201017:48, Masked Avenger21:31, Gretchen Bielmyer191
24 November 201117:42, Nathan Norton22:01, Gretchen Bielmyer146
22 November 201217:45, Masked Avenger21:10, Angela Bruhl115
28 November 201316:55, Brandon Hough19:03, Erin Miller101
27 November 201417:14, Ryan Kelly18:28, Erin Miller103
26 November 201518:22, Ryan Kelly22:13, Amber Elam203


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Posted by Herb Wills at 9:57 PM
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