Thursday, February 18, 2016

Sweet wins for Milford and Midgett at Run For The Cookies

Relying on a strong finish, Clay Milford won the Run For The Cookies 5K in Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday morning, 13 February 2016. The Maclay School sophomore's time in the 23rd annual race was 17:15, besting a field of 342 runners. Alexandra Midgett, a distance runner on the Florida State University cross country team, won the women's title in 18:53, placing eighth overall.

Clay Milford

The race started on the Tallahassee Community College Campus at 9:00 AM, following an earlier one-mile fun run. After the initial scramble, FSU student Trevor Sununu was out front, setting the pace for the field. Sununu was a flamboyant leader with his long hair streaming behind him and wearing a single arm warmer. Sununu's closest pursuers were a group of four athletes--Florida A & M University distance runners Thomas Howell and Jeremy Fritz, Maclay cross country runner Clay Milford, and Maclay track coach Gary Droze. By the three kilometer mark the group had dropped Droze, but the remaining three runners still had Sununu in their sights. During the next kilometer Fritz had also dropped back. Meanwhile Milford was ready to make a move on Sununu.


"That was the plan, to get him near the end," said Milford. "I remembered that in last year's race he didn't have much of a kick."

Trevor Sununu

Milford got him. With less than a kilometer left the Maclay runner took the lead and started to open a gap on Sununu. With 200 meters left, as Milford drove toward the finish line, Howell overtook Sununu.


"I knew Clay was behind me but I wasn't as aware of Howell," said Sununu. "He got me right before the end."


Milford took first in 17:15, while Howell edged Sununu for second, 17:21 to 17:24. Droze was the top master runner in the race, placing fourth overall in 17:37. Fritz ended the race fifth in 17:41.

Thomas Howell

Alexandra Midgett made sure that the women's competition had none of the drama of the men's race. Paced by Andrew Smith, Midgett led the women's field from start to finish.


"I just wanted to break 19:00," said Midgett.

Alexandra Midgett

She did, taking the top woman's spot in 18:53. Annie Kennedy, another Lady Seminole cross country runner, was runner-up on the women's side, coming in eleventh overall in 19:25. Caitlin Wilkey, an eighth-grader on the Montford cross country team, was third in the women's standings, twentieth overall in 20:22. Tallahassee lawyer Sheryl Rosen, the defending women's champ in the Run For The Cookies 5K, was the fourth woman finisher this time around, 22nd overall in 20:42. Paula O'Neill was the first woman master and ninth female finisher, 37th overall in 22:57.


Every finisher received a box of Girl Scout cookies, and the overall, master, and age-group winners left with multiple boxes. Cookies aren't the only reason this race has persisted for 23 years, but they haven't hurt the cause, either.


Top Ten Men, 2016 Run For The Cookies 5KGary Droze
  1. 17:15 ~ Clayburn Milford (M, 16)
  2. 17:21 ~ Thomas Howell (M, 19)
  3. 17:24 ~ Trevor Sununu (M, 20)
  4. 17:37 ~ Gary Droze (M, 54)
  5. 17:41 ~ Jeremy Fritz (M, 18)
  6. 17:55 ~ Paul Guyas (M, 38)
  7. 18:40 ~ Michael Martinez (M, 50)
  8. 18:53 ~ Andrew Smith (M, 21)
  9. 19:16 ~ Gannon Hundley (M, 17)
  10. 19:29 ~ Scott Minert (M, 47)

Top Ten Women, 2016 Run For The Cookies 5KAnnie Kennedy
  1. 18:53 ~ Alexandra Midgett (F, 21)
  2. 19:25 ~ Anne Kennedy (F, 19)
  3. 20:22 ~ Caitlin Wilkey (F, 14)
  4. 20:42 ~ Sheryl Rosen (F, 31)
  5. 20:53 ~ Hollis Bartlett (F, 21)
  6. 21:35 ~ Kathleen Whitworth (F, 18)
  7. 22:05 ~ Melissa Zyla (F, 18)
  8. 22:13 ~ Katie Sack (F, 24)
  9. 22:57 ~ Paula O'Neill (F, 54)
  10. 23:00 ~ Grace Kennedy (F, 27)

Run For The Cookies 5K champions, 1994 - 2016
DateMenWomenFinishers
19 February 199416:12 ~ Gary Droze-118:51 ~ Carrie Weyant-185
25 February 199515:42 ~ Gary Droze-218:15 ~ Jane Johnson186
24 February 199616:08 ~ Gary Droze-319:57 ~ Chateau Mangaroo175
22 February 199715:17 ~ Gary Droze-419:02 ~ Carrie Weyant-2150
28 February 199815:38 ~ Jason Ritter17:29 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams-1207
27 February 199916:17 ~ David Ogletree17:38 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams-2258
26 February 200016:23 ~ Robert Pautienus17:53 ~ Kim Winn294
24 February 200115:59 ~ Kevin Danahy17:30 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams-3231
23 February 200215:25 ~ Lee Willis-116:18 ~ Breeda Dennehy-Willis-1248
15 February 200315:49 ~ Lee Willis-216:30 ~ Breeda Dennehy-Willis-2152
14 February 200417:07 ~ Timothy Bolton18:06 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams-493
12 February 200516:23 ~ Justin Jacobs17:43 ~ Sarah Docter-Williams-5258
11 February 200616:49 ~ Kyle Larson19:04 ~ Stephanie Liles-1156
10 February 200715:53 ~ Judson Cake19:06 ~ Zika Rea386
9 February 200816:45 ~ Tripp Southerland19:35 ~ Stephanie Liles-2411
7 February 200916:16 ~ Chris Lake-118:40 ~ Audrey Hand550
13 February 201016:27 ~ Chris Lake-218:11 ~ Amy Hines-1432
12 February 201115:50 ~ Kevin Sullivan19:02 ~ Sheryl Rosen-1431
11 February 201216:07 ~ Alex Smyth17:36 ~ Amy Hines-2685
9 February 201316:00 ~ Stanley Linton-117:43 ~ Chelsi Woodruff602
8 February 201415:24 ~ Stanley Linton-217:54 ~ Carly Thomas369
14 February 201515:40 ~ Remy Tamer18:04 ~ Sheryl Rosen-2332
13 February 201617:15 ~ Clayburn Milford18:53 ~ Alexandra Midgett342
The Run For The Cookies was held at Tallahassee Mall from 1994 to 1996,
and at Tallahassee Community College from 1997 to the present.
A big thank-you to Mark Priddy for his help in completing this summary.


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Posted by Herb Wills at 1:09 PM
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