Snyder and Krueger race with couer de lion at Bridge of Lions

It's proverbial that the state cross-country championship is won in July. The title race itself may be run in November, but the winners are those who were putting in serious training during the summer. That usually means base mileage punctuated by fartlek or the occasional track workout. Sometimes, though, the best workout is a race, and that might have been the thinking of Sean Snyder on Saturday morning, 15 July 2017. Snyder, headed into his senior season of racing cross-country at Saint Joseph Academy in Saint Augustine, Florida, stepped onto the Saint Augustine roads that morning and won the 33rd annual Bridge of Lions 5K, running 17:15. Jacksonville, Florida master runner Michelle Krueger took the women's title, placing fifteenth overall in 19:34.


Snyder had placed fourth in the 2016 Bridge of Lions 5K, then gone on to take fifth in the class 1A boys race at the FHSAA State Cross-Country Meet four months later. He wasn't without competition in the 2017 Bridge of Lions. Cash Tampa, a member of the University of South Florida cross-country team, finished second a few steps behind Snyder in 17:19. Saint Augustine's Justin Taylor was third in 17:27. Steve Vighetti of Saint Augustine was the fastest master runner in the race, placing eighth overall in 18:55.


Katie Potts, a 2016 alumna of the Nease High cross-country team, was the second woman and seventeenth overall, running 19:38. Katie Johnson of Melbourne, Florida was third in the woman's standings and 32nd overall in 20:47.


1171 athletes finished the 2017 Bridge of Lions 5K, the seventh of twelve events in the 2017 Run Saint Augustine Race Series. The race was presented by RaceSmith, which provided chip-timing and scoring for the race.


Top Ten Men, 2017 Bridge of Lions 5K, St. Augustine, Florida

1. 17:15, Sean Snyder (M, 17) Palm Coast, FL
2. 17:19, Cash Tampa (M, 20) St. Johns, FL
3. 17:27, Justin Taylor (M, 31) St. Augustine, FL
4. 17:46, Jack Brunswick (M, 18) Acworth, GA
5. 18:09, Andy Purdy (M, 31) Sanford, FL
6. 18:25, David Gonzalez (M, 16) St. Augustine, FL
7. 18:46, Christian Hanson (M, 17) Newberry, FL
8. 18:55, Steve Vighetti (M, 48) St. Augustine, FL
9. 19:01, Ian Yates (M, 18) Daytona Beach, FL
10. 19:09, Dylan Glass (M, 25) St. Augustine, FL

Top Ten Women, 2017 Bridge of Lions 5K, St. Augustine, Florida

1. 19:34, Michelle Krueger (F, 41) Jacksonville, FL
2. 19:38, Katie Potts (F, 19) Ponte Vedra, FL
3. 20:47, Katie Johnson (F, 23) Melbourne, FL
4. 21:12, Tracy Dutra (F, 44) Melbourne, FL
5. 21:46, Elizabeth Mihlebach (F, 31) Melbourne Beach, FL
6. 21:37, Kristine Williams (F, 45) St. Augustine, FL
7. 21:48, Emily Jackson (F, 16) Palm Coast, FL
8. 21:49, Amy McIntyre (F, 40) Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
9. 21:52, Sarah Myers (F, 19) Ormond Beach, FL
10. 21:59, Tara Evans (F, 32) New Smyrna Beach, FL

Bridge of Lions 5K winners, 1985 - 2017
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
12 July 1986	14:53, John Rogerson	18:11, Jeannie Messinese
18 July 1987	14:55, Ron Borsheim	18:03, Tawny Kern
20 July 1996	15:34, Mark Donahue	17:16, Kim Pawelek	995
19 July 1997	15:18, Gary Droze	16:56, Kim Pawelek	958
18 July 1998	15:41, Reo Rorem	19:04, Kelly Wild	1113
17 July 1999	15:52, Ted Devos	16:28, Kim Pawelek	1151
15 July 2000	16:12, Randy Hollinger	20:27, Erin Neville	958
21 July 2001	16:15, Lee Yaracas	19:00, Karin Glenn
20 July 2002	16:20, Joseph Zepherinus	18:32, Karin Glenn	490
19 July 2003	17:24, Keith Brantly	19:22, Karin Glenn	503
17 July 2004	15:51, Justin Taylor	17:46, Luanne Coulter	439
16 July 2005	16:15, Justin Taylor	20:01, Amanda Hahn	228
15 July 2006	16:19, Justin Taylor	19:29, Michelle Krueger	216
21 July 2007	15:45, Justin Taylor	20:48, Christine Marcano	387
19 July 2008	16:27, Mike Hensley	20:04, Sue O'Malley	433
18 July 2009	16:22, Todd Neville	19:44, Julie Mayfield	431
17 July 2010	16:07, Ryan Albertson	20:33, Sue O'Malley	506
16 July 2011	17:22, Joe Matuszczak	18:29, Courtney Cooper	731
21 July 2012	16:24, Marc Akbar	18:23, Michelle Krueger	713
27 July 2013	16:11, Marc Akbar	18:26, Kim Pawelek Brantly	820
26 July 2014	17:27, Gavin Gresham	18:12, Kim Pawelek Brantly	749
18 July 2015	16:10, Jeremy Bryan	18:06, Kim Pawelek Brantly	1104
16 July 2016	17:38, Ian Yates	18:36, Mallory Kennedy	1159
15 July 2017	17:15, Sean Snyder	19:34, Michelle Krueger	1171
Please contact me if you have results of the Bridge of Lions 5K for 1985 or 1988-1995!

Links

• Complete results of the 33rd annual Bridge of Lions 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1S9bscdqRZYqyJjfWjxuPw_XS1e9ECHgGrSBFMB0fkmc/pubhtml
  
  
• 2016 story, “Yates and Kennedy burn the Bridge of Lions 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/07/bridge-of-lions-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Bryant and Brantly beat hundreds at Bridge of Lions 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/07/bridge-of-lions-2015.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “Akbar in the Lion's Den”
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/07/bridge-of-lions-2013.html
  
  
• Bridge of Lions 5K
  http://www.bridgeoflions5k.com/
  
  
• USATF course certification map FL10062EBM for the 2016 Bridge of Lions 5K
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL10062EBM
  
  
• Find faster races than the Bridge of Lions 5K on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2030