The Bushwacker belongs to Ash and Nelson

Two hundredths of a second. If the Cap'n Fun Runners' 29th Bushwacker 5K had been a 100-meter dash, the margin of victory would have been just two hundredths of a second. It was that close. If you shrank the race down to a 100-meter dash, first and second place would have been decided by a well-timed lean. Judges would have sweated over the finish line photo. Coaches would have lodged protests.


But the Bushwacker 5K is 50 times the length of the 100-meter dash, and on Saturday morning, 5 August 2017, even though the winner crossed the finish line only two seconds before the next runner, it was easy enough to tell that Alan Ash had beaten Dewayne Riley for the title, 16:13 to 16:15. On the women's side, things were not nearly so close. Katie Nelson ran 18:24 for the women's title, finishing over a minute before her nearest challenger.


It was the fourth Bushwacker victory in the past five years for Alan Ash, a Vanderbilt alumnus from Atmore, Alabama. Milton, Florida athlete Dewayne Riley is also a Bushwacker regular, having finished in the top five each year since 2014. Close enough to see the race between Ash and Riley, Mason Youberg was third in 16:27. Youberg is a 2017 graduate of Gulf Breeze High, where he ran on the Dolphins' cross-country team.


Women's champ Katie Nelson runs cross-country and track at the University of Montevallo, competing in NCAA Division 2. Nelson's 18:24 in the Bushwacker was fast enough, but if you ran two of those back-to-back it still wouldn't match the best 10,000-meter race she ran for Montevallo, a 36:41.29. Gretchen Krause was runner-up on the women's side, placing twentieth overall in 19:33. Krause is a 2016 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy, where she ran on the cross-country and track teams. Tallahassee runner Kat Sack was the third woman and 22nd overall in 19:37.


Bob Walker of Baker, Florida was the fastest master runner in the race and 21st overall in 19:35. Pensacola, Florida's Troye Stadler was the first woman master and seventh female finisher, 58th overall in 22:44.


674 athletes finished the 2017 Bushwacker 5K. Results Event Timing, LLC, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida timed the race.


Top Ten Men, 2017 Bushwacker 5K

1. 16:13, Alan Ash (M, 26) Atmore, AL
2. 16:15, Dewayne Riley (M, 30) Milton, FL
3. 16:27, Mason Youberg (M, 18) Gulf Breeze, FL
4. 16:58, Anthony Malatesta (M, 23) Pensacola, FL
5. 17:42, Jeffrey Oliver (M, 35) Pensacola, FL
6. 17:52, Phillip Gindl (M, 15) Cantonment, FL
7. 17:57, Connor Ryan (M, 20) Fairhope, AL
8. 17:58, Payton Watson (M, 17) Crestview, FL
9. 18:01, Jared Macari (M, 33) Bradley, IL
10. 18:09, Connor Creel (M, 16) Gulf Breeze, FL

Top Ten Women, 2017 Bushwacker 5K

1. 18:24, Katie Nelson (F, 21) Brewton, AL
2. 19:33, Gretchen Krause (F, 22) Pensacola, FL
3. 19:37, Kat Sack (F, 25) Tallahassee, FL
4. 21:35, Maria Areola (F, 16) Pensacola, FL
5. 21:49, Skylar Grant (F, 15) Pensacola, FL
6. 21:50, Holly Duncan (F, 31) Winchester, IN
7. 22:44, Troye Stadler (F, 40) Pensacola, FL
8. 22:44, Virna Trinidad (F, 23) Pensacola, FL
9. 23:15, Jasmine Loriz (F, 16) Pensacola, FL
10. 23:24, Alejandra Gilley (F, 15) Pensacola, FL

Bushwacker 5K winners, 1987 - 2017
Date	Men	Women	Runners
August 1987
August 1988
August 1989
August 1990
August 1991
August 1992
August 1993
August 1994
August 1995
3 August 1996	15:15, Everett Whiteside	17:49, Jennifer McGranahan	950
2 August 1997	15:46, Eddie Terrell	18:57, Jennifer Hanley	859
1998	No Race Held
1999	No Race Held
5 August 2000	15:23, Justin Insco	18:20, Sarah Kramer	769
4 August 2001	15:46, Ryan Albertson	18:17, Ann McGranahan	730
3 August 2002	16:09, Ryan Albertson	19:07, Anna Greskovich	922
2 August 2003	15:41, Michael Padilla	17:30, Jenny Ledford	1046
7 August 2004	15:30, Michael Padilla	18:25, Anna Greslovich	1093
6 August 2005	16:03, Samson Kipchirchir	19:23, Anna Greskovich	661
5 August 2006	16:16, Michael Padilla	19:49, Jennifer McGranahan
4 August 2007	15:51, Eric Larson	18:57, Farrah Stewart	1016
2 August 2008	15:19, Bud Galloway	17:57, Anna Hallex	1220
1 August 2009	16:09, Bud Galloway	19:04, Anna Hallex
August 2010	15:41, Everett Whiteside	19:33, Rebecca Jordan
6 August 2011	16:16, Eric Larson	19:12, Johanna Gretschel
4 August 2012	15:51, Ian Bordelon	19:30, Jackie Kosakowski	1138
3 August 2013	15:43, Alan Ash	19:30, Rosalie Teeuwen	1223
2 August 2014	16:05, Alan Ash	19:58, Bridget Bann	912
1 August 2015	16:08, Brent Schneider	19:00, Maria Sandström	926
6 August 2016	15:59, Alan Ash	18:53, Fiana Kumm	884
6 August 2016	16:13, Alan Ash	18:24, Katie Nelson	674
I'm still filling blanks in this table. Any leads on past results would be greatly appreciated!

Links

• Complete results of the 2017 Bushwacker 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SDmt5DP34hd4z5B-Y1kETWVV-G1rlK36-bUixaF12Yk/pubhtml
  
  
• 2016 story, “Ash and Kumm lead a pack of Bushwackers”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/08/bushwacker-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Schneider and Sandström beat 'em all at Bushwacker”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/08/bushwacker-2015.html
  
  
• USATF course certification map FL10048EBM for the 2016 Bushwacker 5K
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=FL10048EBM
  
  
• Capt'n Fun Runners
  http://www.captnfun.net/
  
  
• Find future races, large and small, on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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