Saturday, September 16, 2017

Molosky and Ward overcome obstacles and opponents at the Prefontaine 5K

"I really hate sand," said Vince Molosky.


It was Saturday morning, 16 September 2017, and Molosky had just finished running Gulf Winds Track Club's 42nd annual Salute to Prefontaine 5K. For an athlete who dislikes running in sand, it was the wrong place to be. Somehow, the Prefontaine seems to pack four miles of sand into a 3.1-mile course through the Apalachicola National Forest. This seems geometrically unlikely, especially when the race also includes stretches of grass, pine needles, leaf mold, and even a bit of gravel, punctuated with tree roots. However, more than a few runner will swear that, if anything, four miles understates the amount of sand on the course. The sand has been there for millions of years, deposited when the Silver Lake area west of Tallahassee, Florida was submerged under an ancient sea. More recently, during the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps developed the site as a recreation area. They built shelters and marked trails, but neglected to remove the sand. The Gulf Winds Track Club held the first Prefontaine 5K at Silver Lake in 1976. In spite of four decades of grumbling about the sand, the race has been held there annually ever since.

Vince Molosky
Vince Molosky

Molosky learned about the Silver Lake sand when he ran his first Prefontaine 5K in 2014, finishing third. In spite of the frustrating footing he returned in 2017. This time he won the race, running 18:52. Kendall Ward, experiencing the Prefontaine 5K sand for the first time, took the women's title, placing sixteenth overall in 24:19.


The race got under way at 8:30 AM. Morgan Bolmer, a sophomore on the Berrien County High cross-country team, dashed ahead, setting the early pace. Vince Molosky was never more than a few steps back though, and soon overtook Bolmer. By the end of the first of two laps around Silver Lake, Molosky was in front with an 80-meter lead. Gatlin Nennstiel and Joshua Guest of the Tallahassee Community College cross-country team had also passed Bolmer and were running in second and third place. During the second lap around the lake Molosky lengthened his lead to 140 meters, going on to win in 18:52. Nennstiel took second in 19:24 and Guest third in 19:38. Travis Parks, another Tallahassee Community College runner, was fourth in 20:20 while Bolmer placed fifth in 20:29. Joel Piotrowski was the top master runner in the race, placing seventh overall in 21:31.

Kendall Ward
Kendall Ward

Laura Reina was the first woman master and second female finisher, placing 24th overall in 26:12. Deirdre McCarthy was third in the women's standings and 26th overall in 27:25.


Nennstiel, Guest, and Parks were not the only Tallahassee Community College Eagles in the race. The 2017 cross-country season is the first ever for the TCC men’s cross-country team, and the Prefontaine 5K was the third race on the Eagles’ schedule. Running in Eagle colors, Tunde Azikwe was twelfth in 22:39 and Kelvin Brown was thirteenth in 22:45.

Gatlin Nennstiel, Travis Parks, Joshua Guest
Flying Eagles

62 athletes finished the 42nd annual Salute to Prefontaine 5K. Gulf Winds Track Club chip-timed the race.


Top Ten Men, 2017 Salute to Prefontaine 5K
  1. 18:52, Vince Molosky (M, 38)
  2. 19:24, Gatlin Nennstiel (M, 18)
  3. 19:38, Joshua Guest (M, 18)
  4. 20:20, Travis Parks (M, 21)
  5. 20:29, Morgan Bolmer (M, 15)
  6. 21:04, Paul Guyas (M, 39)
  7. 21:31, Joel Piotrowski (M, 48)
  8. 21:39, Filippo Aldrovandi Reina (M, 12)
  9. 21:55, Randall Porcher (M, 52)
  10. 22:10, Michael Martinez (M, 51)

Top Ten Women, 2017 Salute to Prefontaine 5K
  1. 24:19, Kendall Ward (F, 17)
  2. 26:12, Laura Reina (F, 53)
  3. 27:25, Deirdre McCarthy (F, 38)
  4. 28:28, Martha Guyas (F, 33)
  5. 28:42, Lillee Tang (F, 16)
  6. 28:55, Amelia Wilson (F, 27)
  7. 29:02, Samantha Fillmore (F, 41)
  8. 31:02, Edna Reed (F, 43)
  9. 31:15, Fran McLean (F, 59)
  10. 32:42, Kim Ward (F, 51)

Known winners of GWTC's Prefontaine Forest 5K
1976 - 2017
DateMenWomenFinishers
25 September 197615:43, Tim Simpkins19:20, Nancy McCormac
September 197715:35, Tim Simpkins19:00, Janice Gage
23 September 1978

September 1979

20 September 198017:17, George West20:52, Donna Miller
September 198118:20, Shannon Sullivan22:27, Pam Ledbetter
September 1982

24 September 198317:17, Jeff Doherty20:36, Donna Miller
September 198417:11, Larry Abele20:43, Barbara Balzer
September 198516:51, Tim Simpkins20:40, Darien Andreu
27 September 198617:20, Tim Simpkins22:14, Laura Partin
12 September 198717:33, Tom Burr21:20, Linda Nicholson
24 September 198817:38, Tom Burr22:23, Yvonne Gsteiger
23 September 198917:25, Tim Simpkins21:30, Vikki Saga
22 September 199017:12, Bill Crooks22:23, Tina Davies
22 September 199117:54, Gary Droze24:48, Tina Davies
19 September 199218:29, Gary Droze22:05, Diane Blas
18 September 199317:58, Tim Simpkins24:16, Sissi Carroll
17 September 199417:00, Gary Droze21:16, Carrie Weyant
30 September 199517:12, Gary Droze22:56, Sissi Carroll
28 September 199619:18, Gary Droze22:56, Jane Johnson
27 September 199718:50, Bill Crooks23:07, Julie Clark
26 September 199819:26, Paul Hoover24:44, Peggy Simpson
25 September 199917:56, Gary Droze24:13, Brandi Rook
30 September 200017:49, Gary Droze22:17, Allie Hunter
29 September 200119:37, Scott Poindexter22:17, Allie Hunter
5 October 200222:17, David Yon25:47, Yvonne Gsteiger
27 September 200318:35, Shawn Patterson23:49, Angela Dempsey
25 September 200417:43, Gary Droze22:46, Seeley Lovett
24 September 200518:13, Gary Droze24:06, Jane Johnson
23 September 200617:24, Gary Droze19:59, Stephanie Liles
29 September 200717:29, Chris Gregory20:26, Micah Adriani
27 September 200818:16, Daniel Lee21:10, Kati Gosnell
26 September 200920:28, Joel Piotrowski21:20, Micah Adriani
25 September 201018:53, Jay Wallace22:17, Kelly Stevens
24 September 201119:08, Michael Martinez22:31, Olivia Swedberg Yinger
22 September 201217:18, Stanley Linton20:58, Micah Adriani
21 September 201316:27, Stanley Linton23:34, Melissa Geary
27 September 201417:43, Chris Lake22:30, Cora Atkinson181
26 September 201518:42, Peter Van Brussel23:38, Emily Smith
24 September 201618:38, Geb Kiros22:58, Samantha Reilly162
16 September 201718:52, Vince Molosky24:19, Kendall Ward62


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