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

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

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.

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
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
25 September 1976	15:43, Tim Simpkins	19:20, Nancy McCormac
September 1977	15:35, Tim Simpkins	19:00, Janice Gage
23 September 1978
September 1979
20 September 1980	17:17, George West	20:52, Donna Miller
September 1981	18:20, Shannon Sullivan	22:27, Pam Ledbetter
September 1982
24 September 1983	17:17, Jeff Doherty	20:36, Donna Miller
September 1984	17:11, Larry Abele	20:43, Barbara Balzer
September 1985	16:51, Tim Simpkins	20:40, Darien Andreu
27 September 1986	17:20, Tim Simpkins	22:14, Laura Partin
12 September 1987	17:33, Tom Burr	21:20, Linda Nicholson
24 September 1988	17:38, Tom Burr	22:23, Yvonne Gsteiger
23 September 1989	17:25, Tim Simpkins	21:30, Vikki Saga
22 September 1990	17:12, Bill Crooks	22:23, Tina Davies
22 September 1991	17:54, Gary Droze	24:48, Tina Davies
19 September 1992	18:29, Gary Droze	22:05, Diane Blas
18 September 1993	17:58, Tim Simpkins	24:16, Sissi Carroll
17 September 1994	17:00, Gary Droze	21:16, Carrie Weyant
30 September 1995	17:12, Gary Droze	22:56, Sissi Carroll
28 September 1996	19:18, Gary Droze	22:56, Jane Johnson
27 September 1997	18:50, Bill Crooks	23:07, Julie Clark
26 September 1998	19:26, Paul Hoover	24:44, Peggy Simpson
25 September 1999	17:56, Gary Droze	24:13, Brandi Rook
30 September 2000	17:49, Gary Droze	22:17, Allie Hunter
29 September 2001	19:37, Scott Poindexter	22:17, Allie Hunter
5 October 2002	22:17, David Yon	25:47, Yvonne Gsteiger
27 September 2003	18:35, Shawn Patterson	23:49, Angela Dempsey
25 September 2004	17:43, Gary Droze	22:46, Seeley Lovett
24 September 2005	18:13, Gary Droze	24:06, Jane Johnson
23 September 2006	17:24, Gary Droze	19:59, Stephanie Liles
29 September 2007	17:29, Chris Gregory	20:26, Micah Adriani
27 September 2008	18:16, Daniel Lee	21:10, Kati Gosnell
26 September 2009	20:28, Joel Piotrowski	21:20, Micah Adriani
25 September 2010	18:53, Jay Wallace	22:17, Kelly Stevens
24 September 2011	19:08, Michael Martinez	22:31, Olivia Swedberg Yinger
22 September 2012	17:18, Stanley Linton	20:58, Micah Adriani
21 September 2013	16:27, Stanley Linton	23:34, Melissa Geary
27 September 2014	17:43, Chris Lake	22:30, Cora Atkinson	181
26 September 2015	18:42, Peter Van Brussel	23:38, Emily Smith
24 September 2016	18:38, Geb Kiros	22:58, Samantha Reilly	162
16 September 2017	18:52, Vince Molosky	24:19, Kendall Ward	62

Links:

• 2017 Prefontaine 5K high school race story, “Maclay, Maclay, Maclay, and more Maclay at the Prefontaine Classic”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/09/prefontaine-hs-2017.html
  
  
• Complete results of Gulf Winds Track Club's 2017 Prefontaine Forest 5K at gulfwinds.org
  http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2017/Prefontaine%202017.asp
  
  
• More photos of Gulf Winds Track Club's 2017 Prefontaine Forest 5K
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10110555492485293.1073742305.5215641&type=1&l=a486216c4c
  
  
• Fred Deckert's photos of Gulf Winds Track Club's 2017 Prefontaine Forest 5K
  https://plus.google.com/photos/112560881455823075870/album/6466427632817363841
  
  
• 2016 story, “Kiros and Reilly add their names to Prefontaine 5K history”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/09/prefontaine-2016.html
  
  
• 2015 story, “Van Brussel and Smith remember Prefontaine with wins”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2015/09/prefontaine-2015.html
  
  
• 2014 story, “Lake and Atkinson salute Prefontaine with speed”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2014/09/prefontaine-2014.html
  
  
• 2013 story, “Linton turns the fastest Prefontaine time in over three decades”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2013/09/prefontaine-2013.html
  
  
• 2012 story, “Linton gets his first Prefontaine 5K win, Adriani her third”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2012/09/pre-2012.html
  
  
• 2011 story, “Martinez and Yinger prevail at Prefontaine 5K”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/09/pre-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, “Wallace and Stevens tear up the trails at 'Salute to Prefontaine'”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/09/prefontaine-2010.html
  
  
• Find your next race, road or trail, in the Tallahassee region
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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