Hensley and DeFranco return for more Payne and more wins

Paynes Prairie lies south of Gainesville, Florida. If you had been there 10,000 years ago or so, you might have seen mastodons, mammoths, or giant ground sloths. If you make a more recent visit to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, you might see bison, alligators, or feral horses. And if you were in the park on Saturday morning, 24 March 2018, you could have seen 180 athletes doing their best to deal with the boggy footing and challenging terrain of the area, strugging to finish the eighth annual Trail of Payne 10K cross-country race.


Gainseville athlete Bobby Hensley won the race by more than 200 meters, running 35:56. It was Hensley's second Trail of Payne title; he had also won the race in 2016. Meredith DeFranco of Gainesville was also a repeat winner. After winning the women's division in the 2015 Trail of Payne, DeFranco returned to the race in 2018 and picked up a second women's win, placing tenth overall in 43:30.


The only other man to have won two Trail of Payne races is Mike Hensley, who scored wins in 2012 and 2015. Aside from DeFranco, the only runner to have twice been the first woman at the Trail of Payne 10K was Stephanie McGrail, a three-time winner: 2013, 2016, and 2017. McGrail set the women's course record in the 2017 race.


Behind Hensley, John Sansalone was second in the race, running 36:51. Before graduating from Gainesville's Saint Francis Catholic High in 2013, Sansalone had been a standout on the school's cross-country team. Anton Matchev, an eighth-grader on the cross-country team at Gainesville's Abraham Lincoln Middle School, edged David Cox for third, 38:46 to 38:47. Right behind Cox, Gainesville runner Luke Flory and Patrick Gallagher fought for fifth. Both runners were clocked in 38:48, but Flory made it across the finish line before Gallagher. Gallagher, sixth overall, was the first master runner in the race.


Rae Powers was the women's runner-up and seventeenth overall in 44:35. Lara Drondoski edged two-time Trail of Payne champion Stephanie McGrail for third in the women's standings, both athletes running 45:10. Drondoski and McGrail were eighteenth and nineteenth overall. Elisabeth Diamond of Bell, Florida was the first woman master in the 10K and the twelfth female finisher, 44th overall in 52:55.


Start 2 Finish Race Management timed the race.


Top Ten Men, 2018 Trail of Payne 10K

1. 35:56, Bobby Hensley (M, 33) Gainesville, FL
2. 36:51, John Sansalone (M, 22) Gainesville, FL
3. 38:46, Anton Matchev (M, 14)
4. 38:47, David Cox (M, 32)
5. 38:48, Luke Flory (M, 39) Gainesville, FL
6. 38:48, Patrick Gallagher (M, 42) Gainesville, FL
7. 40:34, Ben Huron (M, 41)
8. 40:58, Dan Stoner (M, 43)
9. 42:32, Cedric Torres (M, 23)
10. 43:41, Andy Natwick (M, 36)

Top Ten Women, 2018 Trail of Payne 10K

1. 43:30, Meredith DeFranco (F, 34) Gainesville, FL
2. 44:35, Rae Powers (F, 26)
3. 45:10, Lara Drondoski (F, 24)
4. 45:10, Stephanie McGrail (F, 31)
5. 45:20, Kate Egan (F, 33)
6. 47:30, Sarah Williams (F, 38)
7. 48:19, Kristen Urichko (F, 23)
8. 50:15, Safi Chalfin-Smith (F, 15) Gainesville, FL
9. 51:10, Melissa Land (F, 36)
10. 51:59, Laura Coppola (F, 39)

Trail of Payne 10K winners, 2011 - 2018
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
19 March 2011	35:56, Christian Kern	41:06, Tatiana Titova	271
17 March 2012	34:37, Mike Hensley	40:33, Tenley Godfrey	342
16 March 2013	37:12, Christopher Raye	40:22, Stephanie McGrail	273
29 March 2014	37:16, Nick Auyeung	41:30, Carol Rowe	244
28 March 2015	34:02, Mike Hensley	42:12, Meredith DeFranco	271
26 March 2016	35:42, Bobby Hensley	43:11, Stephanie McGrail	194
25 March 2017	33:16, Enoch Nadler	39:44, Stephanie McGrail	207
24 March 2018	35:56, Bobby Hensley	43:30, Meredith DeFranco	180

Links

• Complete results of the 2018 Trail of Payne 10K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ_RabqYCp2mRfKYqPpz6jbeFb2ZpVGONNG_DgH9Ra26lceSdNUshtVcd7YtjClxJ3lRq4oSV1aQmen/pubhtml
  
  
• 2017 story, “Team Florida Track Club's Nadler and McGrail run through Payne to victory”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/03/payne-trail-2017.html
  
  
• 2016 story, “Bobby Hensley overcomes Payne”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/03/payne-trail-2016.html
  
  
• Trail of Payne 10K Facebook Page
  https://www.facebook.com/TrailOfPayne10k/
  
  
• Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park
  https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Paynes-Prairie
  
  
• Find more Payne-ful races on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

#2231