Saturday, July 13, 2019

Alejandro Hernandez scores a 16:36 payback win at the Bridge of Lions 5K

Saint Augustine, Florida is not quite 500 years old, but it is indeed an old city. The city's Bridge of Lions is just under a century old, having been completed in 1927. The Bridge of Lions 5K is young in comparison--first contested in 1985, the 35th annual running of the race was on Saturday morning, 13 July 2019. The Bridge of Lions 5K rivalry between Alejandro Hernandez and Dr. Jeremy Caudill is younger still, having first emerged in the 2018 race. Hernandez came out on top in 2019, winning the 5K in 16:36 while Dr. Caudill took second in 16:55. Morgan Sharp won the women's title, placing 32nd overall in 20:14.


Dr. Caudill had won the 2018 race in 16:42, with Hernandez a close second in 16:48. This time, though, Hernandez wasn't going to be second to anyone. The former Connecticut College Camel cross-country runner's 16:36 was not only 2019's fastest mark, but also faster than anything posted at the Bridge of Lions since 2015. 2019 was Dr. Caudill's first Bridge of Lions race as a master runner, and his first time as the top master runner in the race.


Third place came down to a duel between Jasper Wilson, a recent alum of Chicamauga, Georgia's Gordon Lee High cross-country team, and Bela Schein, a junior-year harrier at Saint Augustine High. Wilson took the spot, edging Schein 17:31 to 17:33.


Morgan Sharp earned her first Bridge of Lions 5K women's title with her 20:21, but it wasn't the Saint Augustine native's first time racing the Bridge of Lions. Sharp first cracked the women's top ten in the event in 2018 as a recent alum of Saint Joseph Academy, placing seventh in the women's field in 22:01. After a year of racing cross-country for Florida Atlantic University, a much-improved Sharp was the women's champ in the 2019 race.


Just a few steps behind Sharp, Grace Kemerer, a cross-country runner at Case Western Reserve University, took second on the women's side and 33rd overall in 20:27. Tracy Dutra of Melbourne, Florida was the first woman master in the race and the third female finisher, 36th overall in 20:42. The second woman master was former Florida State Seminole distance runner Dr. Darien Andreu, fourth in the women's standings and 41st overall in 21:25.


1202 athletes finished the 2019 Bridge of Lions 5K. RaceSmith chip-timed the event.


Top Ten Men, 2019 Bridge of Lions 5K, St. Augustine, Florida
  1. 16:36, Alejandro Hernandez (M, 24) Jacksonville, FL
  2. 16:55, Jeremy Caudill (M, 40) St. Augustine, FL
  3. 17:31, Jasper Wilson (M, 18) Chickamauga, GA
  4. 17:33, Bela Schein (M, 16) St. Augustine, FL
  5. 17:55, Matthew Nelson (M, 38) Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
  6. 17:56, Phil Elder (M, 38) Atlanta, GA
  7. 18:03, Noah McCray (M, 17) Clewiston, FL
  8. 18:03, Jimmy Major (M, 17) Palm Coast, FL
  9. 18:08, Matt Todd (M, 31) St. Augustine, FL
  10. 18:08, Erik Hartley (M, 26) St. Augustine, FL

Top Ten Women, 2019 Bridge of Lions 5K, St. Augustine, Florida
  1. 20:21, Morgan Sharp (F, 19) St. Augustine, FL
  2. 20:27, Grace Kemerer (F, 20) St. Augustine, FL
  3. 20:42, Tracy Dutra (F, 46) Melbourne, FL
  4. 21:25, Darien Andreu (F, 59) St. Augustine, FL
  5. 21:34, Talisa Fletcher (F, 33) Palatka, FL
  6. 21:43, Rylan Holmquist (F, 13) St. Augustine, FL
  7. 21:53, Kristine Williams (F, 47) St. Augustine, FL
  8. 22:26, Andrea Brady (F, 38) St. Augustine, FL
  9. 22:35, Sherry Labree (F, 42) Fort Myers, FL
  10. 22:48, Gina Howell (F, 42) Waycross, GA

Bridge of Lions 5K winners, 1985 - 2019
DateMenWomenFinishers
12 July 198614:53, John Rogerson18:11, Jeannie Messinese
18 July 198714:55, Ron Borsheim18:03, Tawny Kern
20 July 199615:34, Mark Donahue17:16, Kim Pawelek995
19 July 199715:18, Gary Droze16:56, Kim Pawelek958
18 July 199815:41, Reo Rorem19:04, Kelly Wild1113
17 July 199915:52, Ted Devos16:28, Kim Pawelek1151
15 July 200016:12, Randy Hollinger20:27, Erin Neville958
21 July 200116:15, Lee Yaracas19:00, Karin Glenn
20 July 200216:20, Joseph Zepherinus18:32, Karin Glenn490
19 July 200317:24, Keith Brantly19:22, Karin Glenn503
17 July 200415:51, Justin Taylor17:46, Luanne Coulter439
16 July 200516:15, Justin Taylor20:01, Amanda Hahn228
15 July 200616:19, Justin Taylor19:29, Michelle Krueger216
21 July 200715:45, Justin Taylor20:48, Christine Marcano387
19 July 200816:27, Mike Hensley20:04, Sue O'Malley433
18 July 200916:22, Todd Neville19:44, Julie Mayfield431
17 July 201016:07, Ryan Albertson20:33, Sue O'Malley506
16 July 201117:22, Joe Matuszczak18:29, Courtney Cooper731
21 July 201216:24, Marc Akbar18:23, Michelle Krueger713
27 July 201316:11, Marc Akbar18:26, Kim Pawelek Brantly820
26 July 201417:27, Gavin Gresham18:12, Kim Pawelek Brantly749
18 July 201516:10, Jeremy Bryan18:06, Kim Pawelek Brantly1104
16 July 201617:38, Ian Yates18:36, Mallory Kennedy1159
15 July 201717:15, Sean Snyder19:34, Michelle Krueger1171
14 July 201816:42, Jeremy Caudill19:52, Stefanie Braun1090
13 July 201916:36, Alejandro Hernandez20:21, Morgan Sharp1202
Please contact me if you have results of the Bridge of Lions 5K for 1985 or 1988-1995!


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Posted by Herb Wills at 5:40 PM
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