Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Micah Kemp and Beverly Fair celebrate victory at the Celebrate Freedom 5K

Since 2000, Jay, Florida's annual Celebrate Freedom 5K had always been on Independence Day. In 22 years, the only exception to that rule had been when July 4 was on a Sunday. In those rare instances, the race was scheduled a day early on July 3. But in 2022, Jay City Park, the traditional venue for the start and finish of the race, was going to be closed on the nation's birthday. That year, race director Matt Dobson slated the event on 25 June 2022, nine days before the Glorious Fourth.


Micah Kemp had no trouble racing on the new date, winning the 5K by well over 200 meters in 18:37. Nor was master runner Beverly Fair thrown off by the calendar; Fair took the women's title with a 24:31 effort, placing tenth overall.


Kemp's wins at the Celebrate Freedom 5K has become almost as traditional as holding the race on the Fourth of July. Kemp first won the race as a schoolboy at Jay High, and continued to win in his years as a University of West Florida Argonaut. The first place in 2022 goes on his tally as a post-collegiate athlete. Chance Thornton, a rising senior on the Jay High cross-country team, took second behind Kemp in 19:31. Another Jay Royal harrier, rising sophomore Ramsey Reeves, finished third in 20:59. The first master runner in the race was sixty-year-old Tim Lee; Lee came in fifth overall in 22:30.


Amelia Lee, a rising sophomore at Miller High in Brewton, Alabama, was second in the women's standings and thirteenth overall in 25:52. Master runner Patti Zamyslowski was the third woman, fourteenth overall in 26:41.


53 athletes finished the 2022 Celebrate Freedom 5K.


Top Ten Men, 2022 Celebrate Freedom 5K
  1. 18:37, Micah Kemp (M, 25)
  2. 19:31, Chance Thornton (M, 17)
  3. 20:59, Ramsey Reeves (M, 15)
  4. 22:04, Tyler Lewis (M, 16)
  5. 22:30, Tim Lee (M, 60)
  6. 23:02, Jay McKenzie (M, 60)
  7. 23:52, David Toellner (M, 58)
  8. 24:00, Travis Smith (M, 39)
  9. 24:23, Billy Bryant (M, 74)
  10. 24:45, Steven Fair (M, 53)

Top Ten Women, 2022 Celebrate Freedom 5K
  1. 24:31, Beverly Fair (F, 51)
  2. 25:52, Amelia Lee (F, 12)
  3. 26:41, Patti Zamyslowski (F, 41)
  4. 29:28, Vanessa McKenzie (F, 56)
  5. 30:40, Makenna Williams (F, 17)
  6. 31:25, Zoe Selario (F, 16)
  7. 32:20, Olivia Britt (F, 23)
  8. 35:03, Lexie Smith (F, 12)
  9. 35:07, Leah Smith (F, 13)
  10. 35:11, Rachel Gonzalez (F, 24)

Some past winners of the Jay, Florida, Celebrate Freedom 5K
DateMenWomenFinishers
4 July 2005
4 July 200618:14, Ray Dunn21:07, Karen Trittschuh
4 July 200716:42, Eric Mayes20:24, Liesel Schmidt~50
4 July 200819:17, Drew Kennedy25:, Shirley Raney
4 July 200919:45, Drew Kennedy21:47, Sandy Eubanks
4 July 201018:05 Dylan Nadsady25:45, Shirley Raney
4 July 2011
4 July 201216:42, Caleb Carmichael21:49, Sandy Ebanks66
4 July 2013
4 July 201417:00, Micah Kemp21:19, Susan Smith97
4 July 201516:30, Micah Kemp23:57, Tarah Townsend72
4 July 201617:42, Micah Kemp21:30, Olivia Blackmon89
4 July 201718:11, Micah Kemp21:09, Olivia Blackmon113
4 July 201816:18, Micah Kemp20:24, Olivia Blackmon128
4 July 201916:56, Micah Kemp24:45, Leslie Specht89
4 July 202015:58, Hailey Myddelton19:55, Elyse Carmichael89
3 July 2021
25 June 202218:37, Micah Kemp24:31, Beverly Fair53
If anyone can point me in the direction of the names and times of race winners
for 2000 to 2005, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2021, I would like to include them here.


Links
#2847
Bookmark and Share
Posted by Herb Wills at 12:57 AM
Labels: , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)