Zach Fenton goes 15:55 to score a third straight Firecracker 5K win

15:55 isn't Zach Fenton's fastest performance at the Ronald McDonald House Firecracker 5K. In the 2021 edition of the Pensacola, Florida race, Fenton posted a winning time of 15:37. In the 2022 event, the University of West Florida cross-country runner took first with a fast 14:52. But on Saturday morning, 1 July 2023, 15:55 was good enough to earn Fenton his third straight Firecracker 5K win, putting him across the finish line well over 200 meters ahead of the next runner. Stephanie Rathburn of Milton, Florida was the first woman in the 33rd annual race, finishing thirteenth overall in 20:01.


Zach Fenton came to Penascola from Sikesville, Maryland, where he had raced cross-country for the Century High Knights from 2015 to 2018. The man responsible for Fenton becoming a West Florida Argonaut was UWF coach Caleb Carmichael, who placed second to Fenton in the 2023 Firecracker 5K. Carmichael ran 16:41. 2023 Pace High grad Gavin Schulte was third in the race, running 17:12. Baton Rouge, Lousiana's Nicholas LaBarbera was the first master runner in the race and the thirteenth male finisher, coming in fourtheenth overall in 20:04.


Elyse Carmichael, the 2022 Firecracker 5K women's champ, took second in the women's division in 2023, placing sixteenth overall in 20:33. Carmichael is a rising junior on the Washington High cross-country team. Muriel Hyatt of Penasacola was the third woman in the race and 30th overall in 21:58. Another Pensacola athlete, Gabriela Garza, was the first woman master, placing fourth in the women's standings and 47th overall in 23:51.


601 athletes finished the 2023 Ronald McDonald House Firecracker 5K. Trinity Timing and Consulting timed the race.


Top Ten Men, 2023 Ronald McDonald House 5K

1. 15:55, Zach Fenton (M, 22) Pensacola, FL
2. 16:41, Caleb Carmichael (M, 38) Pensacola, FL
3. 17:12, Gavin Schulte (M, 18) Milton, FL
4. 17:32, Jackson Tyner (M, 19) Milton, FL
5. 17:47, Brendan Delaney (M, 23) Pensacola, FL
6. 18:26, Grant van Valkenburg (M, 22) Duvall, WA
7. 18:56, Marshall Meyer (M, 18) Waverly, IA
8. 18:56, Jeremiah Small (M, 17) Cantonment, FL
9. 19:13, Jake Huston (M, 17) Pella, IA
10. 19:37, Daniel Penley (M, 18) Pensacola, FL

Top Ten Women, 2023 Ronald McDonald House 5K

1. 20:01, Stephanie Rathburn (F, 35) Milton, FL
2. 20:33, Elyse Carmichael (F, 16) Pensacola, FL
3. 21:58, Muriel Hyatt (F, 19) Pensacola, FL
4. 23:51, Gabriela Garza (F, 53) Pensacola, FL
5. 24:08, Addison Garrett (F, 14) Milton, FL
6. 24:11, Alejandra Ryan (F, 43) Pensacola, FL
7. 24:38, Victoria Gray (F, 33) Cantonment, FL
8. 24:57, Lisa Howell (F, 43) Niceville, FL
9. 25:22, Jennifer Guernsey (F, 39) Milton, FL
10. 25:37, Maria Lopez (F, 34) Pensacola, FL

Ronald McDonald House Firecracker 5K winners, 1990 - 2023
Date	Men	Women	Finishers
4 July 1990	16:03, Kevin Kropp	20:15, Tracey Parks
4 July 1991	15:05, Tim Barkdoll	19:02, Tracey Parks
4 July 1992	14:58, Tim Barkdoll	18:28, Susan Molloy
3 July 1993	15:18, Matthew Dobson	17:58, Lori Eppara
2 July 1994	16:00, Wade Beroset	18:00, Pam Williams	513
4 July 1995	15:45, Everett Whiteside	18:06, Sarah Kramer	670
4 July 1996	15:35, Wade Beroset	17:52, Jennifer McGranahan
4 July 1997	16:07, Wade Beroset	17:41, Sarah Kramer
4 July 1998	15:54, Wade Beroset	17:44, Ann McGranahan
3 July 1999	15:48, Timothy Jones	18:35, Jenny Lindley
4 July 2000	16:05, Matthew Dobson	19:23, Jennifer Hanley
4 July 2001	15:32, Matthew Dobson	18:43, Sarah Kramer
4 July 2002	15:30, Matthew Dobson	18:56, Idalisse Torres
4 July 2003	15:21, Matthew Dobson	18:23, Brooke McDaniel
3 July 2004	15:44, Matthew Dobson	18:46, Brooke McDaniel
4 July 2005	15:46, Matthew Dobson	17:30, Ann McGranahan
4 July 2006	15:29, Michael Padilla	18:58, Brooke Pruitt	726
4 July 2007	15:45, Ryan Albertson	18:50, Jennifer McGranahan
4 July 2008	15:45, Bud Galloway	17:47, Mindy Kate Sullivan	735
4 July 2009	14:59, Neil McDonagh	17:46, Mindy Kate Sullivan	702
3 July 2010	16:31, Derek Oskuris	17:48, Lauren Goss	762
2 July 2011	14:50, Eddie Pagan	18:33, Jenny Albrecht	860
20 June 2012	16:31, Brent Schneider	19:49, Kaysi Roberts	867
6 July 2013	17:07, Ryan Larson	19:17, Rachel Kling	830
28 June 2014	16:08, Alan Ash	19:28, Livvy Jernagin	615
4 July 2015	16:38, Tim Wenger	19:05, Jennifer McGranahan	784
2 July 2016	16:14, Alan Ash	18:38, Val Curtis	732
1 July 2017	16:16, Anthony Malatesta	19:51, Lindsey Nathanson	417
30 June 2018	16:02, Matthew Blunden	19:56, Skylar Grant	488
29 June 2019	16:52, Dewayne Riley	19:47, Amelia Zwiener	408
2020
26 June 2021	15:37, Zachary Fenton	20:04, Yoko England	371
2 July 2022	14:52, Zachary Fenton	18:44, Elyse Carmichael	410
1 July 2023	15:55, Zachary Fenton	20:01, Stephanie Rathburn	601
Multiple wins by men: Matthew Dobson (7), Wade Beroset (4),      Zachary Fenton (3), Tim Barkdoll (2), Alan Ash (2) Multiple wins by women: Sarah Kramer (3), Jennifer McGranahan (3),      Tracey Parks (2), Ann McGranahan (2), Brooke McDaniel (2),      Mindy Kate Sullivan (2)

Links

• Complete results of the 2023 Ronald MacDonald House Firecracker 5K
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTx-14RCqJavSean_5ZTxWknuF6ANvcO8atoKrVDMn9RzptRYp8VKz7Ya_NUmEIF8z7gVYdN1TVcL7c/pubhtml
  
  
• Course map, 2023 Ronald McDonald House Firecracker 5K
  https://app.box.com/s/wdf517e8vrghx3ho7cz4q5ltlox5f73i
  
  
• Any size dog can find a race on the Trouble Afoot! calendar
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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