Tri State
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David Caldwell 15:21
Dunbar,WV
Dunbar,WV
Sami Harris 17:58
Charleston,WV
Charleston,WV
Sara Armstrong 19:23
Portsmouth,OH
Portsmouth,OH
Harris, 15, moves “a whole lot faster” than everyone else
Putnam goes from first loser to overall winner in WV 5K Championship
Masters champs: Men – Todd Hughes (18:14) ; Women – Diane Riley (21:08 – course record)
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va., June 19 – Sami Harris might have stolen the show on Saturday at the second West Virginia 5K Championship.
Putnam goes from first loser to overall winner in WV 5K Championship
Masters champs: Men – Todd Hughes (18:14) ; Women – Diane Riley (21:08 – course record)
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va., June 19 – Sami Harris might have stolen the show on Saturday at the second West Virginia 5K Championship.
Given the message of the day, however, seeing the 15-year-old lead all females to the finish line and place 20th overall among 541 runners might have been picture perfect. After all, the idea of race director Pat Riley was to combat a November 2008 report that showed Huntington as the owner of the unhealthiest population in America.
Huntington and its residents are fighting back – and the message clearly is an attractive one to Harris and her peers, as four of the top five women were age 20 or younger. Harris, who just completed her freshman year at Charleston Catholic, led them all with a time of 17 minutes and 58 seconds.
Sara Armstrong, 20, of Portsmouth, Ohio, was a distance second in 19:23. Lindsey Wehseler, 19, of Morgantown, finished in 19:37 and edged Amanda Burton, 23, of Portsmouth, for third place by two seconds. Fellow Portsmouth resident Kasey Hosier, 19, was ffith in 19:44.
Huntington and its residents are fighting back – and the message clearly is an attractive one to Harris and her peers, as four of the top five women were age 20 or younger. Harris, who just completed her freshman year at Charleston Catholic, led them all with a time of 17 minutes and 58 seconds.
Sara Armstrong, 20, of Portsmouth, Ohio, was a distance second in 19:23. Lindsey Wehseler, 19, of Morgantown, finished in 19:37 and edged Amanda Burton, 23, of Portsmouth, for third place by two seconds. Fellow Portsmouth resident Kasey Hosier, 19, was ffith in 19:44.
Thirty-seven-year-old Eric Putnam, of New Boston, Ohio, put more than enough distance between himself and the rest of the 541-runner field to win in 15:07. Last year, Putnam stopped the clock in 14:55.9 – but finished second in a field of 519 by a measily 1.6 seconds.
It wasn’t even close this year. David Caldwell, 18, of Dunbar, was runner-up with a clocking of 15:21 and Corey Culbertson, 23, of Portsmouth, edged out Chuckie Wentz, 21, of Proctorville, Ohio, by one second for third place (15:26 to 15:27).
Stephen Ragg, 32, of Athens, Ohio, took fifth in 15:34, one second ahead of Jason Pyles, 28, of South Charleston.
For Harris, her effort wasn’t necessarily a surprise. It simply was keeping within the progressive evolution she is experiencing as she adjusts to – and excels in – the high school training environment.
Harris attributed Saturday’s performance to “just a whole lot of training. Getting into high school track and cross country helped me a lot.”
The Charleston resident placed fourth in the women’s field last year in 19:32.5. That wouldn’t have placed her inside the top 40 overall on Saturday, when she ran “a whole lot faster. I think track just helped me a lot with that.”
“It went great,” Harris said of her effort. “My mile splits (5:35, 5:55 and final 1.1 in 6:28) were just what I wanted them to be. I was able to stay with a lot of good runners. I felt great. It was awesome.”
It turns out the 5K (3.1-mile) distance might simply be too short for the up-and-comer. Harris competed in the Hatfield & McCoy Reunion Festival half marathon seven days ago and averaged 7:02 per mile – and placed second overall (and first female) among 132 runners with a time of 1 hour, 32 minutes and 1 second, an improvement of 20 minutes over her previous 13.1-mile best.
That mark could be broken yet again this summer. Harris said she loves road races and plans to compete in “a bunch” of local 5K races as well as the News and Sentinel Half Marathon in August in Parkersburg.
Media Links:
Putnam pushes pace, wins 5K
Charleston Catholic's Harris runs away with women's title
It wasn’t even close this year. David Caldwell, 18, of Dunbar, was runner-up with a clocking of 15:21 and Corey Culbertson, 23, of Portsmouth, edged out Chuckie Wentz, 21, of Proctorville, Ohio, by one second for third place (15:26 to 15:27).
Stephen Ragg, 32, of Athens, Ohio, took fifth in 15:34, one second ahead of Jason Pyles, 28, of South Charleston.
For Harris, her effort wasn’t necessarily a surprise. It simply was keeping within the progressive evolution she is experiencing as she adjusts to – and excels in – the high school training environment.
Harris attributed Saturday’s performance to “just a whole lot of training. Getting into high school track and cross country helped me a lot.”
The Charleston resident placed fourth in the women’s field last year in 19:32.5. That wouldn’t have placed her inside the top 40 overall on Saturday, when she ran “a whole lot faster. I think track just helped me a lot with that.”
“It went great,” Harris said of her effort. “My mile splits (5:35, 5:55 and final 1.1 in 6:28) were just what I wanted them to be. I was able to stay with a lot of good runners. I felt great. It was awesome.”
It turns out the 5K (3.1-mile) distance might simply be too short for the up-and-comer. Harris competed in the Hatfield & McCoy Reunion Festival half marathon seven days ago and averaged 7:02 per mile – and placed second overall (and first female) among 132 runners with a time of 1 hour, 32 minutes and 1 second, an improvement of 20 minutes over her previous 13.1-mile best.
That mark could be broken yet again this summer. Harris said she loves road races and plans to compete in “a bunch” of local 5K races as well as the News and Sentinel Half Marathon in August in Parkersburg.
Media Links:
Putnam pushes pace, wins 5K
Charleston Catholic's Harris runs away with women's title
Eric Putnam 15:07
New Boston,OH
New Boston,OH
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Photo By Charlie Pritt
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