Blue Moon Half Marathon winner sails to win in Palm Harbor

blue moon winner sails to finish

Melanie Peters outlasted 146 competitors to win the women's race at the Blue Moon Half Marathon in Palm Harbor on Sunday.

The St. Petersburg resident was across the finish line more than a minute faster than the rest of the field. Peters, 27, completed the race in 1:21:16.

Kristen Proach, 26 of Clearwater, was second in 1:22:50.

Palm Harbor's Michael Farrell was the top local runner in the men's competition. Farrell, 32, was second overall in 1:21:36.

Land O'Lakes' Tommy Brown was the champion in 1:15:35.

Age group winners in the half-marathon from Pinellas County were: (M racewalker) David Schick, Clearwater, 2:09:30; (M19 and under) Timm Bischoff, Clearwater, 1:31:38; (F20-24) Caroline Camisasca, Tarpon Springs, 1:39:54; (F25-29) Proach; (M30-34) Farrell; (F30-34) Whitney Lasseter, Palm Harbor, 1:38:43; (M35-39) Tom Bassano, Palm Harbor, 1:33:42; (F35-39) Candace Austrich, Palm Harbor, 1:43:24; (F40-44) Eve Barrett, Dunedin, 1:40:51; (M45-49) Jim Hummel, Tarpon Springs, 1:35:49; (F45-49) Christine Lenyo, Palm Harbor, 1:47:23; (M50-54) Victor Yeager, Dunedin, 1:26:39; (F50-54) Sally Smith, Largo, 1:51:20; (M55-59) Terry Gruchow, Oldsmar, 1:44:26; (F55-59) Cynthia Christman, Clearwater, 2:03:31; (F racewalker 54 and under) Lynn Lewis, Largo, 2:33:45.

There were 310 racers who finished the Blue Moon Half Marathon.

Clearwater residents highlighted the winner's podium at the Blue Moon 5K, also on Saturday.

Andrew Elsey, 15, was the men's champion after breaking the tape in 18:57. He was more than a minute faster than second place Don Scullion of Largo, who finished in 20:12. He was the masters champion.

Yvonne Bryant, 44, was the women's champion with a winning time of 21:37, nearly a minute and a half ahead of her closest competitor.

Age group winners from the 5K were: (F masters) Amanda Kellogg, Palm Harbor, 23:26; (M10-14) Mark Saathoff, Palm Harbor, 35:59; (F10-14) Amanda Elsey, Clearwater, 24:11; (M15-19) Brad Akins, Palm Harbor, 21:36; (M25-29) Devin Fulmer, Clearwater, 21:46; (F25-29) Maggie Dewberry, Safety Harbor, 22:38; (F30-34) Jaye Duncan, St. Petersburg, 24:10; (M35-39) Jason Stinson, Clearwater, 22:45; (F35-39) Denise Devanney, Palm Harbor, 26:42; (M40-44) Matt Elsey, Clearwater, 23:33; (F40-44) Brenda Amen, Clearwater, 27:01; (F45-49) Kim Thomas, Safety Harbor, 24:20; (M50-54) Andrew Sasso, Clearwater, 23:45; (F50-54) Kim Lanquien, Dunedin, 24:03; (F55-59) Debra Lombardozzi, Tarpon Springs, 26:34; (F60-64) Ellen Kohn, Palm Harbor, 24:45; (M65-69) Duncan Cameron, Palm Harbor, 21:20; (M racewalker 54 and under) William Flowers, Clearwater, 40:29; (F racewalker 54 and under) Sharon Haley, Clearwater, 36:05; (F racewalker 55 and over) Linda Shutt, Palm Harbor, 35:17.

There were 201 runners in the 5K race.

eighth annual triton run

Hunter McCann was the overall champion at Sunday's eighth annual Triton Run, a 2.9-mile race in St. Petersburg that had 150 finishers.

McCann, 13 of Treasure Island, completed the race in 17:22 to win by 16 seconds over Tierra Verde's Chris Pyhel (17:38).

Lisa Williams, 32 of Largo, was the women's champion after breaking the tape in 18:39. She came across the line just ahead of Madeira Beach's Connie Mendoza, who was second in 19:13, and St. Petersburg's Allie Sartori, who placed third in 20:29.

Age group winners at the Triton Run were: (F9 and under) Gwynne English, Indian Rocks Beach, 39:50; (M10-14) Jared McFadden, Seminole, 21:47; (F10-14) Jessica Silk, St. Petersburg, 24:05; (M15-19) Joshua Moushon, St. Petersburg, 19:24; (F15-19) Sartori; (M20-24) Austin Carmack, St. Petersburg, 17:57; (F20-24) Lillian McCormick, St. Petersburg, 21:17; (M25-29) David Avila, Clearwater, 18:41; (F25-29) Yova Borovska, St. Petersburg, 21:10; (M35-39) Pyhel; (F35-39) Tracy Lemos, Clearwater, 26:22; (M40-44) Paolo Bonelli, Clearwater, 19:09; (F40-44) Mendoza; (M45-49) Gilbert Dolores, St. Petersburg, 19:57; (M45-49) Pam Greene, Tierra Verde, 22:58; (M50-54) Michael Zelenak, St. Pete Beach, 19:53; (F50-54) Christine Arbasak, St. Petersburg, 24:56; (M55-59) Steve Byrne, St. Petersburg, 19:36; (F55-59) Vicki Linkovich, St. Petersburg, 28:10; (F60-64) Victoria Ryan, St. Petersburg, 28:44; (F65-69) Sharon Andrews, South Pasadena, 30:36; (M70 and over) Joe Burgasser, St. Petersburg, 19:48; (F70 and over) Dede Buckley, St. Pete Beach, 30:14.

richard's run for life

Justin Dodson of Pinellas Park was the top local runner at Richard's Run for Life 5K in Tampa on Friday that saw 1,190 racers finish.

Dodson, 26, placed sixth overall after crossing the finish line in 17:21 and won the men's 25-29 division.

On the women's side, Penny Bloom of St. Petersburg came in fourth, less than a minute behind the winner.

Bloom, 26, was across the line in 20:06 and was the top runner in the women's 25-29 division.

Mike Zwijaz of Valrico (16:33) and Jennifer Picciano of Winter Garden (19:22), were the men's and women's winners, respectively.

Two more local runners were age group winners. Hunter McCann, 13 of Treasure Island, took the men's 14 and under division after running 18:01. Staycie Hawk-Cross, 35 of Largo, completed the 5K in 21:03 to win the women's 35-39 group.

run for the kicks

Tom Hoffman of Palm Harbor was the overall winner at the Ingram's Pro Karate Center Run for the Kicks 5K on Saturday.

Hoffman, 46, came across the finish line in 20:50.

Also, Raj Goyal of Tarpon Springs was the top runner in the men's 45-49 group with a time of 38:10, and Patricia Hoffman of Palm Harbor was the No. 1 runner in the women's 60-64 group after crossing the line in 29:07.

swimming news

The Clearwater Aquatic Team, affiliated with USA Swimming and the U.S. Olympic Committee, is looking for swimmers of all ages. CAT offers a variety of programs for beginning, competitive and adult masters swimmers at the Long Center, one of the top indoor facilities in Florida. Interested swimmers are invited to contact CAT at (727) 791-9542 or ClearwaterAquatics.com.