Clearwater's own takes second at fifth annual halfathon

Thirty-six-year-old John King of Clearwater was the quickest to the finish line among county runners at Saturday's fifth annual Clearwater Halfathon, a race with nearly 600 participants.

King traversed the 13.1-mile course in 1:19:51 and was only eight seconds off the winning pace.

John Davis of Huntington, W.Va., was the overall winner in a time 1:19:43. King placed second.

Andrew Chandler, 36 of St. Petersburg, came in at 1:20:27 to place third.

On the women's side, 16-year-old Savannah Dearden of St. Petersburg was the top runner locally. Her time of 1:35:22 was good for fifth.

Sarasota's Sara Petrick set the winning mark at 1:21:09. Whit Lasseter, 30 of Palm Harbor, finished in 1:37:24 to take seventh, and Beatrice Del Balcon, 42 of Clearwater Beach, ran 1:38 to place eighth.

Age group winners were: (F masters) Del Balcon, Clearwater Beach, 1:38:00; (F15-19) Dearden; (F40-44) Nola Johnson, Tarpon Springs, 1:45:54; (M50-54) James Burton, Clearwater, 1:30:16; (F50-54) Debra Taylor, St. Petersburg, 1:55:55; (F55-59) Flo Riggie, Safety Harbor, 1:57:00.

In the 5-mile race, Clearwater's Keith Sawayda, 46, took first overall by nearly 30 seconds, finishing in 29:14.

Noel Wells, 25 of St. Petersburg, was a top finisher on the women's side, completing the course in 35:49 to take third.

Age group winners for the 5-miler include: (F master) Beth Wonicker-Cook, Palm Harbor, 38:43; (M grandmaster) Craig Hutchison, St. Petersburg, 36:17; (M14 and under) Kylar Barrett, Dunedin, 48:55; (M15-19) Collin Feinberg, St. Petersburg, 47:01; (F20-24) Elise Rosato, Palm Harbor, 43:39; (F30-34) Diana Scott, Safety Harbor, 39:16; (F35-39) Susan St. John, St. Petersburg, 41:56; (M40-44) Chris Neilson, St. Petersburg, 38:41; (M50-54) Gregory Mazman, Palm Harbor, 39:47; (F50-54) Maja Bison, Palm Harbor, 50:26; (M55-59) Maurice Jaillet, Largo, 40:43; (M60-64) David Williams, Seminole, 53:12; (M65-69) David Doherty, Seminole, 37:39.

SUNCOAST SPRINT 5K: Mary Margaret Mason, 14 of Safety Harbor, had the top result among Pinellas County runners at Saturday's Suncoast Sprint 5K in Hudson.

Mason took second on the women's side, negotiating the course in 23:57 to cross the finish line about a minute behind winner Jennifer Watts (23:02) of New Port Richey. Mason was the female 10-14-year-old age group winner.

Elizabeth Mason, 15 of Safety Harbor, was a top 10 placer, coming in fifth in 24:46, as was 19-year-old Tarpon Springs resident Maria Anastasion, who was eighth in 26:01. Mason won the female 15-19-year-old age group.

The lone men's runner from Pinellas to record a top 10 finish was James Hummel, 49 of Tarpon Springs. Hummel's 21:18 placed him ninth among men's participants and was tops in the 45-49 year old age group.

Clearwater's Dave Kaplan was also an age group winner at the Suncoast Sprint 5K, needing just 24:25 to beat all competitors in the male 60-64-year-old division.

CYCLING NEWS: For the first time, the St. Petersburg Bicycle Club will host the Pinellas Goodlife Games cycling time trials, which will be held March 19 at Fort De Soto Park.

The race features electronic timing and will include classes for time trial bikes as well as recumbent and an Eddy Merckx class for road bikes without aero bars, dish wheels or aero helmets. The races are limited to riders 50 and older, and medalists will qualify for the Florida State Senior Games championships later in the year.

Last month, local cyclists had a good showing at the 2009 Florida Senior Games State Championship in Cape Coral.

John Tanner of Clearwater won the 20K road race in the men's 50-54 age group in 30:31.49. St. Petersburg's James Taylor (30:35.64) was second. Tanner was also the 40K road race winner (1:05:02.05) in his age group. John Sinibaldi of Seminole was right behind in 1:05:02.59 to capture second place.

Timothy Grossnickle of St. Petersburg took top honors in the men's 60-64 division for the 20K with a time of 30:43.32. Charles Kleim, also of St. Petersburg, was second in the 20K male 75-79 division after finishing in 37:28.88.

Largo's Michael McCollum was the 40K 60-64 champion after crossing the finish line in 1:05:03.06.

George Martin of Dunedin (7:40.66) was the 5K time trials champ in the 55-59 age group and placed second in the 10K time trials (15:43.93).

Jean Martin of Dunedin (18:33.28) claimed second in the 10K time trials in the women's 50-54 category.

Sinibaldi (15:24.59) was second in the men's 50-54 10K time trials.

Bryan Burns can be reached at bburns@sptimes.com