Couple conquers PurpleStride 5K for twice the titles

Crossing the line hand in hand, Lee Stephens and Christa Benton, both of St. Petersburg, finished the PurpleStride Tampa Bay 5K in St. Petersburg on Saturday with a time of 18:15 to be declared co-champions.

Stephens, 29, and Benton, 26, are engaged to be married June 5.

Stephens' nearest competition on the men's side was 15-year-old Clearwater resident Stephen Sawayda, who completed the race in 19:06 to place second.

Richard Allard, 48 of St. Petersburg, was the men's masters champion after running 19:44.

Age group winners from the county: (M15-19) Sawayda; (F20-24) Ryann Matthews, St. Petersburg, 23:00; (M30-34) James Heuser, St. Petersburg, 21:45; (F30-34) Lisa Williams, Largo, 21:17; (M35-39) Marcelo Penha, St. Petersburg, 21:48; (M40-44) Steve Williams, Largo, 20:46; (F40-44) Yvonne Bryant, Clearwater, 22:52; (M45-49) Jim Hummel, Tarpon Springs, 20:34; (M50-54) John Matthews, St. Petersburg, 19:50; (F50-54) Pila Cadena, St. Petersburg, 22:16; (M55-59) Kevin Cook, Seminole, 22:10; (F55-59) Ellen Kohn, Palm Harbor, 25:07; (F60-64) Jane Pearl, St. Petersburg, 23:50; (M65-69) Duncan Cameron, Palm Harbor, 20:54; (F65-69) Millie Hamilton, Redington Beach, 28:16; (M70-74) Ken Barnes, St. Petersburg, 34:53; (F70-74) Dede Buckley, St. Pete Beach, 34:48.

MADEIRA BEACH TRIATHLON: Covering a course that included a half-mile swim, 15-mile bike and 3.1-mile run, 28-year-old Nat Glackin of St. Petersburg finished the 25th annual Madeira Beach Triathlon on Sunday in 1:09:57 for third place among men's elite runners.

The county had a number of triathletes place at the top of their age group: (M1-14) Caleb Hudak, Seminole, 1:18:57; (M15-19) John-Gerard Farese, St. Petersburg, 1:10:37; (M25-29) Benjamin Carlson, St. Petersburg, 1:13:33; (M35-39) Chris Pyhel, Tierra Verde, 1:10:15; (M50-54) Anders Heidemann, Belleair, 1:13:20; (M55-59) Ron Murawsky, Clearwater, 1:18:46; (M60-64) Gary Bonacorsi, Seminole, 1:28:32; (M65-69) Charles Sexton, St. Petersburg, 1:28:57; (M70-74) Don Ardell, St. Petersburg, 1:28:15; (M75-79) Marcos Alegre, Seminole, 1:35:30; (M80-99) Larry Yost, Treasure Island, 1:53:48; (Clydesdale 40-99) Kevin Danielson, Oldsmar, 1:19:55; (M novice) David Ramos, Treasure Island, 1:28:45; (F15-19) Savannah Dearden, St. Petersburg, 1:20:05; (F20-24) Alana Anderson, Seminole, 1:30:25; (F30-34) Amy Keener, Clearwater, 1:16:09; (F40-44) Kelly Kidd, Clearwater, 1:23:42; (F45-49) Claudia Junqueira, St. Petersburg, 1:22:21; (F55-59) Karen Alexeev, Gulfport, 1:36:14; (F60-64) Lindsay Bell, St. Petersburg, 1:44:17; (F65-69) Sandy Guenzel, Largo, 1:48:20; (F70-74) Annette Frisch, St. Petersburg, 1:52:09; (F80-89) Jackie Yost, Treasure Island, 3:05:58; (Athena 1-39) Lisa Charest, St. Petersburg, 1:29:13.

A day earlier, Madeira Beach hosted the adult mini-triathlon, consisting of a 200-yard swim, 5.4-mile bike and 1.2-mile run. Kariann Stevens, 20 of Palm Harbor, won the women's competition in 33:29, outlasting Largo 15-year-old Alexandra Steele (34:50) .

John L. Smith, 40 of St. Petersburg, was the top local men's competitor after taking third in 30:07.

Local age group winners for the mini-triathlon: (F25-29) Nicole Fletcher, St. Petersburg, 36:22; (F40-44) Jacqueline Dupuis, Tierra Verde, 37:04; (F45-49) Jane Ligrani, North Redington Beach, 40:25; (F60-64) Peg Atamian, St. Petersburg, 50:37; (F65-69) Jan Pehrson, St. Pete Beach, 54:47; (M25-29) John Kotfila Jr., Dunedin, 36:09; (M45-49) James Welch, Seminole, 36:05; (M50-54) James Sheets, Largo, 30:28; (M55-59) Joseph Whitelock, St. Petersburg, 33:09.

Caleb Hudak, 14, of Seminole was the overall champion of the youth mini-triathlon for ages 11 to 14. Hudak completed the 200-yard swim, 5.4-mile bike and 1.2-mile run in 23:10.

Caroline Condon, 14 of St. Petersburg, was the female champion in 25:20.

Age group winners: (M12) Zack Quilty, St. Petersburg, 25:37; (M14) Kyle Deschenes, Largo, 25:30; (F12) Samantha Burkart, St. Petersburg, 29:43; (F13) Bailey Hotz, St. Petersburg, 29:47; (F14) Evyn Moon, St. Petersburg, 26:09.

Matthew Wohlwend, 10 of St. Petersburg, was the fastest county triathlete at the mini-triathlon for ages 7 to 10. Wohlwend was third, finishing the 100-yard swim, 3.6-mile bike and .6-mile run in 19:39.

Reagan Quilty, 10 of St. Petersburg, was second among females in 20:43.

Age group winners: (M10) James Condon, St. Petersburg, 22:23; (F8) Ava Sykes, Largo, 22:06; (F10) Noa Heron, Largo, 22:54.

U.S. SECRET SERVICE RACE: Juan Cortes, 34 of St. Petersburg, was the top county runner at the eighth annual U.S. Secret Service Road Race in Tampa on Saturday and 759 runners completed the race.

Cortes finished the 5K in 18:48 to claim third place among male military personnel. He was 19th overall on the men's side.

In the women's competition, 44-year-old St. Petersburg resident Loretta Simeon ran 20:58 to finish in fifth place. Kristine Cox, also 44 of St. Petersburg, was sixth in 21:32.

Jill Freire, 38 of Largo, placed third among female military personnel with a time of 27:04.

Tim Shaver, 31 of Palm Harbor, narrowly missed claiming the Clydesdale championship. His time of 21:54 was good for second place, just three seconds off the winning pace.

Stacey Greco, 41 of Palm Harbor, was second among Athena runners with a chip time of 27:19.

Local age group winners: (M10-14) Andrew Elsey, Clearwater, 20:20; (F10-14) Amanda Elsey, Clearwater, 23:38; (F15-19) Danielle Soule, St. Petersburg, 28:42; (F40-44) Simeon; (M70 and over) Joe Burgasser, St. Petersburg, 21:32.

IRONKIDS ORLANDO TRIATHLON: Four female triathletes from the county were winners at the IronKids Orlando Triathlon on May 15.

Ava Sykes of Largo was the top 8-year-old with her time of 11:26. Reagan Quilty of St. Petersburg won the 10-year-old division in 28:23. St. Petersburg's Summer Kanstoroom was the 12-year-old champion in 47:43. Sarah Sykes of Largo claimed the 15-year-old championship in 46:37.