AG grad Stephens wins Turkey Trot; J-M’s Mylan third
Lori Padilla
Runners take off as the horn sounds to begin the Salvation Army’s annual Turkey Trot 5K, Thursday. Plenty of sunshine combated the crisp morning air.
Lori Padilla
Point Park cross country runner Xavier Stephens of McClellandtown took first place overall in his first running of the Salvation Army’s annual Turkey Trot 5, Thursday morning.
Lori Padilla The turkey hats were running, as participants in the Salvation Army’s annual Turkey Trot 5K brought out plenty of Thanksgiving-themed outfits. First-time runner Shirley Ross of Connellsville kept her head warm with her turkey hat complete with decorative legs.
Xavier Stephens ran in the NAIA National Cross Championships for Point Park last weekend, and didn’t miss a beat Thursday morning by holding off a strong, young field to win the Turkey Trot 5K title.
Stephens, an Albert Gallatin graduate, took control of the 3.1-mile race around Uniontown early and didn’t relent, finishing first in 16:34 with a mile pace of 5:20. Stephens, a sophomore, finished first for Point Park in a personal-best time of 26:44, the first time he ran under 27 minutes for the Pioneers. His pace was 5:23 a mile on the five-mile course, finishing 127th out of 326.
Connellsville graduate Joe Baughman, who runs at Saint Vincent College, finished second in 17:07. Defending champion Aaron Mylan, a Jefferson-Morgan grad who runs at Penn State Fayette, was third in 17:21 with Penn State Fayette teammate (and Frazier graduate) Nyoah Marteny fourth in 17:42. Uniontown graduate Caleb Patton rounded out the top five with a time of 17:44.
Vlasic crossed the finish line in 18:38 to win the women’s run. She placed seventh overall.
Connellsville’s Laura Martin (20:07), Brownsville senior Sara Vance (20:30), Corey Lopik (20:44), and Marisa Deichert (20:51), a Laurel Highlands graduate who runs at Penn State University, closed out the top five finishers.
Smithfield’s Jim French bolted out into the lead at the horn and never looked back to win the 5k walk in 28:43.
Monroeville’s Don Slusser was close behind in second place with a time of 29:00. Uniontown graduate Nicolas Burgess had another top-5 finish in the walk, placing third with a time of 33:27. Carson Gilleland was fourth in 33:29, seven seconds ahead of his brother Levi.
Cindy Floyd, of Uniontown, won the women’s walk in 33:12. She finished third overall. Uniontown’s Susan George (37:28), White’s Lorri Moore (38:24), Danielle Kaufman (38:26), and Masontown’s Amanda Martin (38:39) closed out the top five.
Over 750 walkers and runners participated.