King, Bury top finishers in Bud Murphy Memorial 5K race
CONNELLSVILLE – Neither Kenny King nor did Adam Shinsky admit to training well for the Bud Murphy Memorial 5K Race, but at the finish line was where their post-race reactions differed. King won the event held Thursday at Highlands Hospital in Connellsville with a time of 17:07.07 over Shinsky’s time of 17:16.23. Though Shinsky improved on his time of 17:48.54 from last year’s race, he failed to defend his title, as King captured the 2003 crown.
With a short preparation for the race, King, a 16-year-old from Connellsville, was indeed winded following the annual event that begins and ends on Murphy Avenue via Breakneck Road and Crawford Avenue. However, King found his run to be a serendipitous No. 1 overall finish after placing fifth in the race last year.
“I’ve only been training for a week so I was surprised,” King said. “It’s a hilly course and the starting hill was a killer.”
King took his final lead after the halfway point and never looked back, holding Shinsky off for the remainder of the race.
“We were back and forth the whole time,” King said, “until I went ahead at the two-mile mark.”
“I took off on him early,” Shinsky said, “and I was holding my own. The last mile we battled back and forth. I didn’t push for 15 seconds and then he took off.”
Shinsky, a 19-year-old Uniontown native and sophomore at Indiana University of Pa., admitted to cramping up on his side during the end of the race costing him a final push.
“I had no kick,” Shinsky said. “I don’t have anyone to blame but myself.”
Masontown-native Patrick Reagan repeated as the third-place finisher, as he ran 17:28.81 improving on his time of 17:55.78 from 2002.
Rounding out the top five were Jacob Gleason (17:36.96) and Jeff Palya (17:39.12).
Heather Bury, a Morgantown, W.Va., native who placed ninth overall, took home the women’s title with a time of 18:39.51 beating out the competition by nearly two minutes. Jennifer Locke, of Chestnut Ridge, and Shannon Kovach, of Connellsville, trailed Bury with times of 20:18.80 and 21:03.80, respectively.
“Starting a race on a hill like this is tough,” Bury said. “But I knew the course, and I just kind of went out on myself after the hill.”
Bury knew there were other racers on her heels for the first mile, but once she reached the 1 1/2 mile mark, she was all alone.
“This is slower than my usual pace,” Bury said. “But I was happy (the way the race turned out).”
Smock resident Bruce Kukan captured first place among the walkers with a time of 28:39.50 fending off Greensburg’s Randy Davis (28:45.39) and Millsboro’s Thomas Starkey (29:02.33). Kukan improved immensely from last year’s 30th-place finish.
“I like the race a lot,” Kukan said. “It keeps you in shape. I knew coming in that I had a good shot at it.”
Kukan took the lead at the two-mile mark before claiming the win.
Connellsville-native Jamie Brooks won first place for the women’s walkers for a seventh-consecutive year, as she completed the course with a time of 30:50.19, followed by Fredericktown’s Kathy Paes (33:10.47) and Clarksville’s Natalie Miller (34:50.26).
Brooks commented on the 83-degree heat that proceeded heavy downpours following the race.
“This is the first time it’s been so hot,” Brooks said. “So a lot of people haven’t been working out.”
Brooks had the lead the entire race as she defended her title. Last year, she walked the race in with a time of 30:19.13.
“This is one of my favorite races,” Brooks said. “They get a lot of people out and the race is put together well. We come to hang out and mingle.”