Record turnout for Menard Run

WASILLA — Menard was on the minds of the more than 400 toeing the line for Saturday’s eighth annual Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Run.

The turnout, bolstered by about another 100 children participating in the event’s youth run, is a record, said Linda Jo Klapperich, a member of the run’s organizational committee.

Along with sunny skies and warm temperatures, many were drawn to this year’s race out of memory for a pair of Menards who contributed much to the Valley community, Klapperich said. The event is named for Curtis C. Menard, who was killed in a 2001 airplane accident. At the time of his death, Menard was president of Wasilla Rotary, which has organized the memorial run every spring since.

While the event is named for Curtis C. Menard, his father, former borough mayor Curtis D. Menard, died March 3 following a battle with cancer.

“Curt Menard Sr. was such a pillar in our community,” she said. “I’m sure some were there to remember him also. That certainly contributed to the turnout.”

Starting at the intersection of Spruce Avenue and Lucille Street in Wasilla, the officially sanctioned 5-k race saw Brent Knight cross the finish line first in the men’s division with a time of 15 minutes, 37 seconds. Second place was Andy Liedner in 15:48 and Jeff Ellis third in 16:18. In the women’s division, Eagle River High School track coach Mereidi Liedner finished first with a time of 18:44. Jacqueline Lutz was second in 19:06 and Kristi Shea was third in 21:21.

The top three finishers in each division split $1,700 in prize money, with first place winning $500, second place $250 and $100 for third place.

Klapperich was excited for the large turnout, which included a strong contingent from Palmer Junior Middle School. About 23 staff joined 47 members of the school’s track team in completing the run.

Look in Tuesday’s Frontiersman for complete results of the 2009 Curtis C. Menard Memorial Run, which were not available by press time.

Job Corps race attracts 62 runners

Levi Younger and Cody Priest won the seventh annual Job Corps Race on Saturday, with Priest finishing the 5K race in a time of 22:03 while Younger blasted his way to first place in the 10K race with a time of 37:15. Top woman finishers in this year’s event were Jane Blevel, who posted a time of 22:30 in the 5k and Shanna Tadic with a time of 45:25 in the 10K.

This year’s race, a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of Mat-Su, attracted a field of 62 runners. Organizers were happy with the turnout of runners even though the Job Corps race coincided with the Curt C. Menard Memorial Run in Wasilla and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life at Colony High School.

While the prizes for top runners in the Job Corps race were incentives for some, Younger, 21, said the 10K event was him a chance to test his performance for upcoming races in Anchorage.

“I ran this race last year too,” he said. “I like it because it’s a good warm-up for stuff in Anchorage

Job Corps Race

Saturday

5K race: 1. Cody Priest 22:03, 2. James Bearfoot 23:00, 3. Jane Blevel 24:30, 4. Bart Topp 25:23, 5. Lisa Borowski 26:05, 6. Cathy Endes 26:47, 7. Aaron Silberberg 27:45, 8. Samantha Olrun 28:24, 9. Ron Abbott 29:09, 10. Connor Preist 30:30, 11. Julie McCartnety 30:08, 12. Darci Topp 31:32, 13. Meg Hills 31:47, 14. Belka Tasha 31:57, 15. Kate Lee 31:57, 16. Adrienne Johnson 32:50, 17. Tamara Silk 33:31, 18. Coral Carpenter 33:52, 19. Preston Carpenter 33:52, 20. Taylor VanGorder 48:05, 21. Nathan Kristich 51:23, 22. Sadie Kristich 51:23, 23. Lindsey Schmitz 41:24, 24. Verla Austin 42:38, 25. Denise Walling 44:28, 26. Bruce Walling 44:28, 27. Ellen VanGorder 48:00, 28. McClain, Carissa, Talis, and Tori 48:43, 29. Cleve Robinson 50:29, 30. Niki Polas, Sue Grooms, Jim VanGorder, Jennifer Campbell 51:27, 31. Peggy Kristich 51:31, 32.Betsy Korzeniewski 52:16, 33. Susan VanGorder 52:33, 34. Trula Acena 52:34, 35. Jo Didiano 52:37, 36. Erlene Jones 52:48, 37. Laura Nicolai 52:49, 38. Kate Robinson 52:59.

10K race: 1 .Levi Younger 37:15, 2. Shanna Tadic 45:25, 3. Scott Brockett 46:10, 4. Brieann Weathersby 48:38, 5. Andrea Haltmann 51:44, 6. Amber Hays 53:51, 7. Pok Maley 54:36, 8. Rusty Weathersby 54:48, 9. Amy Harmon 55:00, 10. Lori Luff 55:03, 11. Ben Phillips 55:47, 12. Rita Christiansen 55:50, 13. Amy Kaucic 56:15, 14. Mark Ferguson 1:05:47, 15. Michelle Semerad 1:15:55.