FishHawk Ranch Hosts Successful Twilight Run; Winners Announced

Editor's Note: In an earlier version of this story, we inadvertently used the mile pace times instead of the final run times. Thanks for pointing this out, Ray Chadderton.

The race time may have changed but that didn't deter hundreds of runners from competing for top honors at the FishHawk Ranch Road Race. 

A morning race for the past 15 years, this year's 5K took place at twilight for the first time March 9.

As in past years, the event also included a 1-mile kids' fun run.

Race proceeds will go to Bevis Elementary, FishHawk Creek Elementary, Stowers Elementary, Barrington Middle, Randall Middle and Newsome High.

This year's top runner was 2012 Riverview High School grad Michael Babinec of Riverview with a time of 15:50.

Now attending the University of South Florida, Babinec ranked eighth in the state while running cross country at Riverview and seventh in the state for the 2-mile run.

The overall female winner with a time of 19:29 was 17-year-old Marie Otis of Bradenton.

Master's winners, age 40 and up, were Mike Williams, 41, of Riverview with a time of 17:45 and Anne Ekern, 44, of Houston, with a time of 20:54.

And in the grandmaster category (50 and over), Jose Alamaraz, 58, of Plant City was the top male runner with a time of 19:32 and Jennifer Edwards, 54, of Brandon was the top female runner with a time of 24:58.

Participating youngsters also recorded some impressive runs.

In the age 9 and under category, 9-year-old Scott Bucklin of Lithia won the boy's category with a time of 28:23 and 7-year-old Josie Mann of Lithia won for the girls with a time of 27:17.

In the 10-12-year-old category, Dominic Molendyke, 10, of Lithia, was the male victor with a time of 22:22 and Josephine Garba, 11, of Riverview was the female winner with a time of 22:04.

In the 13-14-year-old age group, Brooke Santiesteban, 14, of Lutz won for the girls with a time of 20:25 and Jacob McLaughlin, 13, of Lithia, won for the boys, crossing the finish line at 22:02.

Victors in the 15-19-year-old category were Sam Hippely, 18, of San Antonio, Texas, with a time of 16:59 and Janna Edwards, 19, of Brandon, running the race in 22:46.

Top runners in the 20-24-year-old category were Matthew Basin, 20, of Wesley Chapel with 18:14 and Sarah Heikinnen, 24, of Tampa with a time of 19:55.

In the 25-29-year-old group, Jesse Jimenez, 26, of Lithia won with a time of 18:05 and Lindsey Betancourt, 29, of Brandon posted a time of 23:53.

Winners in the 30-34-year-old age group were Theo Ibarra, 34, of Dover with 18:55 and Erin Zilka, 33, of Lithia, crossing the finish line in 23:21.

Winners in the 35-39-year-old age group were Kirk Jenkins, 35, of Lithia with 19:15 and Sylvia Chouinard, 35, of Lithia with 21:06.

Winning runners age 40 to 44 were Todd Farlee, 40, of Lithia with 19:23 and Tammy Sandusky, 40, of Lithia, with 24:49.

Winning runners age 45 to 49 were Elton Kostecka, 49, of Valrico with 20:17 and Jane Duncan, 48, of Apollo Beach with 24:58.

Taking top honors in the 50-54-year-old group were David Schapiro, 52, of Riverview with 20:28 and Debbie Loveland, 53, of Lithia with 25:18.

Victors in the 55-59 group were Ray Eydmann, 55, of Brandon with 20:25 and Maggie Miller, 58, of Bradenton with 25:43.

Top runners in the 60-64 category were David Strauss, 62, of Bismark, N.D., with 24:23 and Shelly Staley, 60, of Riverview with 25:12.

Winning runners in the 65-69-year-old group were Rod Brest, 65, of Meadville, Pa., with 23:56 and Fran Padgett, 65, of Bradenton with 33:46.

The oldest person running the race was 68-year-old Henry Thorpe of Valrico with a time of 35:11 and the youngest runner was 5-year-old Kennan Matheson of Lithia with a time of 56:31.

For a completed list of race results, visit Cool Running.