Staten Island Athletic Club's
3 Mile Fun Run
February 3, 2001
The anticipated battle between Dave Panza and Mark Vogt lived up to it's billing, but it was a battle for second place. Eugene Saladis stole the spotlight with a rather easy win in 17:33 over a very cold and windy fun run course. Just as Panza and Vogt were settling in for a long struggle among the initial lead group of six runners, Saladis bolted from the pack just past the first bridge. Vogt gave chase, but Salidas quickly opened up a working margin and, despite a 5:59 first mile by Vogt, extended his lead. This left Vogt to hold off Panza who was five seconds behind until the final hill. That's when Panza dug down for his reserves and swooped passed Vogt with a strong kick. Panza extended his top-5 streak to 11 with an 18:39 second-place performance. Vogt settled for third in 18:47. Salidas, meanwhile, cruised in with his first fun run win of the year, commenting that, "it was really cold out there".
Anthony Skomina (19:54) recorded his fastest time of the year for fourth place. Some runners returning to action after layoffs filled in places five through seven as Steve Lauria (20:20), Tommy Mangus (20:30) and Scott LaMorte (20:48) began to sharpen up for the spring season. When asked about his race, La Morte, the 1999 Millennium Challenge winner, would only say, "it was really cold out there".
On the women's side Kari Profitt, the Island's top female road racer, blew away the field with a solid 19:15 for her first win of the year. Profitt was unavailable for comment after the race, but judging by the look on her face as she crossed the line, one could tell she was thinking, "it was really cold out there". As in the men's race, this left the fireworks for second place, as Barbara Byrne (21:08) edged last week's winner Gail Marino (21:13). This race also saw the return to competition of some regulars with Lisa Mangus (23:52), Nancy Wickstrom (24:33) and Theresa Sorrentino (25:46) taking places four through six. Lisa Rigolini, after only a few ten-mile training weeks, completed her first-ever fun run in 33:49.
The increased competitive level of the field has become apparent as spring
approaches. The women's winning time has dropped from 26:23 to 21:15 to 19:15
in the past three weeks. A sizeable field of 40 runners participated in this
week's race and in case you didn't notice, "it was really cold out there".
By Steve Lauria
RESULTS
1. Eugene Saladis, M, 17:33
2. Dave Panza, M, 18:39
3. Mark Vogt, M, 18:47
4. Kari Profitt, F, 19:15
5. Anthony Skomina, M, 19:54
6. Steve Lauria, M, 20:20
7. Tommy Mangus, M, 20:30
8. Scott LaMorte, M, 20:48
9. Barbara Byrne, F, 21:08
10. Joe Quinn, M, 21:08
11. Fred Rigolini, M, 21:10
12. Gail Marino, F, 21:13
13. Ken Pickell, M, 21:19
14. Dan Pettigrew, M, 21:29
15. Alex Liberatore, M, 21:32
16. Bernard Wright, M, 22:14
17. Andy Burek, M, 22:22
18. Tim McCauley, M, 22:22
19. Lisa Mangus, F, 23:52
20. Nancy Wickstrom, F, 24:33
21. Paul Forster, M, 24:49
22. Theresa Sorrentino, F, 25:46
23. Pete Sanosit, M, 26:25
24. Joe Feldstein, M, 26:27
25. Rich Re, M, 26:40
26. Ruth Fairbrother, F, 27:30
27. Francis Neler, M, 29:52
28. Lisa Rigolini, F, 33:49