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Dominating the pavement
Raiders earn seven top-five finishes at Run for Hospice
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by JESSE YEATMAN
Sean Hageman, 16, of Hollywood, right, finished first in the Run and Fun Walk for Hospice 5K race Saturday followed closely by fellow Leonardtown High School students Nicholas Boyd, 17, of Hollywood left, and Logan Wright, 17, of Tall Timbers.
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The Leonardtown cross country team is used to dominating in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference, owning a winning streak that hit 65 matches last fall.
It may come as no surprise then that Leonardtown runners dominated the 2009 Run and Fun Walk for Hospice in Leonardtown, as seven Raiders took top-five finishes on Saturday, including three first-place finishes.
In the men's 5K, Raiders teammates Sean Hageman, Nicholas Boyd and Logan Wright crossed the finish line together, taking the top-three overall spots. Hageman technically edged Boyd and Wright to win with an overall time of 17 minutes and 58 seconds, while Boyd and Wright were one and two seconds behind him respectively.
"That's what we were going for," Boyd said of the three finishing together. "We were just going to run our race and if it was going to come down to us three, then we were just going to tie."
The trio explained that their high school track and field schedule has prevented the team from running the event in the past, but this year, the schedule was open, allowing much of Leonardtown's team to participate. The boys also said the team competed in a meet the day before, making their win all the more remarkable.
"We train really hard," Wright said. "We work really well as a team. So, we expected to finish near the top."
On the girls side of the 5K, two more Leonardtown runners earned top-five finishes, including first-place runner Jessica Gass. Gass finished with a time of 20:49, edging second place runner Melissa Sweredoski –– a member of the Huntingtown indoor track team –– by over a minute. Gass teammate Anna Sprout finished third with a time of 22:09.
"We're in the area and we heard about the run," said Gass, The Enterprise's 2008 All-County girls athlete of the year in cross country. "I've done it in the past, so I just decided to come out here and run."
While the All-County girls POY won the women's 5K, the boys athlete of the year in cross country, Leonardtown's Michael Hageman, won the 10k with a time of 38:02. Teammate Tyler Miluski finished third with a time of 38:58, 47 seconds behind second-place finisher Richard Braam.
"I like to compete," 50-year-old Tom Burke of California said. Burke finished fourth in the men's 10K with a time of 39:12. "I'm too old to win."
The women's 10K was the only one of the four races that didn't include a Raider, as Jamie Jameson of Hollywood won with a time of 42:08. Claire Chiamulera of La Plata (45:02) and Anna Vaudin of Germantown (46:38) finished second and third respectively.
"I've run this race in the past, twice previously," Jameson said. "I'm competitive. But, I just had a baby four months ago –– I have four kids. I'm just trying to get back in shape and this is always a great race."
While Jameson's win wasn't a part of Leonardtown High School's dominance, it did help firmly assert St. Mary's County's dominance on Saturday. Of the 20 top-five finishers in the two gender groups, 15 were from St. Mary's County, while Calvert and Charles each had only one finisher in the top-five.
The Run and Fun Walk for Hospice is in its 14th year and benefits Hospice of St. Mary's County.
According to Hospice officials, the event made more than $50,000 for Hospice and had more than 1,700 registered participants.
This year's event was dedicated to Sgt. Ryan Baumann –– who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan in August –– and Jim Raley and Abell Longmore, two Hospice volunteers who passed away in the last year.
The Defender's Cup was dedicated this year to Baumann and was won by WBB Consulting's "Flying for Hospice" team with an average time of 19:57. Flying for Hospice won last year's Cup as well.
The Fretwell trophy, given every year in the memory of Keith Fretwell to the top finishing law enforcement or fire/rescue team was won by Squad 3 of the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office with an average time of 28:23.
"I want to thank the Lord Jesus for providing magnificent weather," Jim Dicus, organizer of the Run and Fun Walk, said. "I want to thank all of the participants who came out and supported us, our dedicated volunteers who made it happen, and the St. Mary's County Sheriffs Office for their outstanding job in keeping the event safe. It was a great day to elevate public awareness of the hospice mission of providing compassionate care to the terminally ill."
For more information on the Run and Fun Walk for Hospice, as well as complete results from this year's event, check out www.runforhospice.org.
