Home News Local sports ST. THOMAS RACE WON BY 18-YEAR-OLD

ST. THOMAS RACE WON BY 18-YEAR-OLD

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April 18, 2004 — Eighteen-year-old Luis Smith was all smiles after sprinting in front of veteran runners to take the 5K Run for Cover in 22.10 Sunday morning.
Sponsored by UBS Financial Services and organized by STAR (St. Thomas Association of Roadrunners) the event was a fund-raiser for Catholic Charities of the Virgin Islands.
Smith's teammate on the Charlotte Amalie High School track team, Charley Charles, was the first woman across the finish line.
But there were no losers in this race.
Gayle Deller, who described herself as a swimmer who took up running in 2001, was hyped but focused before the race. "This is my first three miles since I broke my hip," she said. "I was out of commission for a year."
She didn't take her division, but she was happy with her performance. "I did well," she said. "I didn't have to walk. That was my main goal – to run the distance."
For others, like favorite Bruce Sewer, the 3.1-mile competition was just more good training. Looking for a fresh challenge, the muscular athlete switched from basketball to running three years ago. He's also a strong swimmer. He's about to take up biking, so he can enter a triathlon, "next year, the big one, on St. Croix."
Sewer finished third overall Sunday, complaining good-naturedly about the lack of hills on the course, since hills are his specialty.
But Therese Hodge of STAR said the flat course is a good draw for most runners, including novices. Runners started off around the track at the University of the Virgin Islands, headed east along the highway, then looped back to finish at the track.
Three entrants took the course in strollers: Ana Pia Brunt, 14 months, Teagan Kappel, 71/2 months, and Camryn Miller, 10 months.
Tommy and Pia Brunt said they regularly take Ana Pia with them on family runs, though her grandparents, Tom and Kris Brunt, usually take charge while her parents sprint ahead. "We run with her about three times a week," said Tommy Brunt, who described the Run for Cover as "a running stroll."
Not to Michael Kelleher, UBS branch manager, whose first words when he crossed the finish line were, "That was a long three miles!"
A dedicated runner, Kelleher has organized fund-raising meets on the mainland. Shortly after moving to St. Thomas last summer to head up the company's division here, he met Michael Akin, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Virgin Islands, and proposed the Run for Cover. Besides handling organizing costs, UBS donated $3,000 to Catholic Charities, which runs soup kitchens on all three islands and manages shelters for the homeless on St. Croix and St. Thomas.
Participants also contributed, paying $5 each to enter the race. "Five dollars, that's a meal for someone," said Hodge. She noted that most runners exercise early in the morning – the time when people who live on the street are just getting up. "We just kind of run by them," she said. This is a way to help. "It's small steps, but it helps."
There were 32 runners for Sunday's race, and Hodge believes the numbers will grow if, as she hopes, it becomes an annual event.
Overall Winners
Male- Luis Smith 22:16
Female-Charley Charles 24:30
FEMALE
19 & Under
Bianca Moscia 48:06
20 – 29
Pia Brunt 23:03
Tiarra Kappel 43:24.7
Jay Laforn 46:03
30 – 39
Adrianne Baird 27:32
Kristin Barton 28:30
Candi Kelleher 40:32
Susan Miller 43:24
Delphine Farr 31:49
40 – 49
Grace Tuma 27:52
Rebecca Braham 31:32
Rosemarie Mosica 44:19
Lynn Joseph 56:16
50 & Over
Sandra Kelly 34:43
Gayle Deller 36:16
MALE
19 & Under
Brandt Scott 56:27
20 – 29
Derik Briggs 23:27
Ryan Uszenski 28:23
30 – 39
Bill Thompson 22:22
Bruce Sewer 22:45
Mike Klein 23:22
Hector Mendoza 25:05
Thomas Brunt IV 33:02
40 – 49
Matt Allen 26:07
Roy Rogers 26:41
Mike Kelleher 28:56
50 & Over
Sydney Rogers 26:47
Elliot "Mac" Davis 30:28

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