Houlton Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
WINNER — Evan Graves of Caribou was the overall male winner of the County Open half-marathon held on Saturday in Island Falls. Graves crossed the finish line with a time of 1:16:64. He was three minutes over the course record set in 2009 by Chris Peverda from Hampden, who did not compete this year.
Records nearly shattered
Evan Graves from Caribou and Samatha Matoush from Bangor were the male and female winners of the County Open Half Marathon held in Island Falls last Saturday morning.
More than 80 runners competed over the 13.1-mile course with Graves’ time of 1:16:64 leading the way. He was three minutes over the course record set in 2009 by Chris Peverda from Hampden, who did not compete this year.
Matoush was seven minutes behind the women’s record, set by Britta Fortson on ’09. Fortson, from Jacksonville, Fla., finished second this year, a minute behind Matoush.
Joe Capehart from Bangor ran second, only six seconds slower than his time from ’09, when he was also second. Jason Bigonia from Newcastle and Sharon Hathaway from Ohio were third in times of 1:20:23 and 1:35:44, respectively.
Houlton Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
WAY TO GO — Pam White of Houlton took on her first 13.1-mile course on Saturday during the County Open half-marathon held in Island Falls. She’s all smiles as she approaches her husband and children cheering her on.
The masters winners were Lee-Rae Jordan-Oliver from Hodgdon and Peter Lodge from Bangor in times of 1:57:51 and 1:28:06.
Other winners on the warm, sunny day were: ages up to and including 19, Tyler Strid from Caribou and Lauren Hodge from Connecticut; ages 20-29, Ty Thurlow from Lee and Marie Beckum from Caribou; ages 30-39, Thomas Beckum from Caribou and Theresa Parady from Milo; ages 40-49, Joseph Ewings from Littleton and Jill Dunett from Woodstock, N.B.; ages 50-59, winners were Leo Kashian from Caribou and Robin Norsworthy from Presque Isle; and the ages 60-69 winner was Larry Tonzi from Linneus.
Nine teams participated in the relay portion of the half marathon. Winning the four-person division was the Caribou contingency of Levi Bither, Charm Karunasiri, Dillion Beckum and Grahm Freme. In the two-person teams, winners were Angela Ewings from Littleton and Trevor Levesque from Presque Isle.
This was the largest turnout for this event in the three years it has been held on the scenic roads of Island Falls, said race organizer John Walker. Prizes were awarded to all the winners in the form of cash, gifts or gift certificates. Each year the number of participants gets larger, so the steady uphill in the 8-9 mile mark is not too bad!
Houlton Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
HAPPY AND TIRED — Karen LeBlanc of Mapleton, left, and Renee Ennis of Presque Isle joined hands as they crossed the finish line of the 2011 County Open half-marathon last Saturday in Island Falls.
Thanks to the many businesses who donated well over $1,000, making the total pay out for winners and door prizes of around $2,500. The net proceeds from this event go to the Health Services Foundation.
County Open half-marathon
Evan Graves Caribou M 30 1:16:54
Joe Capehart Bangor M 32 1:18:48
Jason Bigonia Newcastle M 34 1:20:23
Ty Thurlow Lee M 27 1:21:10
Thomas Beckum Caribou M 35 1:23:21
Caleb Lander Brewer M 28 1:26:10
Peter Lodge Bangor M 47 1:28:06
Alfred Hanscom Caribou M 35 1:31:18
Brian Powers Caribou M 26 1:31:50
Scott Potter Yarmouth M 32 1:32:13
Leo Kashian Caribou M 52 1:33:59
Samantha Matoush Bangor F 35 1:34:04
Bill Emery congratulates a very tired and hot Larry Tonzi on a good race.Britta Fortson Florida F 38 1:35:08
Sharon Hathaway Ohio F 41 1:35:44
Brian Korhonen Littleton M 23 1:36:27
Marie Beckum Caribou F 25 1:36:46
Richard Lyons Hampden M 55 1:37:05
Joseph Ewings Littleton M 41 1:37:55
Larry Hodge Connecticut M 56 1:38:28
Jonathan Kelley Caribou M 34 1:40:22
Theresa Parady Milo F 33 1:40:44
Chris Rines Houlton M 23 1:43:10
Andres Fleury Caribou M 35 1:43:12
Ryan King Stockton Springs M 41 1:47:37
Richard Weinberg Massachusetts M 49 1:48:23
Shane Martin Orono M 49 1:48:44
Tyler Strid Caribou M 16 1:49:14
Nicole Green Caribou F 28 1:49:52
Stephanie Caverhill Caribou F 33 1:54:08
Troy Caverhill Caribou M 37 1:54:08
Brian Park Washington M 30 1:54:20
Lauren Hodge Connecticut F 16 1:55:33
Larry Tonzi Linneus M 64 1:56:43
Steve Emery Smyrna M 56 1:56:57
Nick Pesut Crouseville M 59 1:57:05
Nick Cloutier Bangor M 29 1:57:34
Lee-Rae Jordan-Oliver Hodgdon F 40 1:57:51
Jon Johnson Bangor M 32 1:58:07
Jill Dunnett Woodstock, N.B. F 42 1:58:20
Waldo Libby St. Francis M 63 1:59:30
Karen LeBlanc Mapleton F 42 2:02:48
Renee Ennis Presque Isle F 35 2:02:48
Mark Brooks Forest City M 53 2:04:57
Michael Saucier Caribou M 44 2:05:13
Kelly Kashian Caribou F 17 2:08:07
Lauri Sidelko Old Town F 38 2:08:22
Pam White Houlton F 40 2:18:06
Heather Harvell Presque Isle F 33 2:18:36
Sarah Ellswoth Presque Isle F 35 2:18:37
Heidi Bartley Presque Isle F 42 2:21:04
Robin Norsworthy Presque Isle F 55 2:21:04
Robin Slauenwhite Lincoln F 32 2:33:45
Carey Nason Bangor F 36 2:33:46
Kyle Washington Caribou M 28 2:42:10
Relay teams and their times
Levi Bither New Sweden M 17 1:37:29
Charm Karunasiri Caribou M 17
Grahm Freme Caribou M 16
Dillon Beckum Caribou M 13
Trevor Levesque Presque Isle M 15 1:39:47
Angela Ewings Littleton F 41
FRESH LEGS — Runners competing in the County Open half-marathon start the race with fresh legs for the first three miles, but as the day wore on, it became hot and humid, as many of the runners struggled against the heat. More than 80 competitors take off from the starting line in Island Falls on Saturday.Margaret Capehart Bangor F 33 1:54:43
Michelle Roy Stockholm F 35
Kate Knowles Caribou F 36
Scot Walker Island Falls M 37 1:55:29
Parker Walker Island Falls M 14
Alan Chamberlain Virginia M 63
Janet Clarke Houlton F 44
Randy Johnson Grafton, N.B. M 45 1:59:43
Kevin McKinney Woodstock, N.B. M 51
Calvin Prest Presque Isle M 52 2:04:27
Frances Prest Presque Isle F 50
Dave Bates(Pioneer Times) Houlton M 52 2:15:00
Lisa Bates (Pioneer Times) Houlton F 51
Channa Stacey Presque Isle F 34 2:15:25
Jen Ayer Florida F 36
Nora Pangburn Presque Isle F 33
Allison Reed Presque Isle F 33
Madeline Fortson Florida F 10 2:22:46
Jennifer Walker Island Falls F 35
Rob Fortson Florida M 39
John Walker Dyer Brook M 63
