Gorneault and Wheeler lead way in Collins’ 5K
CARIBOU, Maine — Runners with very impressive resumes were among those taking part in the June 19, 2016, S.W. Collins 5K Road Race.
Ending up at the head of the field was P. J. Gorneault of Caribou, who was coming off a victory a month earlier at the Sugarloaf Marathon. His time in the 5K was 15:53.7, which was 12.9 seconds ahead of U.S. Olympic biathlete Russell Currier of Stockholm (16:06.6) and just under 30 seconds faster than Evan Graves of Caribou (16:23.1), another marathon veteran, UMPI Hall of Famer and one of the top runners in the County.
In fourth was Curtis Wheeler of New Sweden in 16:50 and claiming the fifth spot was Justin Fereshetian of Mars Hill in 17:17.9.
Leading the women was Gabrielle Wheeler of New Sweden in 19:21. She placed eighth overall in the 50-runner field. Taking second was Grace Graham, a Greater Houlton Christian Academy student, in 20:02.6, while Kelsey Dickinson of Winthrop, Wash. was third among females with a 20:38.3 clocking. Marie Beckum of Caribou (20:58.2) and Kimberly Wright of Mapleton (21:59.5) rounded out the women’s top five.
A Kids Fun Run was also featured and the winners were: boys’ 4 and under, Jack Adams; girls’ 4 and under, Scarlett Beckum; boys’ 5-6, Riggs Peterson; girls’ 5-6, Breanna Royer; boys’ 7-8, Isaac Staples; girls’ 9-10, Teanne Ewings; boys’ 11-12, George Ferland; and girls’ 11-12, Kayley Bell.
The race was the third in the County Challenge Series. The next ones are the Musterd Mile on July 8 in Caribou and the Potato Blossom 5-Miler July 16 in Fort Fairfield.
