78 runners take to Turkey Trot

CARIBOU, Maine — Another large field of runners took to the starting line for the final race of 2013 and in the end, the husband-and-wife combination of Curtis and Gabrielle Wheeler of Presque Isle took top honors at the annual Caribou Turkey Trot 5K Road Race.
Curtis Wheeler trailed at the midway point but took care of business in the second half of Saturday’s race. Wheeler’s time of 17 minutes and 35 seconds was 24.2 seconds faster than runner-up Christian Sleeper of Caribou (17:59.2).
Jeff Ashby of Presque Isle was third in 18:36.5, followed by Shawn Berry (18:51.8) and Lucas Kinney (19:15.6), both of Caribou.
Gabrielle Wheeler dominated the women’s field, finishing in 19:53.9, good for sixth overall. The runner-up for females was Elise Enoquist, who crossed the finish line in 21:39.5, which put her in ninth place.
Seventy-eight runners participated in the annual event, which served as the clinching race on the Aroostook Musterds Running Club’s 2013 racing calendar.
Others in the overall top-10 were Dustin Drabek of Presque Isle (seventh in 20:29.3), Robert Losieniecki of Caribou (eighth, 20:30.2) and Steve Desmond of Caribou (10th, 21:43.1).
Grabbing the 11th through 20th positions were: Kim Wright, 22:02.1; Sarah Hunter, 22:04.2; Jonathan Kelley, 22:04.4; Angela Ewings, 22:14.1; Stephen Wall, 22:34.4; John O’Meara Jr., 22:36; Jamie Clasby, 22:39.4; Susan Plissey, 23:38.3; Elizabeth Wright, 23:46.4; and Kyle Washington, 24:03.4.
In the walkers’ division, David Belyea of Caribou was first in 35:47.7. He was followed by Kaitlyn Morse (42:40) and Lora Cunningham (43:42.2), with Craig Cunningham and Calvin Deschene tying for fourth in 43:44.2. Sixteen walkers took to the course.