The 14th annual Vineyards of Williamsburg 5K Run on Saturday evening, August 12, produced several fantastic finishing times, thanks in part to perfect late-summer weather for the Colonial Road Runners Grand Prix event. Noteworthy efforts included 10-year-old Dakota McManus, 69-year-old Nancy Patron, former William and Mary athletes William Tarantino and Adam Otsot, former Virginia Commonwealth runners Guy Alton (New Kent High School) and Adam Canning (Bruton High School), current Gloucester High School stars Emily Webb and Hannah Varnell, and four outstanding masters runners: John Piggott, Valerie Plyler, Laura Shannon and Mercedes Castillo. There were 171 finishers in the 5K, and 39 finishers in the one mile fun run.

That the Vineyards race had great competitive times was appropriate, in that this year's organizer and beneficiary was the Team Flash Track Club, which is noted for producing nationally-ranked youth track and field athletes. Team Flash took over organizing the Vineyards race from the Colonial FC youth soccer club, with Scott Elder and Renee Moss the race directors. Team Flash has about 200 members, from age five through high school, with 75-100 regularly showing up for workouts (sprints, jumps, distances and field events) at Jamestown High during the spring and summer track seasons.

William Tarantino, 23, of Gloucester Point, a student at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, ran the second-fastest time in the history of the Vineyards race (15:13) to win the men's division over former W&M teammate Adam Otstot, 24, of Williamsburg, now the assistant track coach at W&M (15:28), who used the race as a tune-up for an upcoming triathlon. Otstot had previously won two CRR races in 2006, the Jamestown Swamp Run in March and the Mental Health 5K in May. Only 11-time W&M All-American Matt Lane has run faster at Vineyards, his 14:37 from 2001 both the course record and the all-time CRR men's 5K mark. Tarantino had won West Point's Mattaponi Bridge 5K Run 5K two weeks ago in 15:29, and was fourth in February's Anheuser- Busch Colonial Half Marathon in 1:09:57. The women's course record at Vineyards, 16:51 by Cheryl Bauer in 2004, is also by an ex-W&M distance standout.

Third and fourth overall were VCU runners Guy Alton, 22, of Richmond (15:44) and Adam Canning, 20, of Williamsburg (16:07). While at Bruton, Canning was a region champion in both cross country (16:33 for 5k) and track (4:29 for 1,600 meters and 9:59 for 3,200 meters). He is entering his senior year at VCU, where he is majoring in history, but will be going to grad school for education. At VCU, his best times in cross country are 15:47 (5K), 26:30 (8K) and 34:10 (10K), in indoor track are 1:59 (800 meters), 4:22 (mile) and 8:52 (3,000 meters), and in outdoor track are 1:58 (800 meters), 4:02 (1,500 meters), 9:56 (3,000-meter steeplechase) and 15:50 (5,000 meters). This summer he ran distance with the CRR's 6 a.m. Enterprisers running group. Teammate Alton spent a semester at Jay Sergeant Reynolds Community College before transferring to VCU.

For the women, Grand Prix leader Jen Quarles won by 25 seconds with a time of 18:38 (her fourth CRR win in 2006). She had run a PR 18:12 at the July 4th Yorktown Freedom Run 5K, but has backed off her training recently due to some plantar fasciitis in her left foot and some tendonitis in her right foot. Quarles said, "I went out a bit fast and then didn't have any females close so didn't really push it too hard...just ran it to win, not for a super fast time." Second was Aspen Foster, 19, of Virginia Beach (19:03), who runs the steeplechase for James Madison, and was returning home from a cross country camp. Gloucester High's top two distance runners, Emily Webb, 16 (19:12) and Hannah Varnell, 15 (19:59), were third and sixth overall for the women.

In the masters (40-and-over) ranks, John Piggott, 41, of Williamsburg was fifth overall in 16:11, just 10 seconds off Rob Hinkle's 40-44 race record of 16:01. Valerie Plyler, 46, of Yorktown was fourth for the women in 19:28, a Vineyards 45-49 record, and just one second off her own all-time CRR mark for women 45-49 of 19:27, set in both 2004 and 2005. Laura Shannon, 43, of Williamsburg was fifth in 19:47, four seconds off her PR 19:43 from Queens Lake. Merecedes Castillo, 48, of Williamsburg, continued her steady improvement since moving back to Williamsburg from Hilton Head, SC, breaking 21 minutes for the first time with her 20:59.

Perhaps the outstanding breakthrough race of the evening came from Dakota McManus, 10, of Williamsburg who made a huge jump from the 21:30 she ran in May at the Mental Health 5K to a 20:32 Saturday, easily winning the 14-and-under category. The time was only 11 seconds off the Vineyards 14-and-under mark of 20:21 by Lindsay Kent, age 11, of Yorktown in 2001. Coincidentally, Kent had run in 2000 at age 10 the exact 20:32 time at Vineyards that McManus did.

In her last CRR race in the women's 65-69 age group, Nancy Patron, 69, of Williamsburg ran a 29:12 to win for women 65-and- over. Patron's 70th birthday will be in September, when she will join Pat Ewell as one of the best 70-74 runners in Virginia. Ewell holds the all-time CRR mark for that age group with a 29:11 from last November's Governor's Land 5K.

Several other runners came close to Vineyards age-group marks. Steve Chantry, 51, of Williamsburg ran a 17:04 for men 50-54, 13 seconds off Rick Platt's 2000 mark of 16:51. Dennis Manske, 60, of Williamsburg ran a 20:46 for men 60-64, 13 seconds off Tom Ray's mark of 20:33 from 1993 (Ray also holds the Vineyards records for age 65-69, 20:02, and age 70-74, 22:23). And Linda Whittaker, 57, of Williamsburg ran a 23:32 for women 55-59, just six seconds off Joan Coven's 23:26 from 1999.

Top Overall Finishers

Men Overall
1. William Tarantino, 23	Gloucester Point  15:13
2. Adam Otstot, 24      	Williamsburg	  15:28
3. Guy Alton, 22        	Richmond	  15:44
 
Women Overall
1. Jennifer Quarles, 34 	Williamsburg	  18:38
2. Aspen Foster, 19     	Virginia Beach	  19:03
3. Emily Webb, 16       	Gloucester	  19:12



[race record 14:37 by Matt Lane, 23, Williamsburg, in 2001]
[race record 16:51 by Cheryl Bauer, 23, Richmond in 2004]

Complete results by age group available at Searchable Results

See the Colonial Road Runners Web site