Now living in Las Vegas, Torrance transplant David Cardona returned to his old stomping grounds to capture the 12th annual Village Runner St. Patrick’s Day 5K held Sunday morning in Redondo Beach.
The former North Torrance, El Camino College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo distance runner is an employee of Village Runner but Sunday’s race was the first time he competed in the St. Patrick’s Day 5K.
“I’ve been taking care of our sister store in Las Vegas and trying to get runners and events out there,” Cardona said. “I’ve always run the 4th of July 5K but wanted to give this a shot. It was a little dryer than usual but you can’t beat running by The Esplanade.”
Cardona, 23, is attempting to get an Olympics trials time in the half marathon so he can qualify for next year’s LA Marathon.
Cardona’s time of 15 minutes, 35 seconds beat Alexander Gorney, 27, of Torrance who placed second with a mark of 16:15. Jose Rojas, 32, finished third at 16:51.
South Bay native Sloan Boettcher, of Redondo Beach, captured the Female Division with a time of 18:09 in her first competition in the event.
Boettcher, 22, grew up in Palos Verdes and was the first female to play baseball for Palos Verdes High School. She continue to play club ball at UC Davis where was president of the team. After graduating last spring, she moved back to the South Bay.
“I fell in love with running my junior year of college while studying abroad in London,” Boettcher explained. “Prior to that, running was just a way to stay in shape for baseball.”
She runs 5-10 miles per day and usually competes in longer distance races so she was excited to see her winning time.
“I was shooting for 20 minutes but I run on adrenalin so I was pretty hyped,” Boettcher said. “I wasn’t expecting to run it that quick. I did some research on the race and saw what Nathalie Higley ran an 18:06 last year. I was really just racing against the clock so I bettered my expected time.”
Boettcher defeated Debbie Richardson, 52, of Palos Verdes Estates who posted a time of 19:50. Mary Armenta, 49, of Long Beach finished third at 20:04.
The event began with a Costume Contest and, prior to Dennis McNeil singing the national anthems of Ireland and the United States, Redondo Union High School senior Amber Gore was presented the inaugural Trailblazer Award for her accomplishment in track and cross country.
“I’m so humbled to be given this award,” Gore said. “It’s nice to have family, friends and my coach (Bob Leetch) here to help me celebrate.”
Males winning their respective age division included: Drake McKechnie (9-12, 20:44), Cole Stecyle (13-17, 20:51), Cardona (18-24), Gorney (25-29), Rojas (30-34), Trey Walp (35-39, 20:01), Humberto Sanchez (40-44, 17:39), Evae Silva (45-49, 17:58), Jon Megeff (50-54, 17:03), Dennis Donohue (55-59, 20:43), Ed Avol (60-64, 20:21), Marty Friedman (65-69, 21:35), Pat Wickens (70-74, 24:04), Frank Murphy (75-79, 34:52) and Dick Windishar (80-89, 37:29).
Females winning their age groups included: Tabitha Brown (9-12, 24:33), Sarah Simpson (13-17, 21:51), Boettcher (18-24), Natalie Aceves (25-29, 22:39), Tami Lumbatis (30-34, 22:34), Kristen Kerekes (35-39, 22:53), Kara Sauer (40-44, 21:43), Armenta (45-49), Richardson (50-54), Cheryl Rose (55-59, 25:52), Sheila Daniel (60-64, 28:22), Sue Reinhardt (65-69, 28:39), Mary Alyce Ellwell (70-74, 33:03) and Patricia Martin (80-89, 1:02:38).
Winners in the Chase Stecyk Leprechaun Dash for Kids included: Mark Antonov (10-12), Luke Sufnar (8-9), Henry Tunney (6-7) and Bradley Williams (5 and under).
Results available at racewire.com.
