David Cardona repeats as Village Runner 4th of July 5K champion
Approximately 3,000 runners competed in the 21st annual Village Runner 4th of July 5K. Photo D’Ann Arthur and David Cardona celebrate their overall championships. Photo Torrance distance runner David Cardona successfully defended his championship Friday at the 21st annual Village Runner 4th of July 5K, shaving more than one minute off his winning time at the 2013 race. The 22-year-old Cardona – a former standout North Torrance High School, El Camino College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo – led the field of nearly 3,000 runners with a time of 15 minutes, eight seconds to claim his third 4th of July 5K title in five attempts, surpassing last year’s winning time of 16:12 and his mark of 15:20 in 2011. Cardona held off a pair of Redondo Beach runners for the win as he followed the pace car from Land Rover South Bay. Chris Foster, 31, finished second at 15:25, edging Mark Tripp, 33, who crossed the finish line at 15:48. “I had a rough track season so it felt good to get the wheels rolling again,” Cardona said. “I went out with the pace I wanted but he (Foster) went out fast. I slowly got him about 2 1/2 miles. It’s great to win in front of family and friends and the atmosphere is always…
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