In one of the closest races held by Village Runner, Brandon Vientos edged his training partner by two seconds to win the 22nd annual 4th of July 5K.
Vientos, 21, of Torrance crossed the finish line with a time of 15 minutes, 22 seconds defeating former West Torrance High School teammate Teddy Kassa (15:24) and Francisco Garcia, 27, of Rancho Palos Verdes (15:38).
Vientos was a four-sport athlete at West running cross country and track and playing soccer and baseball. He is a senior on the Loyola Marymount University cross country and track teams.
“Teddy’s my training partner so we know what each of us has,” Vientos said. “This was my first time running this race but I’m very familiar with the course knowing that it picks up with a mile to go.”
Vientos’ victory snapped a two-year winning streak by David Cardona. The 23-year-old from Torrance finished 20th overall with a time of 16:54.
Tanya Zeferjahn, 31, of Thousand Oaks captured the women’s crown with a time of 16:73, the 17th-best time of the day. In 2012, she won the women’s division at 16:49.
“Having run the race in 2012, I knew what to expect,” Zeferjahn said. “The first time I ran it I thought the course would be flat since it was by the beach but it’s not. There’s a couple of hills at the start, some rolling hills and a good downhill at the end so you just have to stay strong through the first two miles and get to mile three.”
Zeferjahn said she was going to spend the day on the beach before heading home to watch a fireworks show near her home.
The women’s division also included a battle between former high school teammates and a member of Loyola Marymount’s cross country team.
LMU runner Kelli Sugimoto, 21, of Hermosa Beach placed second at 17:35, ahead of former Mira Costa teammate Abby Hong, 18, of Manhattan Beach. Hong enjoyed a successful freshman season at the University of Pennsylvania.
While the hundreds of participants and spectators clad in red, white and blue inspired patriotism during the race, many were moved prior to and at the end of the 5K.
With runners lining up at the starting line, Jacqueline Folkert of UCLA Health presented the Pathfinder Award to Jon Sutherland who has run every day since May 26, 1969. The head cross country and assistant track coach at Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks holds the American record for consecutive days running logging enough miles to ru7n around the earth eight times.
After accepting his award, Sutherland watched his longtime friend Laszlo Tabori receive the Running Icon Award. Former Olympic marathon runner Jackie Hansen presented the award to her former coach who was the third man to break the 4-minute mile barrier.
A special acknowledge was then given to Joe Charles, known for holding his famous Push-Up Challenge at various athletic events in the South Bay. Charles, who is recovering from a stroke suffered in January, slowing rose from his wheelchair to strike his familiar pose of holding $100 bills to challenge those to “Take it to the next level.”
Although spectators were treated to a thrilling finish between the two fastest runners, probably no finisher drew more applause than Jesse Earhart of Long Beach.
With the use of a cane, the 49-year-old victim of cerebral palsy was the last of 2,505 finishers to cross the finish line, posting a time of 1:18:08 amidst the cheers and well wishes of hundreds still lining the course.
Males winning their respective age groups included: Massimo Giunta (1-8, 27:18), Swirvithan L’Goodling-Spatt (Saskatchewan, Canada, 9-12, 19:15), Jonathan Pinon (Los Angeles, 13-17, 16:07), Vientos (18-24), Garcia (25-28), Michael Soto (Alhambra, 30-34, 16:59), Brian Livingston (Portland, Ore., 35-39, 15:58), Mark Gonzales (Fullerton, 40-44, 17:45), Evae Silva (Tujunga, 45-49, 18:11), Jon Megeff (Rancho Palos Verdes, 50-54, 16:56), Rich Guss (55-59, 18:13), Ed Avol (Manhattan Beach, 60-64, 20:23), Steve Notaro (Torrance, 65-69, 22:03), Pat Wickens (Redondo Beach, 70-74, 23:37), Stanley Howard (Redondo Beach, 75-79, 30:01) and John Zablocki (80-99, 33:01).
Females winning their age divisions included: Natalie Goldman (Redondo Beach, 1-8, 25:06), Sierra Sargent (Manhattan Beach, 9-12, 22:34), Cassidy Webber (Rolling Hills Estates, 13-17, 18:49), Sugimoto (18-24), Damanjot Kaur (San Gabriel, 25-29. 18:12), Zeferjahn (30-34), Hollie Brekke (35-39, 23:24), Carmen Chavez (40-44, 21:30), Nathalie Higley (Redondo Beach, 45-49, 18:05), Sabina Helton (Rancho Palos Verdes, 50-54, 23:12), Julia Fretschl (55-59, 23:19), Sharon Lotesto (Torrance, 60-64, 23:54), Sue Reinhardt (Rancho Palos Verdes, 65-69, 29:38), Mary Alyce Elwell (Palos Verdes Estates, 70-74, 33:49), Nancy Ripley (Rancho Palos Verdes, 75-79, 37:09) and Patricia Martin (San Gabriel, 80-99, 58:34).
In the Kids Firecracker Dash, Austin Reed (Rancho Palos Verdes) and Laura Konefat (La Canada) were the top male and females in the 10-12 division.
Jett Collins (Redondo Beach) and Sara Donato (Palos Verdes) won the 8-9 year-old race and Sebastian Lamb and Abby Zimmerman (Redondo Beach) took top honors in the 6-7 age group.
In the 5-and-under race, Becker Lopes (Palos Verdes Estates) and Miia Sandoval (Whittier) emerged victorious.
Complete results available at racewire.com.
