San Jose resident Dominik Damato edged defending champion Jorn Jensen to take the tape in the 10K run of the 2017 Wildflower Run, while Morgan Hill runner Tiffany Pereira bested the women’s 10K field at the March 26 event.
Damato, 37, completed the 6.2-mile course in 35:35 with 5:44-minute mile average, while Jensen, 48, of Morgan Hill, finished in 36:12 with 5:50-minute mile splits. Sunnyvale’s Bartosz Ciechanowski, 27, of Sunnyvale, placed third in the men’s 10K in 37:32.
Pereira, 42, crossed the finish line in 41:57 with 6:45-minute miles ahead of runner-up Merlin Vassigh, 36, of San Jose, in 6:52 and third-place winner Stephanie Kato, 28, of San Jose, in 6:52.
The 2017 Wildflower Run was organized by the American Association of University Women. The local AAUW chapter makes sure there is always one true winner as the group uses the money raised from the Wildflower run to “provide funds to support education of women and girls.”
In the 5K, Jonas Soeholm, 36, of San Jose, finished first in the men’s field with a time of 17:20 and Morgan Hill’s Kaylah Grant, 17, topped the women’s 5K field in 17:30.
Rounding out the men’s 5K top three were Gilroy’s Andrew Gibaut, 33, who finished in 18:32 for second, and third-place winner Greg Anderson, 31, of Sacramento, in 18:47.
Kate Rainey, 33, of Redwood City, took second in the women’s 5K in 21:59 and 45-year-old Dalila Rodriguez placed third in 23:22.
In the 5k stroller race, San Jose’s Joseph Aubuchon, 35, was first in 18:53, while women’s champion Stephanie Darcy, 37, of Morgan Hill, took the tape in 26:48.
Walker Napoli (7:31), Andrew Hamamoto (7:32) and Hudson Napoli (8:54) finished 1-2-3 in the Kids 2K, while Julia Guerra placed first in the girls 2K field in 9:19.
