Turkey Trot attracts hundreds
It was just like a walk in the park for Jonathan Condly.
The Jim Thorpe High School graduate, who is now a freshman at Temple University and one of the top runners for the Owls cross-country team, cruised to the finish in the Second Annual Bo Tkach 5K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.The race began and ended in the Palmerton Park under gorgeous conditions with 620 runners and walkers participating. The event got underway at 9 a.m. on Third Street and wound its way left down Franklin Avenue and turned north up to Columbia Avenue, where it headed all the way east, before heading back on Lafayette Avenue to the park.Condly, who won the first Turkey Trot under snowy and slippery conditions last year, finished the race in 16:16, well over a minute faster than his time from a year ago (17:48)."It was definitely better conditions than it was last year, but I'm also in better shape," Condly said. "The races I run for Temple are 8K instead of 5K like I ran in high school. The training is different too since I'm running a lot more miles than I did in high school."It's harder, but it's fun."The first female to cross the finish line was Cassandra Tripaldi with a time of 18:56, which was also good for eighth overall. The winning time for last year's female winner, Avery Francis, was 22:27.John Vasko, who won the 19-29 age group, was second overall with a time of 17:57.The top two finishers received plaques and gift certificates from Joey B's Restaurant and Bar in Palmerton.The top three finishers in each age group received homemade pumpkin pies.Jim Tkach, founder of the Bo Tkach Foundation, was overwhelmed by the turnout.The mission of the Bo Tkach Foundation is to create awareness for obsessive compulsive disorder and other mental health issues while providing essential funding for youth athletic programs, scholarships and otherwise inaccessible individual mental health screening and treatment. Proceeds from the Turkey Trot will help provide funding for youth and young adults to access behavioral health evaluation and treatment.Pretzel City Sports out of Reading was in charge of the timing. Full results can be checked out on its website at
www.pretzelcitysports.com.Following are the award winners and age group top finishers:Overall winner: Jonathan Condly, 16:16.Top Female winner: Cassandra Tripaldi, 18:56.Male Divisions13 and under: 1. Carson Allen, 22:43; 2. Conner Beahm; 3. Christopher Andrews.14-18: 1. Quinn Serfass, 18:15; 2. Jacob Martinez; 3. Blade McCabe.19-29: 1. John Vasko (17:57); 2. Jake McGeehan; 3. Zach Svetik.30-39: 1. John Mikovits, 18:44; 2. William Watkins; 3. Jeff Minnich.40-49: 1. Mike Martinez, 19:15; 2. Bob Muscovitch; 3. Guy Potts.50-59: 1. George Pekurny, 21-13; 2. Matt Searles; 3. Chris Grammes.60 and over: 1. Gary Dobias, 223:58; 2. Duane Costenbader; 3. Rich Leeman.Female Divisions13 and under: 1. Logan Hartney, 23:44; 2. Skyler Searfoss; 3. Kelsey Gaston.14-18: 1. Cera Gaston, 22:24; 2. Julie Krabinus; 3. Abby Shupp.19-29: 1. Courtney Capper, 20:53; 2. Kyla Rodrigues; 3. Leah Heffelfinger.30-39: 1. Jaclyn Shokey, 20:55; 2. Dorothy Hartney; 3. Lennifer Lobasso.40-49: 1. Jennifer Gandomenico, 23:33; 2. Sara Nansteel; 3. Melissa Hager.50-59: 1. Ardith Kuhns, 31:03; 2. Kelly Follweiler; 3. Mariann Kmetz.60 and over: 1. Katy Englert, 31:03; 2. Maureen McTague; 3. Ann Behler.