Doromal takes his spot among beach winners

Through four races, there have been three men's winners in the beach series at Clearwater's Pier 60.

Tampa's Dan Doromal, 19, a University of Florida sophomore, joined the top group in the West Florida Y Runners Club event with his narrow victory over Clearwater's Keith Sawayda on Friday.

Clearwater's Keith Batten, two-time winner Steve Wilcox of St.Petersburg and Doromal are among the elite entering the series finale, Aug.9 at 7 p.m.

The male and female series winners receive two night accommodations at a Clearwater Beach hotel.

However, none of the three men's winners are in a favorable position to capture the title, which is based on accumulated points in each race.

That scenario thrusts Sawayda, who has three second-place finishes and a third, into the lead with 70 points.

The women's outcome is less speculative. St.Petersburg's Christa Benton is securely in first with 80 points after collecting 20 in each of her four consecutive wins.

But if the USF sophomore misses Race 5, she would finish with 80 and defending champ Judy Maguire, second in the first four events, could take the top spot with 92 points.

The recent men's race was close, with barefooted Doromal running even with Sawayda the whole way.

Near the end, Doromal produced a burst of speed to win by 12 seconds in his 16:46 performance.

That time is faster than the winning marks posted by Wilcox but second to Batten's 16:19 in Race 2. However, strong winds prevailed in Wilcox's events.

Hops Marathon winner Jeff Delie, 45, surprised himself with a third-place effort of 17:16. He was followed by Largo's Matt Timm (17:50) and Tampa's Russ Orr (17:56).

Victor Yeager of Dunedin won the 40-44 division in 18:14.

After the 1-2 finish of Benton and Maguire, Kit Van Allan (19:49) cracked the top-three circle.

Bradenton's Maggie Miller, 48, placed fourth (22:04). Trailing were Rachel Bonine (22:11) and 16-year-old Danielle Coyle (22:18) of New Port Richey.

Coyle, the July 4 Midnight Run 3K women's winner, will miss the fifth beach race. She will be in Knoxville, Tenn., competing in the AAU Junior Olympics 1,500- and 3,000-meter events.

BEACH NOTES: Part-time runner Beth Lusnia, who finished second in the women's 35-39 division, twice has qualified for the Olympic Trials marathon.

The former Clearwater High School and UF standout competed for a spot on the 1984 and '88 Olympic teams under her maiden name, Farmer.

At Florida, she placed fourth in the 10,000 of the 1983 NCAA Championships after winning the event in the SEC meet. Her best 10K time, 32:49, remains a school record.

Men's beach winner Doromal ran track and cross country at Sickles High. After his performance Friday night, he said he might go out for the Gators' cross country squad this fall.

In the close event, Doromal had the Olympic spirit: "It was an exciting race right down to the finish. Whether I won or lost didn't matter. I enjoyed the competition."

RACE ROUNDUP: Largo's Karen Gately not only cracked the 20-minute barrier in the Save Your Skin 5K from Largo Rec Center, but reeled in the early women's leaders to secure a rare win.

Not bad for a 45-year-old athlete who works full time.

"I really felt good that day," Gately said, "but I suspect that course was short, although others ran their usual time. And Everett McDowell measured the course, and he's very good at it."

Gately said she was helped by Lakewood High track coach Royston Dillon along the way and paced by Tampa's David Colpitts.

"When I passed two girls near the mile mark, that led me to believe I was in first place and that put a little spring in my step," Gately said.

Gately has run nine marathons. She has another scheduled in St.Louis in 2003 with her sister, Denise Skinner, of Sarasota.

Gately's first was in Twin Cities, Minn. Her best time (3:31) was posted at Hops, and her most memorable performance was in the 100th Boston Marathon in 1996.

"Boston was the most thrilling, but Twin Cities was the most beautiful," she said.

Riverview's Jack Silva won the men's title (17:27) in the Save Your Skin race.

The first-time event was the brainchild of Michael Krutchick, Richard Miller and David Dorton of Bay Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery.

Miller and Dortan competed in the race, which raised more than $10,000 and provided donations to the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and the Skin Cancer Foundation.

St.Petersburg's Jeanne Lesniak, 29, finished second overall in last week's Strangeman 5K at Clearwater Beach.

Ron Balow of Tarpon Springs completed the Vermont 100-mile trail run.

He had to drop out of last year's event after 80 miles because of sore feet. This time, working out with Brooksville's Croom Trail Runners, he was up to the challenge.

"The key is training with so many supportive people," Balow said.

"We'd go up there and run 6-8 hours at a crack. So doing the 100 this time was no big deal -- just putting one foot in front of the other; not too difficult for a goal-oriented person."

The mountainous course was spectacular, he said.

"The Vermont mountains are absolutely another world. The trails are rugged, and the fields in the valleys are beautiful."

Former Clearwater resident Steve Wilson, a 2:18 marathoner, won the Buffalo (N.Y.) Marathon in 2:30:09.

In Key West, Lauren and Kyle Groh of St.Petersburg captured second-place age-group awards in the annual Hemingway Days 5K.

Lauren finished in 25:59 in the 14-and-under division. Kyle, 7, duplicated the feat in the boys 14-and-under class in 22:45.

Kyle took the 9-and-under and 10-11 crowns in the Midnight Run 3K on July 5.

Lauren will run cross country for St.Petersburg Catholic this fall.

RANKINGS: Two runners who've done well in area races have earned top-10 national recognition in Running Times' September issue. Amy Yoder Begley, a former NCAA track champion with Arkansas who won last fall's Avon 10K (33:50) at USF, is ranked seventh. Anne Marie Lauck, a 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympian who finished second in December's Holiday Classic 10K at Clearwater Beach, is No.9.

THIS JUST IN: Women in the Elite division will start 35 minutes ahead of the men in the Nov.3 New York City Marathon. The New York Road Runners Club says the change will allow the women to run in less crowded conditions in a field of 30,000. Plus, the women's 10:40 a.m. race will receive more television exposure on NBC.

DOWN THE ROAD: The Twilight Run 5K at USF is scheduled for Aug.16, 8 p.m. The students advance entry fee is $12. Register online at www.active.com. For information, call (813) 974-4095. ... The 24th annual Warhoop Sprint 5K, a West Florida Y Runners Club event, is 8 a.m. Sept.7 at Lake Seminole Park. A kids fun run mile will be at 8:30. For an entry form or information, call 535-9658.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright