Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

East Lake favorite has his hands full

CLEARWATER -- Soon after the starter's gun fires at the Times Turkey Trot on Thursday morning, a lead pack should form with East Lake's Tony Teats either heading it or patiently waiting to make a strategic move to the front.

What also is likely is that some 32 minutes later, the 25-year-old accountant will break the finish-line tape on the track at Clearwater High. Although a hamstring injury prevented Teats from running last month's Chicago Marathon, he is healthy now and training for another marathon.

"I'd like very much to win the Trot," said Teats, who placed second in the 6.2-mile event in 2000 behind the University of South Florida's Russ Gerbers. "It's one of the area's top three races and the only one I haven't won."

Teats won the 2000 Hops Marathon and February's Gasparilla Distance Classic in Tampa.

Gerbers clocked 31 minutes, 5 seconds to Teats' 31:24 at the 2000 Trot. This year, Teats is aiming to run in the 32-minute range.

"Anything lower than 32 I'd be really happy with," said Teats, a former track standout at Morehead State University with a personal-best time of 30:45. "I've been concentrating lately on high mileage rather than speed, but I'll be ready on Thanksgiving morning."

With the absence of last year's winner, Tom Kunish of Tallahassee, Teats' major competition will be: Paul Marmaro of Delray Beach. Marmaro finished second last year in 33:57. A product of the track programs at Pinellas Park High and Louisiana State, Marmaro won the Trot in 1997 in 31:04 and 1998 in 31:32.

"I'm not in that kind of shape now since I'm focusing on my 10th consecutive Disney Marathon and training long distance accordingly," he said. "My main reason for being there is to be with my family for Thanksgiving. About 10 of us will be there for the event."

Mike Greiwe of Tampa. A product of Plant High and Notre Dame, Greiwe finished fourth at this year's Gasparilla. Greiwe won last year's Holiday Classic in Clearwater in 32:14.

Danny Bauer of Largo. A sophomore at West Florida, Bauer is coming off a successful cross-country season. On Thursday, he's looking to run in the low 33s, and if a top finish comes down to a sprint on the track, look for Bauer to win the duel.

Sean McCabe of East Lake. A senior at Central Florida where he ran No. 1 on this year's cross-country team, McCabe holds the UCF school record of 31:42. McCabe should be in the hunt for a top-five finish.

Jim Burgasser of St. Petersburg is coming off a win at last weekend's Road Runners Club of America 30K National Championship in Ormond Beach. That effort should either put him in prime shape for the 10K or leave him in a recovery mode.

Muchapiwa Mazano of Tampa. Last year's Gasparilla winner finished second (30:35) here in 1995. Race director Skip Rogers never knows when Mazano will show up to register, including the morning of the race. If the former USF standout does make an appearance, Teats will have his hands full.

In the over-40 master's division, Jeff Delie of Palm Harbor should win for the fourth time. The winner of the 2001 Hops Marathon is favored over Mike Weiss of Oldsmar, Steve Mikles of Clearwater and Terry Fluke of St. Petersburg.

WOMEN'S FIELD: The outcome here is more uncertain.

Last year, Mary Level-Menton of Coral Springs showed up unexpectedly and won for the record-breaking seventh time. A three-time Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon, Level-Menton, 39, holds the women's Trot record of 34:05. As of Tuesday, she hadn't registered. If Level-Menton toes the starting line, she could expect challenges from:

Christa Benton of St. Petersburg and USF. Benton, 18, the dominant female distance runner in the area, is the Bulls' No. 1, the winner (37:35) of July's Midnight Run 10K in Dunedin and a winner of four Pier 60 beach races. Benton ran in Monday's NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., finishing 40th out of 254 competitors. Vicki Stum of Clearwater. Stum, who finished second to Benton at the Midnight Run, has a 10K win (37:22) on her resume from this year's Armadillo Run. Stum beat the area's best at a 5K in September at the Race For The Cure in St. Petersburg.

Misty Harper of Seminole. Harper is coming off a successful cross-country season at Florida State. She has the leg speed to outkick older runners down the stretch.

MORE 5K: Laure Blume of Pinellas Park and Clearwater's Judy Maguire, last year's second- and third-place 10K finishers, have opted for the 5K.

Blume hasn't competed since April's Boston Marathon. Maguire, a two-time Trot winner, has been slowed by a heel injury and hopes to win the masters division of the Wingding, the event in which she was the first overall female finisher last year.

Her main competition should be Mary Ann Protz and Kim Donaldson, both of St. Petersburg.

In the men's 5K, look for Mickey Hooke, 42, of Bradenton, to be in the thick of it. He ran 16:18 last year, placing fifth behind Jim Sellers (15:42) of Tampa.

Last year's runner-up, Trever Scales of Spring Hill, is the favorite, assuming sophomore Jeff Masterson of Mitchell High doesn't show up.

© 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