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A college runner from Palm Harbor came on strong in the second half of the Clearwater Beach Pier 60 race to capture first place.
Kevin Lyons, 20, a Harvard junior this fall by way of Clearwater Central Catholic High School, hung back during the early stages of the 5K while twin brothers Jon and Matt Mott of Northeast High set the early pace.
Keith Sawayda, 42, who has dominated the series of five events in recent years, was just ahead of Lyons.
The strong tail wind that enabled Lyons to cover the first mile in 5 minutes, 3 seconds became a strong head wind after the turnaround at the midway point.
Shortly after, at about the 1.75-mile mark, Lyons eased past Sawayda, who was leading, and went on to cross the finish line in 16:46.
"I recognized (Sawayda) on the starting line right away and knew how strong he was in these races," said Lyons, who specializes in the 5K on the Harvard track team. "Since I've only been running again for a few weeks since I had a stress fracture this spring, I knew I'd have to work for it.
"These races are always a challenge, with the intense wind, tide conditions and the heat, so I wasn't all that confident going in," he said.
Sawayda took second (17:12) and was followed by Jon Mott (18:22) and his brother, Matt (18:30). Fifth went to Clearwater's Howard Fiengold (18:31).
The women's race was less dramatic. St. Petersburg's Christa Benton, 21, a USF All-American, led all the way to an 18:53 victory.
Laura Drake, a three-time Gasparilla winner, was second (20:15). Trailing were Rachel Winter (20:31) of St. Pete Beach, St. Petersburg's Amy McClenathan (20:37) and Palm Harbor's Kit Van Allan (20:42). PIER 60 NOTES: Lyons was the Times all-county cross-country runner of the year in 2002, his senior year, when he finished second (15:41) in the state championship. He beat his rival and friend from Jesuit High, Andy Biladeau, who took third, but not Jacksonville's Ryder Leary. The following spring, however, Lyons fulfilled his long-term goal by winning the Class 2A title in the 3,200 meters.
At Harvard, the highlight of this year's indoor season for him was breaking the elusive 15-minute barrier in the 5,000.
On a banked track in January at the Boston University Invitational, Lyons swept to a blistering 14:58. But this spring he was able to compete just once outdoors, and that was a 15:35 effort.
"I'm working hard at Harvard and enjoying it," said Lyons, who's studying economics. "It's very challenging. The professors are excellent, and the facilities are great.
"I'm glad I chose Harvard," he said. "The only thing difficult is getting used to the cold weather."
This summer, Lyons is working for Raymond James Financial in the portfolio reporting department.
Lyons and a teammate are tentatively planning to run the 2006 Boston Marathon, if he's healthy and it doesn't interfere with Harvard's track schedule.
"I sometimes train 20 miles at a 6-minute pace, so qualifying against my 3-hour, 10-minute mark shouldn't be a problem," Lyons said.
"Then at Boston, we'd aim for 2:35. My father ( Gary) has run Boston twice, with a best time of 2:38."
The second race in the beach series is Friday at 7 p.m. There's a free kids mile at 6:45. Runners can register on site at Pier 60.
The other events in the series are scheduled for July 8, July 22 and Aug. 5.
NATIONAL TRACK: Next week's USATF Championships in Carson, Calif., will include several area athletes aspiring for a place on the USA team for this summer's World Championships, Aug. 6-14 in Helsinki, Finland. Sprinter John Capel, a Hernando High grad, is favored to make the Track & Field News 4x100-meter relay squad. He's listed fifth on the magazine's form chart in the 100, which would qualify Capel for the relay. The former Florida Gators receiver represented the U.S. in the 2000 Olympic Games in Australia and the '04 Games in Athens.
Teresa Vaill, an Athens veteran via of Brooksville, is seeded second in the 20K walking event. She and her twin sister, Lisa, competed here regularly in the late 1990s and early 2000.
Amy Yoder Begley, formerly of Temple Terrace, is pegged for fourth in the women's 5K. She won the 2003 Gasparilla 15K.
Lakewood High graduate Rose Richmond, who competed in Athens in the long jump, is favored to finish in the top three at nationals and advance to Helsinki.
CBS will delay televise the USATF Championships at 2:30-4:40 p.m. Saturday.
RECORDS: Junior marks were set this spring in the men's 5K and women's 10K.
Galen Rupp, 18, of the University of Oregon, established his 5K record with a 13:50 performance.
The women's 10K was lowered by Harvard freshman Lindsey Scherf, 18, of Scarsdale, N.Y. She ran 32:51 in New York City to surpass the 26-year-old mark set by Mary Shea of Raleigh, N.C.
That time is slightly faster than the winning 33:10 Tony Teats produced in the 2004 Midnight Run. TRAINING TIPS: The June issue of Running Times has an article outlining how to get faster and prevent injury by running downhill.