Sunday, November 8, 1998 -- Morgantown
Mountaineer Week 5K

[Coverage/Recap w/Pics] [Results] [Pics Set 1] [Pics Set 2]

Kenny Beerbower(R), 1st overall, is paced down High Street

Sunday's weather in Morgantown wasn't perfect, but cool temperatures and cloudy skies don't make for that bad of conditions for going out and running a couple of miles. That is exactly what a crowd of over 100 participants did on the downtown streets Sunday afternoon.

The race began with a prologue loop around the West Virginia University Mountainlair complex and then headed straight down onto High Street. The race proceeded the entire length of High Street all the way through the center of Morgantown. By the time the prologue loop was completed, Kenny Beerbower had already established himself in the lead position. With the aid of a turkey (non-registered runner) who helped pace him through much of the race, Beerbower had little trouble building on his advantage throughout the race. His first place finishing time of 16:19 was the only sub-17-minute time recorded for the day.

Kimberly Dorman, finishing 13th overall, was the day's fastest female

Behind Beerbower, the racing was a bit more interesting. Running together just off Beerbower's pace were Stephen Hiser and E.J. Linger. As these two battle for second place during the first mile, Brad Herrington was pacing himself nicely just behind them. About mid-way through the race, after they had run the complete length of High Street and had begun to head back through the neighborhood of South Park, Herrington was able to pass both Hiser and Linger. By the time the leaders had returned to the downtown area for the final stretch back to the finish at the Mountainlair, Herrington had a comfortable lead on Hiser and Linger. With less than a half-mile to go, Hiser made a successful move to drop Linger, but it wasn't enough to catch Herrington. At the finish it was Herrington (17:07), Hiser (17:15), and Linger (17:26) taking 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, respectively. Linger's fourth place finish was good enough for 1st place collegiate runner honors.

10-year-old Jon Richard Godwin shows the college boys his big kick at the finish

On the women's side of the run, it was Kimberly Dorman who distanced herself from the rest of the field. Her first place finishing time of 19:14 was well ahead of Giti Farudi's second place time of 19:50. Running a close third was Ryann Metheny who finished just seconds back at 19:56.

The battle for the fastest collegiate female came down to a sprint finish between Meredith Rieland, Sarah Ponden, and Ashley McDaniel. The three crossed the finish within two seconds of each other. At the tape it was Rieland (21:58), Ponden (21:59), and McDaniel (22:00) finishing first, second, and third, respectively.

There were many more winners for the afternoon and they all enjoyed refreshments and celebration inside the Mountainlair during the post race reception. Thanks go out to all the volunteers who helped make the event possible.